Temps!

[GEO20]

Hi everyone,

My beardie is about 11 inches and housed in a 55 gallon tank. i have a 150 watt bulb for his basking spot but my temps are only reading about 98. I have a piece of wood 6 inches from the bulb and it still isnt hot enough..would a 200 wat bulb be too much? or could i just put him even closr to the bulb? here is a link to another topic with pics of the tank viewtopic.php?f=30&t=115242&hilit=

thank you!
-George

 

[dragons1222]

what are you measuring the temps with?

i cant see how it isnt getting hot enough at that close to the bulb (not that you are lying) its just that 150 watts is alot and should easily get to 115 at 6 inches


from your other post it looks like you have the dial stick on thermometers?

those are very innacurate (can be up to 20degrees off) you need to get a digital thermometer with a probe(or a temp gun_ and put the probe exactly where he sits to get the correct temperature reading

 

[GEO20]

what are you measuring the temps with?

i cant see how it isnt getting hot enough at that close to the bulb (not that you are lying) its just that 150 watts is alot and should easily get to 115 at 6 inches

Yea i wonder the same thing..i have a digital thermometer with a probe, i got it off of petmountain. http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-thermometers/509769/coralife-digital-thermometer.html

 

[dragons1222]

oops you replied as i was changing my previous post

maybe try new bateries?

is the probe exactly where he sits?

his basking spot looks further than 6 inches in those photos but pics can be deceiving lol

try moving it closer to the bulb a few inches

 

[GEO20]

oops you replied as i was changing my previous post

maybe try new bateries?

is the probe exactly where he sits?

it looks further than 6 inches in those photos but pics can be deceiving lol

try moving it closer to the bulb a few inches

Yeah i moved it about an inch and a half closer and still its reading under 100..and its brand new so i dont think it is batteries

 

[dragons1222]

what is your house temp?

i had problems with that perticular thermometer
it would fluctuate alot and the batterie died very shortly after i got it(maybe 5-6 months)

figured it was inncorrect when it read 15 degrees lol

 

[GEO20]

what is your house temp?

i had problems with that perticular thermometer
it would fluctuate alot and the batterie died very shortly after i got it(maybe 5-6 months)

figured it was inncorrect when it read 15 degrees lol

House is about 68 right now...i just moved the wood up so he is about 5 inches from the top..temps now read 106...2 inched made a pretty big jump. Is this safe?

 

[dragons1222]

yes that should be fine

it is just a regular bulb right? not a mvb?

our house is around 68 and i definatly dont have problems getting proper temps(of course i am on the second floor with several reptile bulbs on plus other appliences)

at the hottest spot it can get up to 130 sometimes(in summer)

but they dont have to use that spot they have many basking areas to choose from by moving closer and further away from the bulb

 

[SARBEAR]

A 200 watt seems a bit too much..I have a 100 watt in my 40 gal and am getting temps up at 108.
What are you using to measure the temps with?

 

[gandhi]

Het guys. I've just put Gandhi in his new 4 foot viv and he seems to love it - especially as i've got rid of the repti - glo compact bulb from his old viv and got and arcadia strip lamp.

The only thing i want to double check are the temps (I'm using a probe therm to measure these). The basking spot is perfect - 108 and the cool side is about 84. I know this is fine but for some reason the ambient temp in parts of the hot end are about 86. does this matter because the basking spot and cool end are perfect- I guess because the spotlight shines dirrectly onto the basking area its more of a intense heat instead of spreading it about!

Any help would be great because I thought the ambient hot end should be between 90-100?

 

[FATBOYDADRAGON]

Hello
Sounds to me you have a perfect set up.
The ambient temp on hot ends sounds OK
You want the 105 to 110 basking area to be this hot to help you're
dragon digest his/her food.
Good Job
Enjoy you're Dragon
Mike D.

 

[diamc]

GEO20, I merged your threads together as there were quite a few about the same subject. It makes it much easier that way for members to respond and helps keep the forum neater.

 

[gandhi]

Thanks Mike - I just wanted to check that 85 wasn't too cool for the ambient hot end but I guess as the basking spot is good it's ok. He seems happy anyway - spends lots of time basking - usually before and after eating which I guess is also good.

Thanks

Gina