suspending a CHE above the enclosure?

[Callista]

Tomorrow I'm going to the reptile rescue centre to pick a beardie, I'm so excited! I won't be allowed to take him/her with me yet, they first get a last check with the vet, and a chip, but in a few weeks we'll have our newest housemate. I spend today trying to get the temperatures right, but I'm having some issues.

The basking temp (on the right) is 36°C (96F), but the cool side is only 23,4°C (74F). This is after leaving the lamps on for a couple of hours (though not the reptisun tube, but I guess that will not influence the temperatures).

Also, I noticed that last night the room temperature was 16,5°C (61F), which is too low. I really like my setup, but adding a CHE inside will not be possible (I had to cut a hole in the glass roof of the enclosure for the basking lamp, so it wouldn't be too close to the platform. I can't do that again for a CHE).

Would it help to suspend a CHE above the enclosure? Or would the glass prevent the heat from entering the enclosure? I only need a bump of a couple of degrees...

 

[CooperDragon]

An adjustable lamp stand (ZooMed makes them among others) should allow you to suspend a CHE above the tank but the glass will block the heat a bit. It might make sense to replace the glass top with a screen/mesh top. If you have no other animals in the house you can remove the top completely and just suspend all of the lights above the top (this is what I do). Your temps are close. Daytime you'll want to bump it about 5f on each side. I'd shoot for nighttime temps in the low 70s

 

[Callista]

Thanks for the reply!

I did another test today, and dialled the basking lamp up a bit (it's on a dimmer). The cool side remains a few degrees too cold, though. I also went to the reptile rescue centre to choose which beardie I'll adopt (soooo excited!), and the caretaker there said he wasn't a fan of CHE's. He said they give heat in a very localised way, so they don't help much. Is that true?

He also advised to put a water bowl in the enclosure, so my beardie will have access to water at all time. Since he'll be used to that, I think I will do that.

I can't really remove the roof of the enclosure; both the background and the slides for the doors are attached to it. I can replace the light on the left with one that gives off a bit of heat (it's a led light right now, I think, it only gives off light, not warmth). But I'm afraid the light would be too close to the beardie. Maybe I could use a heat mat? Or are they bad?

 

[CooperDragon]

Don't worry about a few degrees on the cool side. The important part is to create a nice gradient. The temperature ranges are just a general range and suggestion. If you're close then it's fine. It's great that you have a dimmer. I love having one. One that is programmable and tied to a thermostat is even better so you can let the computer adjust the light as needed.

A CHE is pretty good at projecting heat over the tank and are commonly used. A heat mat only heats what it's in contact with so they are less useful. In my mind the downside of a CHE is that they get incredibly hot to the touch and pose a burn risk. Instead, I use a heat projector bulb which is great at projecting heat but is just hot to the touch. I'm not sure what's available to you over there but this is what I use http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=196 You can have it shipped but I'm not sure how much that would add to the cost. This bulb works very well with a pulse dimmer connected to a thermostat.

If your dragon will be used to a water bowl, go ahead and add one. My dragon drinks from his bowl sometimes (other times he goes nuts in his tank and splashes water everywhere along with his food). If he doesn't show interest you can try to create movement by flicking the water with your finger. You can also provide water by dripping some on his nose to lick up. Some people have created an automatic water dripper using an inverted half coke bottle with a small hole drilled in the top. Suspend the inverted bottle over the water bowl, fill it with water, and let it drip into the bowl to create movement.

 

[CooperDragon]

Out of curiosity I measured the temperature of the CHE over my roach bin. The outside of the dome is between 60-70c which is hot enough to cause a burn. This is why it's best to keep them suspended well out of reach.

 

[Callista]

Thank you, Cooper, for your advise. I can't get that heat projector here, unfortunately, but I've suspended a CHE above the enclosure, and that helped a bit. Especially at night. The temperatures at the moment are:
Basking spot: 40°C (104f, so too high for an adult, I'm still figuring out how much I should dim my basking light)

On the platform on the left: 26°C (79f)

On the tiles on the left: 23°C (73.4f) I realise this is still too low. I'm still figuring out how to fix this...

All these temps have been measured with an infrared temp gun.

 

[CooperDragon]

Your temps are actually just right. The 104 basking spot is fine for an adult and you have a nice gradient down to the 70s. Lots of options available. I would leave it how it is now.

 

[Callista]

Really? Phew, that's one worry less.

Thank you for all your help!