Hello,
I have a savannah monitor cage that measures 8'w x 3'l x 30 3/4" H (above substrate) with 2 feet of substrate. It resides in a 10'w x 8'l x 7'h shed insulated with reflectix. The shed is heated by an oil space heater on a thermostat set to 75-80. In the cage, there are 3 50W halogens in a triangle pattern that hang 12" above a retes stack that is about 8" from the substrate, in the middle of the cage. The cold hide is on the far left in the substrate and a 3'x2' water basin is on the far right. There is a vent above the substrate on the right panel of the cage. I get basking temps of 130 down to 110 (there are logs that the lights shine on at different heights). The surrounding temps (including in the retes stack) range from 95-80 when the thermostat for the shed is set to 80. The cool sides sit at room temp to room temp -5 with the cool hide even lower.
My question is - is it better to achieve high temps by increasing the shed ambient heat (and dry heat at that), or should I introduce more heating elements (radiant heat panel) inside the cage to increase hot side heat, while leaving the ambient shed temps at a lower, more humid temp like 70-75. I was thinking of getting a radiant heat panel and mounting it on the roof by the hot spot to raise the temps and keep humidity.
