75 watt infrared heat bulb.. too hot?

Today my sister kindly purchased a red infrared heat bulb for me today while she was at Petsmart with her dog. It's a 75 watt heat bulb and I currently have it on my female BPs tank. She is housed in a 20 gallon enclosure with Cypress Mulch, a rock hide, few plants and a water dish. Now, before when I had the 60 watt basking bulb it was too cold (80F+) so I switched to the infrared 75 watt because it gets cold in my room at night and during the day since the other bulb didn't help. I don't have a lot of money at the moment, but I might just get a dimmer. At the moment, the temperature reads 97.7 on the warm side. Is that too hot, or just fine? At night, it cools down in my room so I'm pretty sure the temps will drop a few degrees.

97.7 is too hot. put the lamp on a dimmer and turn the bulb down a smidgen and you should be fine. Then when you go to bed at night, you might want to turn it back up.

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Originally Posted by knott00

97.7 is too hot. put the lamp on a dimmer and turn the bulb down a smidgen and you should be fine. Then when you go to bed at night, you might want to turn it back up.

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I prolly won't be able to get a dimmer until Friday.. so... I don't know what to do right now Dx

If possible,raise the light up away from the tank.

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Originally Posted by WickedBalls

If possible,raise the light up away from the tank.

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x2

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Originally Posted by WickedBalls

If possible,raise the light up away from the tank.

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Honestly I would rather trust the snake's ability to thermoregulate itself and move to the cool side of the tank. Doing this may decrease your temp gradient and make your snake unable to find a cool spot to escape the heat.

Lamps have a cone of effect, moving the lamp farther away from the tank raises the amount of area that it is affecting.

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Originally Posted by knott00

Lamps have a cone of effect, moving the lamp farther away from the tank raises the amount of area that it is affecting.

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But the same energy over a larger area means less energy per unit area. More heat will dissipate to the air rather than hitting the substrate.

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

But the same energy over a larger area means less energy per unit area. More heat will dissipate to the air rather than hitting the substrate.

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So, should I just leave the lamp where it is? But trust me, my BP won't move no matter how hot or how cold it is. She stays put in her hide.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

So, should I just leave the lamp where it is? But trust me, my BP won't move no matter how hot or how cold it is. She stays put in her hide.

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No, that was regarding knott0's post. You'll want to raise it up higher from the tank until you get the dimmer. The dimmer is ultimately the best solution though, because it will help to minimize the bulb's effect on the humidity.

May I ask why you even have to use bulbs?

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

No, that was regarding knott0's post. You'll want to raise it up higher from the tank until you get the dimmer. The dimmer is ultimately the best solution though, because it will help to minimize the bulb's effect on the humidity.

May I ask why you even have to use bulbs?

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Well, my mom used to use a heat pad for our King snake and she said it heated up the bottom of the tank too much and it could "burn" the snake. Now, from what I've read about UTHs, they are safe and unlikely to burn a snake if the snake is sleeping on top of it (while it's on the outside) on the bottom of the enclosure. When I ask my mom, "I need some UTHs they work a lot better for the pythons and my humidity will stay in the cage better." He immediate response is always "no". She also says they are fire hazardous. But that is why they come with those things that you put on each edge under the tank so the pad doesn't burn the surface. Though, I'm going to buy some UTHs at the expo this Nov. with MY MONEY. Now she can't do a thing about it :]

Haven't you provided a hide on the cooler side of the tank?
Raise the light above the tank but not too far. Cut a hole in a tupperware and give Snakey a cool hide and get a thermostat asap.

I use a 75 watt infrared light to assist in heating my decorative glass BP enclosure. The temps are fabulous and consistant but it took a lot of fiddling and some cash to get it right. A thermostat is a must.

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Originally Posted by TheNunciate

Haven't you provided a hide on the cooler side of the tank?
Raise the light above the tank but not too far. Cut a hole in a tupperware and give Snakey a cool hide and get a thermostat asap.

I use a 75 watt infrared light to assist in heating my decorative glass BP enclosure. The temps are fabulous and consistant but it took a lot of fiddling and some cash to get it right. A thermostat is a must.

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A dimmer would prolly be best for me right now until I get some extra money for other things. How can I raise the lamp?

Mount a hook in the ceiling and hang the lamp from the cord.
Or get a coat rack or something and clamp the lamp onto that above the tank.
They actually sell specific lamp holders that can be adjusted, but if you're getting the dimmer soon, it's kind of pointless.

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

Mount a hook in the ceiling and hang the lamp from the cord.
Or get a coat rack or something and clamp the lamp onto that above the tank.
They actually sell specific lamp holders that can be adjusted, but if you're getting the dimmer soon, it's kind of pointless.

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True. When I buy my lamps, they come with this thing that helps the lamp stay in place or something like that and it latches onto the white part of the lamp.. I dunno if you understand what I'm talking about but I tried to describe it the best I could. If you know what I'm talking about, should I use that?

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

True. When I buy my lamps, they come with this thing that helps the lamp stay in place or something like that and it latches onto the white part of the lamp.. I dunno if you understand what I'm talking about but I tried to describe it the best I could. If you know what I'm talking about, should I use that?

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The clamp.
Yeah, use that. Just make sure it's tight enough to stay in place.

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Originally Posted by mrshawt

The clamp.
Yeah, use that. Just make sure it's tight enough to stay in place.

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Ok thanks!

Hi,

Just a quick post to point out your mother is right about uncontrolled UTH's possibly burning the snake - that's why we always recommend using a thermostat with them.

If your planning on saving up to buy some I would make sure to budget for a thermostat as well - it is not a cheap peice of equipment but it is probably the most important one in keeping everything perfect for your snake. :)


dr del

X2

a good thermostat is a life saver, made the job of setting up setting up my BP's tank much easier