100w basking lamp in large enclosure?

[JenessaDent]

I have the exact enclosure as the crossfire enclosure I am sure many of you have seen, with the dimmensions of 4*2*2. I have two 22 inch reptisun T5 HO lamp in one end, and a I was just going to put my 100w basking lamp in the other end. Will this be enough? I have not moved him in yet and do not intend to till i know for sure that it is a perfect paradise for him

 

[Sauzo]

You should put the basking light on the same end as the UVB lights. You need the basking light to dilate their pupils to help protect their eyes from UVB. Plus you generally want to give them a warm uvb side and a cooler no uvb side so they aren't stuck with the choice of either "I cook myself or I force myself to sit under uvb even though I want to get out of it but the other side is too warm".

As for 100w, it should be fine. Another thing you can do is buy a lamp dimmer from Home Depot or anywhere like that which will allow you to adjust the lamp to get the perfect temp no matter what the ambient temp is without having to move the lamp around. Just make sure the dimmer is high enough wattage for the bulb and make sure the dimmer is designed to be used with halogens if that is the type of heat lamp you are using.

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Enclosures]

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You will need to test the basking temperature that the 100-watt bulb will produce. Depending on how high it will be mounted and how far up the basking spot will reach, it may be enough.

 

[JenessaDent]

Ok, I will move the basking light further down . They were pretty close to begin with, but I totally see what your saying, they do need to be closer. Should I have any kind of light on the cool side? Just so he can see? Or keep it pretty cool and dark so he can go take a snooze if he so chooses?

 

[Taterbug]

Do you have reflectors on the UVB lights? Those are very strong lights, two might be too much for that cage. Are you using a Solarmeter?

I have a crossfire as well. I use a 100-150W bulb on a lamp dimmer, it's going to depend on your situation. I like lots of lights after all these are considered "sun-worshiping reptiles", but I also have lots of hides. It depends on how you set things up. You want your dragon to have a bright, hot, UVB soaked basking spot, somewhere to get away too and preferably options in between.

The light more importantly simulates the natural way dragons experience the world. Heat, UVA, UVB and the visible white light all happen together and the dragon is adapted to use them all at once.

 

[JenessaDent]

I do not have reflectors on the lights or a solarmeter. However, the cage is also not fully set up yet. I still have a ways to go before its ready. But now that I have the lights mounted closer together (and overlapping, but the heat lamp still reaches a small section of the cool half for his 'in between'), I can move on to the set up and look of the interior. I have a stonemason creating a rock face for the cooler half which will have numerous hides and caves carved out of natural rock, and even places where he can perch closer to the lights. The warmer half will have multi level basking rock, so he can choose how close he wants to be to the lights, along with one hide. I also ended up switching to a different heat lamp, its an outdoor light, 70w. He uses the 100w now, but his current enclosure is tall, and has a screen that filters through a lot of the UVA/UVB as well as heat. Part of the reason I am switching him. The UVA/UVB strip fixture I have going, can hold 2 22" lights, at 24w a piece. Too much? That is not what I have currently, I have a coil bulb (which I was told can be detrimental to their health), so I switched over to the strip fixtures. These have a specialty dimmer, that allows the lights to release a smaller "dosage" of UVA/UVB if I think he is getting too much, but they still keep the enclosure in a 'daylight' mode. Spent a lot on that but it was worth it! I let him use them today, he seemed to love it and he got a very vibrant color to him after only one day.