Lighting

[FreakedOutMama]

Getting correct temps certainly can be tricky and time consuming. Could you fill us in on the size of the tanks?

I agree with the others that the round gauge (dial) thermometers are very inaccurate and can be off several degrees. A temp gun liike the one Cooper posted the link to, would give you readings right away by pointing the gun at the area you're checking with the gun about 2" away. The probe thermometers work well too. Here is a link to a good one that a lot of us use and it will give you the basking surface & cool side temp at the same time as well as the humidity level: http://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-00891A1-Indoor-Outdoor-Thermometer/dp/B001BO8CUE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1458855849&sr=8-5&keywords=chaney+probe+thermometer
What you do is place the probe sensor right on the basking spot so that it is touching it and the display part way over on the bottom of the cool side, wait about 45 min for the temps to stop rising, then the "out" reading will be the basking temp and the "in" reading for the cool side. I suspect you will find out that you don't need to use as much wattage as you are now in order to get a basking surface temp of about 102 or so and a cool side of between 78 to 82.

As Nihilist mentioned, it's also important to make sure your dome is rated higher than the bulb so if needing to use a 150 watt bulb, make sure the dome is rated for at least 200 watts. Also important to make sure the dome has a ceramic top as the plastic ones could melt when using a high wattage bulb.

Let us know how you make out.

Hey! I got the Acurite thermometer you suggested, there is ALOT of excess wiring here... Can you send a picture as to how you secured yours to your cage? Also, does the white part of the sensor go on the basking area? or the black part? Thank you!

 

[diamc]

I'm glad you got that particular thermometer, it works very well.

You place the black plastic probe end right on the basking log or rock. You can peel the paper off the back of the probe but I use scotch tap right on the wire closest to the probe end but not covering the probe itself. You place the thermometer part way over on the bottom of the cool side. There are 2 numbers on the readout. If the 1st # shows time, you can push a button on the bottom to change it to a 2nd farenheit reading. Then you wait about 45 min for the temps to stop rising. The "out" reading would be the basking temp and the "in" reading for the cool side. Let us know how you make out or if you have any other questions.