Question about combining ceramic heat emitters with uva bulb

[aperson150]

Hello

I have two very cute bearded dragons, and they are about two months old. I was using a powersun but I read that it was not a good enough bulb, so I switched to a repti-sun 10 for uvb and a exo-terra 150 watt for the basking bulb. My question is this : How come my 40gal tank is not getting hot enough? I have a zilla thermometer which I have pinned right to the basking spot. Can I put a ceramic heat-emitter with my 150 watt bulb, and if so what wattage? I tried a 60 watt ceramic w/ 150 watt and it only got to 95 degrees! Am I doing something incorrectly with the lights? I also have a very cold house, so that may be it

 

[NegativeCreep]

I don't think that the PowerSun bulbs are bad, there are apparently just better bulbs out there. You can always just add additional household white light bulbs for additional heat.. but yeah, you could also use a CHE in addition to the basking light. The main thing is that you can get the basking area to around 110 degrees or so and the cooler side of the tank around 80. Maybe you can just get a flood light from the hardware store. They may provide enough heat for basking without adding a bunch of extra fixtures. You can probably get a flood light for the cost of one of the pricey 'basking bulbs' from the pet store.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Wow...
I would double check... .something.

What kind of 150w bulb do you have? Reptile basking I assume?
How close is the basking spot to the UVB? If you've got room, I'd try moving the basking spot up.
Granted, it hasn't been real cold here, but I use a 100w T-Rex UV Active heat (MVB) for my 40g and it heats the basking spot (at 12 inches away) to 110.

The concern I would have with adding a super strong CHE is that you might raise the ambient temp of the tank too high...

Are you having this issue in both tanks or just in one?

 

[aperson150]

I have exo-terra dayglo basking bulb, and I just put a 100 wat ceramic in and now the basking is 106. I have it 10 inches away from the dragons.
Is the zilla thermometer with the probe inaccurate?

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Shouldn't be.
I used to use them and now have a temp gun & they've been consistent with each other. I mean, there is the off chance that you got a bad one, so if you have a way to double check it, I would.
It seems like a lot of heat for one tank...
Also- double check your cool side! Make sure it's in the upper 70s or very low 80s. You can bump your basking spot another couple inches...

And-the obligatory- at 2 months, you might not have much of an issue, but most definitely as they get older you are going to want to separate your beardies.
One beardie tends to become dominant and hogs the majority of UVB, food, heat, etc. So yep, as soon as you can pick up a second set up!

In the meantime- where are the pics at!

 

[NegativeCreep]

I have exo-terra dayglo basking bulb, and I just put a 100 wat ceramic in and now the basking is 106. I have it 10 inches away from the dragons.
Is the zilla thermometer with the probe inaccurate?

I have one of these, and they are consistent with my accurites.. just about 2 degrees cooler (always) than the accurite, but consistent! I would trust it.

 

[aperson150]

I am planning on seperating them soon, and i already have a tank to separate them I am just finding it easier for right now to keep them together. I just went to walmart and looked everywhere for a accurite and I couldn't find one! But if the zilla is alright then I will keep on using that. Right now with the ceramic heat emitter the temp is 107.2. If it is at that temp can I leave the ceramic heat emitter on or should I turn it off? Should I get a different basking bulb?

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

yeah... you can leave it on.

Do you have a temp gauge in your oven or in your fridge? Or even a meat thermometer? You might just want to double check it.

There is no inherent problem with having both running, it's just amazing to me that it's requiring that much heat.

I live in OR, it's not cold, cold- but it's not warm. And my 40 g breeder is thoroughly heated with just one 100w bulb.

Also- double check your cool side! Make sure you've got a good gradient.

 

[aperson150]

I double checked the cool side and it is 84 degrees! I have the 150 watt basking and the 100 watt ceramic, and with that it is 107 degrees! I do not know why my tank is not heated with just one bulb