100 Watt Basking Bulb insanely high temps?

[Bweiser18]

So I’ve been using a 100Watt basking bulb for my 3 month old Beardie. It’s been keeping the temperature steady from 102-108. Well it blew out this morning. So I replaced it. Anyways I replaced it with a new bulb which is exactly the same. I figured it would be a little warmer/brighter then the old one a little bit? So I get home from work today and find my bearded dragon more towards the cool end so I thought it was a little odd because he’s always on his rock when I get home. So I checked the temps with the infared temp gun. Wow! I got 118-119 degrees F on his rock. So I used my exo terra lamp holder and raised the light up off the terrarium much higher. It’s about 3-5 inches above the wire mesh now. I’m still playing around with it to get it back to the 110 or below range. I’m just wondering why it was so much hotter? And would this have killed the bearded dragon to have the 117 temp range all day? I was pretty worried when I came home and saw that so I immediately took him out And adjusted the bulb distance.

 

[kingofnobbys]

So I’ve been using a 100Watt basking bulb for my 3 month old Beardie. It’s been keeping the temperature steady from 102-108. Well it blew out this morning. So I replaced it. Anyways I replaced it with a new bulb which is exactly the same. I figured it would be a little warmer/brighter then the old one a little bit? So I get home from work today and find my bearded dragon more towards the cool end so I thought it was a little odd because he’s always on his rock when I get home. So I checked the temps with the infared temp gun. Wow! I got 118-119 degrees F on his rock. So I used my exo terra lamp holder and raised the light up off the terrarium much higher. It’s about 3-5 inches above the wire mesh now. I’m still playing around with it to get it back to the 110 or below range. I’m just wondering why it was so much hotter? And would this have killed the bearded dragon to have the 117 temp range all day? I was pretty worried when I came home and saw that so I immediately took him out And adjusted the bulb distance.

Way too hot , see this viewtopic.php?f=5&t=233516 , if it's hotter than 40 degC (100 F) , it's too hot. 110 F = 43 degC is too hot too.

117 F (47 degC) is well into the lethal temperature range for a bearded dragon. You are very lucky that your dragon survived this.

You need to either move the basking globe further away (from the basking spot and warm zone)
or
replace the 100W globe with an 80W or even a 50W globe
or
invest in a diming thermostat to control the output of the globe you have .

 

[Taterbug]

Different lamps will vary a little bit, it’s always good to check on new lamps and even periodically to make sure things are running properly.

117F with a temp gun is surface temp, that’s not likely to be lethal unless the dragon cannot escape. Air temp is another matter. You cannot measure this reliably with a temp gun.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Different lamps will vary a little bit, it’s always good to check on new lamps and even periodically to make sure things are running properly.

117F with a temp gun is surface temp, that’s not likely to be lethal unless the dragon cannot escape. Air temp is another matter. You cannot measure this reliably with a temp gun.

You need to have both a temperature gun (to get surface temperatures) but these are prone to issues if not used properly (it's not just a matter of point and shoot) , and a digital thermometer (which has a small temperature probe on the end of a long wire ( these are quite accurate and provide very reliable temperature readings , and can be set to give
>> surface temperatures through direct contact with the hot surface
>> liquid temperatures by immersing their probe in the fluid
>> air temperatures by suspending in the air
>> and radiant temperature by placing under the heat source and holding there.

 

[Catzo]

I dont think those temps are that big a deal...

 

[Bweiser18]

Okay so my mind is boggled. How do you properly read temps? I had the probs stuck to the basking area and it seemed just wrong. So I go out and buy an 80$ Infared temp gun and now this isn’t good? I have probs to measure ambient temps on basking area which is 84. His basking area I finally got temps going from 98-109 on different ends of the rock. The middle is about 107. So if I’m getting this on an infared it’s wrong? The cool end of his terrarium ranges between 79-84 is this okay? He’s never on that side. Always on that rock basking. Also. I have 2 things for heat which was doing great I’m guessing because it was winter? Anyways I’ve been using a 100Watt basking bulb and 100 watt heat emitter on the cool side which kept temps at 79-84. Without it it was going 70-72. I’m guessing maybe I’m not gonna need the heat emitter anymore if this warmer weather starts coming in? Which may cool off his basking area a little? Instead of having to raise the bulb almost 10 inches off the mesh

 

[Catzo]

The temp gun is ideal. Your temps are fine.

