Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,

I just finished building a new cage (5 feet wide x 2.5 feet deep x 16 inches high). I'll post pics later.

I am now just doing light and heat testing.

I have a 160 watt mega ray on one end.
I have a 75 watt halogen on the opposite end
I have a fluorescent tube in the middle running between the two ends

I figured the cage was long enough to accommodate a hot end with UVB, a warm end without UVB, and a "cool" middle. There are two main basking spots (one at the hot end and one at the warm end), and various hides throughout.

The lights come on at various different times (per recommendation from Bob at Reptile UV).

When they are all on, these are the temp readings. Was wondering if things were too hot.

Hot end (where the 160 watt UVB is)
Light on: 9am
Light off: 4 pm
Ambient: 118 degrees
Basking: 140 degrees

Middle (cool part where the fluorescent tube runs)
Light on: 10am
Light off: 3pm
Ambient: 94 degrees

Warm end (where the 75 watt non-UVB halogen is)
Light on: 7am
Light off: 7pm
Ambient: 103 degrees
Basking: 115 degrees

So--what do you all think? Are these temps too high?

I don't necessarily have a problem with a 140 degree basking area, but it might be a little much if that's the only area with UVB. If it's closer to 125 or 130 it would be better.

Your cool area needs to be at least 10 degrees cooler. The tank may not be large enough to support a basking area on each end.

What about moving both basking lights to one end - you'd likely need a different number or wattage of lamps. But you could still have the higher temp basking area (with UVB), a slightly lower temp basking area (without UVB) more or less right next to it, and still allow enough space for a good gradient through the rest of the cage.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I think you would save some money if took out the small basking lamp on the end it fixes the entire cage. You want to have 3 pretty standard temps in there. Cool spot 80 - 85, hot spot 115-130, ambient 80-85.
Uromastyxs Care Sheet

No, the basking temp should be 120-140F, hot end ambient 95-100 and cool end ambient no lower then 85F

As long as the hot end is hot enough, it really doesn't matter how cool the cool end is. The animal will choose the temps it wants and needs. With such a large enclosure, and the number and power of your bulbs you should have a really good gradient. By keeping the entire enclosure so hot you run the risk of over-heating, especially if air flow is low.
Of corse, you want your uro to use the entire enclosure, so you may want to heat the cool end, but I think 75F on the cool end is plenty warm.
Observe your animal and see what it prefers and adjust.

I have 2 basks in my current Bearded Dragon enclosure. The enclosure is 4 feet by 2 feet and I am able to accomplish areas as cool as 75 in certain areas of the enclosure. You can use a much smaller wattage bulb for your second bask and still accomplish a great temp by simply providing an elevated platform.

My main bask hovers at about 140 degrees at its hottest area(50 watt halogen). The bulb used for my second bask is a 40 watt regular household bulb, however I elevate the platform high enough to get a pretty decent temp (120ish). With high temps on either side of the enclosure my cooler areas still stay around 75-80 degrees.

Check out Pro Exotics FAQ (Retes stacks section) and you can get a more visual idea of how to do this. Thanks.
-Ryan