Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For those who dont know I use two light fixtures for my 11 month old 11 and 3 quarter inch monitor. Now that he is in a 40 gallon breeder, I wanted better heating and now that I feed him mice I want him to metabolize faster. My father who owns an electrical supply company gave me several 60 watt spot lights. One light fixture cannot hold the light but my other one can. The smaller fixture uses a 100 watt indescent bulb while this one will be using the 60 watt spot light which I plan to use for his basking spot. I measured the temps and I can get over 130 degrees with this bulb (spot light). The only problem is it lights a smaller area. Should I still use it being it brings great heat even though not great light? The other fixture lights up half the tank.

as long as the spot is big enough to cover the SVL of the monitor and is consistent across that range it may be OK.

BUT....

Many, many, many times has it been said here and elsewhere, that spot lights are asking for disaster. Just go to a DIY store like Home Depot, and get some flood lamps. Make sure they are not 'narrow' floods, spots, or floods with a clear portion in the center of the lens. It is not nearly as easy as 'outdoor floods', as there are different designs and some seem to have caused me grief.

Good Luck,

--Robert

Get a flood
or this might happen to your critter too.

Thanks for that, I sure as hell not giving him that 60 watt. I guess I'll stick w/ the two 100 watt bulbs.

what you want is neither the spot light or the two regular incandescents, but a flood light. It's like a spot light but has a wider spread. The incandescents will probably not give you the basking spot you want and will also reduce the gradient in your tank, giving your animal less of a choice of cooler spots.

I don't know, i use incandescents and they provide proper gradients and are very cheap. have you had experience either way with both? i have and the incandescents work just as well. everybody can do what they want, but if something is not broken why fix it? andrew
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Varanus Creations

i've used both. can't say one is better than the other, just depends on the enclosure, ambiant temp, and where the light is being placed.

trying to get a hot basking spot while at the same time keeping a temperature gradient in a very small tank is easier with a flood light than an incandescent, in my opinion (and experience). Floods focus the light (and heat) straight down, incandescent bulbs spread it all around. I use halogen floods for that very reason (ie they don't heat the whole enclosure).

Hmm interesting. I would like to know if a 50 watt flood will get me good temps or should I just use the 100?

try them one at a time and measure the temperatures (try the lower wattage first).

just go to your local grocery store and buy those cheap 60 watt bulbs, or better yet, two 40 watters. everyone wants to make this difficult, it is not. just because you can spend more money or buy something that generally costs more does not mean better.

cheers, andrew
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Varanus Creations

60 watts? No I'm using two 100 watt indescents. My father owns an electrical supply company so he brings all this type of stuff home w/o charge. I told him no way w/ those 60 watt spot lights. I also asked him to get me a couple of 100 watt floods and I'm satisfied w/ the indescents in now but I'm gonna try the floods, whichever is better I'll use. Thanks for stopping me from using those spotlights. I dont want my monitor getting burned.

NOOO!!! don't buy any bulb.. I bought a "cheap" bulb from the store and a lot of them produce hot spots. Or particular regions where the light produces enough heat to cause SERIOUS burns. My iguana got burned real bad from a "cheap" 60 watt bulb. So yeah you can buy one but test it first. Turn it on and put your hand under it for a while and see if it has a concentrated center that produces too much heat. Cause your lizard will just sit their and get burned and won't even know.

i have not come up with that problem yet. maybe in the next couple of hours i will burn one of my monitors with an incandescent, we shall see. cheers
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Varanus Creations

Dont risk it. The 100 watts ive been using since I've gotten him and no problems whatsoever. The 60 watt spot light i am not playing around w/ since i dont want any problems. Man though, burning a whole through wood? Jeez, thats insane.

Spot lights produce a very hot spot in a very tiny spot (an inch or so) which can be hot enough to burn the surface of wood (I tried this once, in my timors cage and luckily when I was learning how hot a 45 watt SPOT bulb was at almost 2 feet away, he avoided the hot area). Flood bulbs are what I use (45 watt halogen outdoor floods which produce a hot area at 18 inches or so that is 130 degrees as well as 6 or so inches wide). The temp on that surface from the spot light was over 160 degrees at 2 feet plus. Heat one side of the cage so the animal can escape the heat.

I have found dozens of 50 watt floods. They look small but are they suitable? I have asked my father to bring home 100 watt floods. Which one 50 or 100?

that's pretty much impossible to say - it's more of a trial and error thing. try the smaller bulbs (free anyway, right?), wait for it to heat up all the way, and take some temp measurments. if too cold step up to higher wattage.

Okay, I'll do that. I'm going to try the 100's first, if too hot, I'll switch to 50. Thanks.