Btw you can get a good temp gun on amazon for like $20

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[kingofnobbys]

Okay so my mind is boggled. How do you properly read temps? I had the probs stuck to the basking area and it seemed just wrong. So I go out and buy an 80$ Infared temp gun and now this isn’t good? I have probs to measure ambient temps on basking area which is 84. His basking area I finally got temps going from 98-109 on different ends of the rock. The middle is about 107. So if I’m getting this on an infared it’s wrong?
<<<< main problems nearly every (lay) person encounters using a temperature gun are as follows :
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=241233&p=1847152&hilit=specular+error#p1847152

<<<< is easy to calibrate your gun / actually any thermometer , see viewtopic.php?f=34&t=236883&p=1819655&hilit=calibration#p1819655 for how.

The cool end of his terrarium ranges between 79-84 is this okay? He’s never on that side. Always on that rock basking. Also. I have 2 things for heat which was doing great I’m guessing because it was winter? Anyways I’ve been using a 100Watt basking bulb and 100 watt heat emitter on the cool side which kept temps at 79-84. Without it it was going 70-72. I’m guessing maybe I’m not gonna need the heat emitter anymore if this warmer weather starts coming in? Which may cool off his basking area a little? Instead of having to raise the bulb almost 10 inches off the mesh

So long as you have a wide range of temperatures (a thermal gradient) between the warm zone and the cool zone and the dragon is able to retreat to the cooler area when it wants (must be in 80s (F) in the cool zone , you should be fine so long as the basking spot is not hotter than 43 degC.

 

[Taterbug]

Your temps and setup sounds fine, you have the tools you need and are using them in the right context.

The temp gun is a good investment to have, no worries there! It is a quick and reliable way to measure surfaces. The difference is that surface temperatures can be very different from ambient or air temperatures. Think about how on a cool but sunny day rocks and sidewalks can still get really warm. The same happens with basking lights. Temp guns allow you to check surfaces so that you can avoid causing burns.

The probe thermometer, or even a little weather station type, will tell you the ambient temperatures. These are the temps that if too high for too long can over heat and kill your pet. Probes are not good for surface temperatures under basking lights because they are usually black and will heat up differently than the surfaces will so it could be reading very hot if your basking surface is a light color, or doesn't absorb much heat.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Your temps and setup sounds fine, you have the tools you need and are using them in the right context.

The temp gun is a good investment to have, no worries there! It is a quick and reliable way to measure surfaces. The difference is that surface temperatures can be very different from ambient or air temperatures. Think about how on a cool but sunny day rocks and sidewalks can still get really warm. The same happens with basking lights. Temp guns allow you to check surfaces so that you can avoid causing burns.

The probe thermometer, or even a little weather station type, will tell you the ambient temperatures. These are the temps that if too high for too long can over heat and kill your pet. Probes are not good for surface temperatures under basking lights because they are usually black and will heat up differently than the surfaces will so it could be reading very hot if your basking surface is a light color, or doesn't absorb much heat.

Yes and no.

It's the surface emissivity (and it's converse the surface reflectivity) that is important .

I usually use a light coloured tape to hold my probes to the basking surface to avoid the issue of the probe becoming hot than the ambient.

 

[Beardeddtagonlover]

depends what size and height tank you are using and it really affects the temperature that you keep your room at also the MVB they give slightly less heat then the regular basking bulbs so a 100 watt powersun will give little less heat then a 100 watt basking bulb as an example i have a 36x18x18 i keep my room temp between 75 to 80 degrees on that room with a 100 watt powersun keeps the basking spot between 90-110 and the cool end around 80 to 85 my dragon spends most of hes day in the basking spot if the basking spot is too hot your beardie is not going to bask.the secret i found is having a good room temperature.also if your not using a MVb i would recommend a thermostat Vivarium Electronics VE-200D Thermostat this dims incandescent bulbs not to be used with a MVB so you can put a bad ass basking bulb and the thermostat will keep the temps just right since i use a MVB i just manipulate my room temperature.