Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I picked up my other chuckwallas the other day, I've ended up with 4 more so I now have six! I have trev and mable in one viv and an other male and 3 females in another viv, I'll post pics of the new grounp soon. The thing is I'm having trouble getting my basking temps to where they need to be, first of I started with a 100watt bulb, but I felt this was too higher wattage as the thermostat was off a lot, so I moved down to 75watt and the thermostat is on more now (it's a pulse thermostat with night time drop), the problem is when it is on to raise the general air temp the basking spot is ok, but when this temp is reached it shuts down to a pulse and the basking spot goes down to around 96 and I'm aware it needs to be around 110 ish. The chucks are fine and all are active but I think I need to sort something out. What I'm thinking is keep the ceramic heater on the thermostat but move it away from the basking spot and then replace that with some sort of light emitting bulb that would be switched off at night with the other lights, with just enought wattage to acheave the basking temp, this bulb wouldn't be on the thermo so that it stays on to create a constant temp under the lamp, but the ceramic would be still on the thermo but would just come on to raise the general temps. Does that sound about right? or am I way off? any advice on what I've mentioned would be great.
Thank you
Martin

HI Martin,
We usually let our basking temps get to about 120 ish (F). Surface temps on the rocks. We usually let the ambient temp in the room get to the high 80s in the summer. I would let the lights stay on for the entire day, and only use the thermostat for other heat sources. The temps can fluctuate a bit, you really don't need precise temps. Just like in the wild, the cage can cool off quite a bit at night, and gradually warm up through the day. We use 75-90 watt hallogen flood bulbs (not spot) at a distance of about 14"-18" from the basking rocks.
If you don't have one already, pick up an infrared temp gun. I know Pro Exotics has some models for prety cheap. You can adjust the distance of the basking light from the rock to get the right temps. Check the temps frequently through the day. Let it sit for a day or two at least, to see the range of temps.
Sorry for the late reply. I haven't been on here in a while.\
I hope this helps.
Nick

Hi Nick,
I'm now thinking that the ceramic bulb is too higher wattage, as for some reason the night time drop isn't working at the moment (timer must have gone wrong or fuse) any how I'll have to get that sorted, but this did make me think the other night. The thing was when the 25watt florecent tube light and the 13watt uva bulb was on the thermostat wasn't pulsing, however when the lights went off with the timer, I noticed that after about 15-30 mins it started pulsing and carried on pulsing for most if not all of the night, and the basking temp was much higher as it should be. So that tells me that when you get rid of 38 watts of heat the thermostat will run at the rate it should, so I'm thinking about simply getting lower wattage ceramics, down from 75watt to 40-50watts and I think judging by what happened I think that will do the trick, as it will counteract the heat of the lighting. I'll see how I get on, I'll have to order a couple asap.
thanks for your advice.
Martin