Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings everyone. I have just purchased a baby red iguana a few hours ago. Thanks to all the info on this forum as well as other websites suggested here and my own research, I have put together what I think is a nice habitat for my new friend. I do have a concern. I purchased the 100 watt powersun as a daytime basking light and placed a shelf about a foot away from the light source. I placed the temperature gauge in the basking spot under the light and got a reading of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Ive seen some sites suggest a temperature of up to 115 and others as only up to 95. Can I get some clarification and suggestions based on your experience? I also know that having the light too far away will diminish the UVB the iguana gets. Should I drop the shelf a few more inches or perhaps elevate the light?

Any suggestions and info are greatly appreciated. And FYI, my new friend's name is Kain. ^_^

Thanks,
Michel

I have the same type of set-up and my basking spot gets to 100-105 degrees sometimes. That's the max I would go. He seems to get really overheated if he's outside and the temps in direct sun get any higher than that, so I have to keep a close eye on him.

Since the little ones seem especially prone to dehydration and burns, I'd probably raise the light a few inches and keep it close to 95-100. Better to be safe you know.....and the UV output will still be strong enough at 14-16".

Thank you very much. That is exactly the info I needed. Ill try moving the light a few more inches away.

I also want to ask...what kind of temperature gauge are you using? Is it one of those circular ones that kind of stick on the wall? Many of the ones that have a gauge like system with a needle aren't very accurate. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a combo digital thermometer and hygrometer that works very well and only cost about $12. You can also get a temp gun for under $25.

They are the round gauges as you described. I never stuck it to a wall, just leaned it on his water dish since it was almost right under the light. I noticed the angle it was in made the temperature change so I figured it wasnt very accurate. Ill try going to walmart and getting those digital ones you suggested. Thanks a lot for your help.

I found them in the hardware section. I'm not very experienced with this, but my vet told me that a lot of UVB bulbs on the market are crap and recommended that I buy a Megaray.