tank warm up times ???

[christina0]

hi, so with the fluctuating temperatures here in Ireland (its actually getting kinda warm!!!) i've noticed my 3 year old beardie hasnt been basking much and is hiding on the cool side of the tank. my tank is a viv exotic 4x2x2. i had been using a 40watt and a 60watt spotlight together in the tank and was getting about 35-38 degress warm side and around 26-28 degrees on the cool side. now those same spotlights caused the temps to be around 41 degrees on the warm side and a little warmer on the basking rocks. i took out the spotlights and replaced them with ordinary clear household bulbs so the heat isnt as concentrated in one particular area so i can try and get the basking temps back to normal. now this is my first time using regular house hold bulbs and i've noticed the viv doesnt heat up as fast in the morning so im wondering how long does it take to get your beardies tank temperatures up to normal after turning on the lights? im getting a little frustrated trying to figure this out and for the last few days all i seem to be doing is putting in different light bulbs (i've bought loads ) and moving the digital probe around trying to get it right. any advice would be appreciated.

 

[tgolden]

am I understanding your temps right? 26 to 28 degrees? [inappropriate comment removed by moderator]

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Enclosures]

************************

The temp readings are probably °C, not °F.

What wattage are the household bulbs? I use a 100 watt clear bulb for the cool side (under normal circumstances, it'd be about ~85°F [29°C]) and a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for their basking side (~95°F [35°C], because my babies doesn't like their temps higher than 100).
The regular household bulbs does take some time to heat up, about an hour or so, whereas the CHE would take about a half hour.

 

[christina0]

am I understanding your temps right? 26 to 28 degrees? [inappropriate comment removed by moderator]

no, in ireland we use degress celcius not fahrenheit, and thats 26-28 degrees c on the cool side. if you read the post in full you would have seen it was about the temps being a little too high, not too low. i have around 38 degrees c on the warm side which is the equivalent of about 100 degrees f. so no, you're not right. and thank you so much for your very unhelpful and sarcastic comment

 

[christina0]

[Moved from General to Enclosures]

************************

The temp readings are probably °C, not °F.

What wattage are the household bulbs? I use a 100 watt clear bulb for the cool side (under normal circumstances, it'd be about ~85°F [29°C]) and a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for their basking side (~95°F [35°C], because my babies doesn't like their temps higher than 100).
The regular household bulbs does take some time to heat up, about an hour or so, whereas the CHE would take about a half hour.

thanks, the degrees are in c, not f, i have figured if i use a 40 watt spotlight along with a 60 watt ordinary household bulb it maintains basking temperatures at around 36 degrees. i was just wondering was it normal for tank temperatures to take a little longer to heat up if not using spotlights.

 

[Goonie]

{Correction: I'm using a 40 watt, not 100 }
When I stopped using basking bulbs and switched to regular household bulbs, I also had a really hard time in getting the right temps. I started with a 100 watt (baked my poor baby), then 75, then 60; none of them gave the readings that I had wanted. I finally went with a 40 watt and it gave me the most optimal cool side temp. Their light fixture is 17 inches from the floor of their viv. It took a long time for me to figure out which bulb was right.

Unfortunately, the room temp will cause the temps to fluctuate to undesired numbers too.

As long as the basking side's temps rises fast enough to a higher temp, does it really matter that the cool side doesn't?

 

[diamc]

am I understanding your temps right? 26 to 28 degrees?

am I understanding your temps right? 26 to 28 degrees? [inappropriate comment removed by moderator]

no, in ireland we use degress celcius not fahrenheit, and thats 26-28 degrees c on the cool side. if you read the post in full you would have seen it was about the temps being a little too high, not too low. i have around 38 degrees c on the warm side which is the equivalent of about 100 degrees f. so no, you're not right. and thank you so much for your very unhelpful and sarcastic comment

Sarcasm and rudeness are not allowed on this forum so I suggest that you choose your words more carefully and compassionate. This member was just trying to be helpful and was confused about the temps you had posted, although he shouldn't have worded his comment the way he did.

 

[bayoupig5]

Hello Ireland,

I know how difficult it can be regulating those temps. I live in Canada, and lately it has been 8 C/46 F one day with rain, and literally 23 C or 74F the next in the sun. The temps are all over the board in the home and in the viv. I tend not to worry so much about the cool side temps as long as they do not drop below 15.5 C or 60 F, sometimes in the summer cool side temps get very high, and have been as high as 32 C or 90 F. Not much can be done about that, but I did mist her during these times and give her extra baths, and most recently bought a portable air conditioner to regulate the home temp, which I must admit has been nicer for me too. :wink:

Basking temps I try to normally keep around 37-40 C or 98-104 F, however the normal weather variation wreak havoc on trying to keep this level. I too got very tired of changing light bulbs, different kinds, different wattages, etc, for as often as the changes occurred.

So now I use a 50 watt halogen spot (household) for her basking spot, but also use an adjustable switch. I think this is a Fluker's Ceramic Clamp Lamp with dimmable switch. I then adjust the light intensity that way to get better regulation.

With this lamp it does take a while to reach maximum warmth, I would say about an hour, but this does not seem to bother with the lizards overall health or happiness.