Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What do you guys use as a nighttime heat source for your tegus? Also, what about a daytime basking spot? Do you use heat mats or just a basking lamp?...If just a basking lamp, how do you prepare the basking spot (a rock there, substrate cleared aside, etc.)?

Thank you!!!

I heat the tegu's 20" x 20" plastic hide box with an outdoors-type dog kennel heating pad (pig blanket). I put the rag-filled hide box half way on the pad, half way off, so they can be as warm or cool as they like in their hide box.

the sturdy outdoors-type heating pads are expensive $60-$70, but they last better than cheaper stuff i have tried.

I use a 150W tight beam basking lamp for my basking spot. I keep it at an angle about 10-12" from a large flat rock. The rock gets up to 120F, and he just kinda lounges on or around the rock all day. Keeping this angle also helps to increase the ambient temps a little further down the cage (but just a little), so the middle stays around 85-87F and the cool side aroun 80F. I keep a 5Lx2.5Dx3H cage (I wish I hadn't made it so tall, but it was originally designed for a boa that likes to climb on occasion). At night I use two 60W ceramic heat emitters, and it does a good job. It got REAL cold here last night, and I woke up freezing, but Vito's cage was right at 72F.

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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.0.1 Axolotl Salamander
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com