Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Being concerned about making certain that I turn on/off my
Anole's tank light on a regular consistent schedule I went out
and bought an inexpensive Radio Shack mechanical AC outlet
automatic timer today. It was only like $9.99 plus tax and
I'm hoping it will do the job well enough. Does anyone have
any experience with these type of mechanical automatic AC
outlet timers? Good? Bad? What about the digital timers?
Peace.

Lizard~King

Mechanical timers are fine although it might be difficult to set them for the exact times you want. You can usually get them within 5-10 minutes of the desired time which works fine. I have a power strip with the lights and Habba Mist plugged in and everything has been working with this particular timer for several years.

Atrax:
>>Mechanical timers are fine although it might be difficult to set them for the exact times you want. You can usually get them within 5-10 minutes of the desired time which works fine. I have a power strip with the lights and Habba Mist plugged in and everything has been working with this particular timer for several years.

Thanks again, Atrax! I've recently read Ray Hunziker's "Green Anoles: Selection, Care & Breeding" and he suggests having the full spectrum flourescent light come on an hour before the incandescent basking spotlight as a "crude" way to simulate
the gradual increase in temperature and brightness as the sun rises higher in the morning sky. I don't imagine that's essential, but I suppose if one has their lights set up that way it wouldn't be a bad thing either. Then of course you could do the same thing at night with the basking incandescent spotlight going off an hour before the full spectrum flourescent light as a
crude way of simulating the sun setting in the evening sky. Peace.

Lizard~King

The temperature when the lights first come on in the morning is 68-70 degrees at the basking area and rises to 90-92 in about 30 minutes or so. This simulates a normal dawn and warm up. I have found that the Anoles become accustomed to the constant "day" length and will find a place to spend the night about 30-45 minutes before "lights out".

I use a digital timer that can be set for the exact minute but I only use hours(12on/12off). I have an analog one that can be set for 30min intervals and I sometimes use that with my fogger. It's great having the lights come on while I'm at work so that I can enjoy them until I go to bed.