For those who use lamps

So how do you keep the temps at the right level when you use a lamp? Do you use a lamp with lower wattage in addition to a UTH? Is the lamp on a thermostat? Is it turning on and off throughout the day?

Also, what type of bulb do you use? an infrared or what? (for a nocturnal animal)

Thanks for the time

When i used lamps on my tanks I put a hook in the cieling and hung a small chain from it and hung the lamp from that, to adjust the temperature I just adjusted the height of the lamp, if I needed colder I would adjust the lamp further away and warmer move it closer.

I used it with a UTH and thermostat, at first I used a blue night time bulb, then I switched to a ceramic heat emitter, I used the lowest wattage I could find like a 50w I think. Because I had a blue light and a CHE I didnt need to switch it off....

Just be carefull of humidity when using the lamps, they can dry things out. I use a rack system now so lamps arent needed...

When I do use a lamp for more then viewing/light regulation, normally in winter since this is CO, it's only for boosting the ambient temps. If more heat is needed on a cool side, say...another UTH should be used rather then a lamp.

I have lamps with dimmers built in or plugged into a dimmer and hang the lamp at least 8" above the enclosure top. I use 25, 40, or at most 50 watt bulbs depending on how much ambient boost I need, and then tweak between dimness and height of the lamp until I get the right temps. :)

So let me get this right. You hang the lamp above the enclosure, (as opposed to setting it on top of it, and not inside the enclosure). You have a rheostat type dimmer or something (did you get it at a hardware store?), I am not sure if I am right.

I am thinking another UTH might be more simple for me right now.

Evan, I have to tell you that once I learned how to maintain tempratures without a lamp, my life got a whole lot easier. Lamps really suck the humidity out. And NEVER put a lamp in the enclosure. Good luck.