Heating lamps.

[David802]

Ok, so I've been asking questions about insulating my cage because of the ambient room temp fluctuation. I've decided to try a heat lamp, on a timer, when the temp outside the house and inside my room goes down, I Can turn the lamp on and keep the ambient tank temp up. 3 questions.

1. With the room temp of 65 (About) does anybody have any advice as to what wattage to start with? I realize I'll probably have to mess around and switch bulbs but any suggestions.

2. Any tips on what NOT to do as far as mounting, I Was planning on cutting a hole in the lid, putting some black plastic screen (the kind used to make window screens) over the hole then use a zip tie to hold one side of the lamp down.

3. Is what I'm thinking about going to work... I have 3 thermometers, 1 in each of the hides, and 1 hanging 4 inches from the lid of the cage. ( I also have a 4th one that is on a probe that I use to measure anything I need. Under the hides, its very warm, 94 for the hot 81 for the cold (those were my last readings from the notes page I have) the problem is at night the ambient temp of the cage itself drops below the 80 degrees, so far its not dropped below 76, but I Cant continue to wake up in the middle of the night and mess with it. Tonight I Start work again for the week and am going to have to be a bit more hands off for a few days, and I wont be able to wake up every few hours to warm the area around the cage up.


This is very frustrating for me and I'm sorry I am asking so many questions. I was not aware that the night I did a dry run with this cage my mom left the heater on all night (are thermostat doesn't work, so when it gets cold in the house someone turns the heater on) It was very cold the night I ran the test and when it wasn't effected I assumed all was good. My Dad refuses to let the heater run constantly for this so I've got to get this figured out. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I'm starting to freak out.

Thanks
David

[dr del]

Hi,

To be able to answer we really need more details about the enclosure you are using - pics would probably be easiest.

But one piece of advice on the bulb - don't mess around buying different wattages. Buy a good wattage that you know will be able to hold the temps if the UTH's can't cut it and then use something to control it - ideally a proportional thermostat but in a pinch a dimmer and you manually adjusting it.

If you can do it with UTH's then that's really the way most people would recommend.

What kind of thermometers are you using and where are you taking the readings?

What kind of insulation did you have in mind? This will probably depend on caging type but let us know what you can get access to easily.


dr del

[boasandballs]

Insulating your cage like you said in the other post is good. I would use a thermostat to run your heat lamp with a ceramic bulb. That way when it's warm it will turn off and when it is cold it will go on. They cost about $30-40.

[David802]

I'll post pics tomorrow my camera is down now but I'll borrow one.

If I think a lamp will fix my problem I'll get a second thermostat.

I'm using a reptitemp 500r for the thermostat now to control my uth.

The 81 temp is being taken against the bottom of the tub above the substrate, the 94 as well but on the hot side. The 80 (77 when its down) is being taken by sticking a prod into the middle of the cage to measure the air inside the cage. I think that is what you mean by where am I taking my readings.

For now I've put 1/4 inch think foam board around the tub to help keep it warm, its holding the heat lots better now, the thermostat isn't turning on anymore, but I don't think its going to work completely, to test I opened my window and cooled my room down and it started to drop even with the insulation on.