Basking bulbs and lighting

TheBeard9789 · Apr 2, 2021

Hey guys I have a 40G breeder tank 100W bulb on good days I get 95-105 degrees bad days 88-92 (hot/cold room) the platform is 8 inches from the bulb and I'm moving her in to a customed 4×2×2 built for beardies im wondering should I get a hotter bulb to achieve the degrees i want or do I try to raise her basking spot im just worried she will get hurt and if it matters the ambient temp is like 85 outside the light no lower than that I use heat emitters if needed at night and I use a temp gun for readings not gauges

Any help or thoughts would be appreciated

KarrieRee · Apr 2, 2021

Get a digital probe thermometer and get your temps-- IR guns are sometimes off by certain materials -they will not read off of hammocks- its going to be trial and error w/ the bulbs-- you want that probe to get accurate temps--

TheBeard9789 · Apr 4, 2021

KarrieRee":2csa5opb said:
Get a digital probe thermometer and get your temps-- IR guns are sometimes off by certain materials -they will not read off of hammocks- its going to be trial and error w/ the bulbs-- you want that probe to get accurate temps--

Weird thing is I heard the opposite I have 3-4 thermos with the probe and I had trouble with hiding the wire/probe was told it needs to be in the center of the hotspot to get it right and with the gun I only test platforms no hammocks but I'll try it out though

KarrieRee · Apr 4, 2021

The probe needs to sit where he sits it does not need to stay there you can move it after getting the temp-- it's going to give you an accurate temp

Claudiusx · Apr 4, 2021

I agree, you don't need the probe to stay there 24/7, just long enough to get a good reading then you can remove it. 10 minutes is what I'd aim for, although it typically will give you a good reading quicker than that.

The reason we suggest probes is because IR guns can be very inaccurate if they are used on the wrong type of material. Most are calibrated to work accurately on only certain materials. Higher end ones allow you to adjust their calibration to read all different types of materials accurately.

That being said, 4x2x2 wood or pvc enclosures are much better insulated. You might find your 100w does just fine. You might even find it's actually too strong now. It's all a game of finding out what bulb works best for your setup. I use 40w bulbs in mine and it still ends up getting too hot sometimes.

-Brandon

TheBeard9789 · Apr 5, 2021

Claudiusx":18volig4 said:
I agree, you don't need the probe to stay there 24/7, just long enough to get a good reading then you can remove it. 10 minutes is what I'd aim for, although it typically will give you a good reading quicker than that.

The reason we suggest probes is because IR guns can be very inaccurate if they are used on the wrong type of material. Most are calibrated to work accurately on only certain materials. Higher end ones allow you to adjust their calibration to read all different types of materials accurately.

I'll be honest the 1 I got wasnt very expensive but I'll shoot for a high end 1 down the road and to get the bath temperature is the liquid thermometer still ok to give accurate water temp?

That being said, 4x2x2 wood or pvc enclosures are much better insulated. You might find your 100w does just fine. You might even find it's actually too strong now. It's all a game of finding out what bulb works best for your setup. I use 40w bulbs in mine and it still ends up getting too hot sometimes.

-Brandon

Basking bulbs and lighting

TheBeard9789

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