Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what wattadge heat lamp will i need to properly heat a 6x2x3 enclosure im building for my guy he really wants to move in and i dont want to spend a week going back and forth to the store trying different bulbs
household temp is 70-75 all the time so i think one lamp will do it, please tell me if im wrong i would rather not find out the hard way
thanks
Tony

You don't need to heat the tank at all if your room temperature is nearly a constant 75F. What you need is a basking light that brings up one or more sections of the cage to the proper basking temp.

I would start with a 100-125 wall outdoor flood style bulb. Set it up and check the temps of the basking spot in about half hour. If it's too high, either lower the baskign spot or raise the light. If it is significantly too high, then you will need to go to a lower wattage. Y ou can also just buy a 75, 100 and 125 watt bulbs then bring them home and fiddle till you have the right range of basking temp. It is possible that you may have to adjust later, especially in the spring/fall when temperatures fluctuate a bit more.
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PHLdyPayne

Until i switched my basking lights to MVB i used to use a varible resistor switch (aka dimmer switch) to control the basking spot temp. You can buy these at any hardware store. Just ask someone that works there that you need a dimmer control switch that plugs into a light socket and has a plug for a light.
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

thats a great idea, i was thinking of wireing in 2 regular toggle switches , if i use a dimmer for the hot lamp would i then use the 150w or would i stick with a 75 or 100?
thanks again, good idea
Tony