Thermostats? And bearded dragons?

[TheBeard9789]

In a few weeks I'm going to be out of the house from 8am to 3pm and it's making me uneasy not being home. What worries me is I constantly check my beardies temps like a hawk to make sure it's not to high or low. When I'm not home I have no way of checking the temps but I heard people use thermostats. I have a BP and I use a thermostat with a radiant heat panel and a heat pad under the enclosure. How exactly would that work with basking bulbs? Or would I need to completely change their enclosures to use a thermostat?

 

[Lobretto]

You wont have any issues leaving for that short of time. Most of us have day jobs and our besrdies are left at home for 8 hours or more without anyone around. You shouldn't have to constant move your basking light, I never have to. It ok for there to be little swings in basking temp while your away. Say your home temp goes up from 72 to 77 while you are gone, the basking spot should mimic this aka go from 100 to 105. We set our basking spots up to have a range they can choose from, if the hottest spot gets a little to hot they will just move over to a slightly cooler spot. If you are super worried about it then replace the basking light with a ceramic heat emitter when you are gone. They are far better on thermostats then actual bulbs.

 

[TheBeard9789]

You wont have any issues leaving for that short of time. Most of us have day jobs and our besrdies are left at home for 8 hours or more without anyone around. You shouldn't have to constant move your basking light, I never have to. It ok for there to be little swings in basking temp while your away. Say your home temp goes up from 72 to 77 while you are gone, the basking spot should mimic this aka go from 100 to 105. We set our basking spots up to have a range they can choose from, if the hottest spot gets a little to hot they will just move over to a slightly cooler spot. If you are super worried about it then replace the basking light with a ceramic heat emitter when you are gone. They are far better on thermostats then actual bulbs.

I normally don't mind leaving it the way it is and this isn't a excuse but with the pandemic I'm accustomed to being from home. I guess having it in the mid 80s is better than to be way to hot 100+ I'll figure something out. But as you said they will move if they are hot I may just get a better done to make the "spot" tighter to bask

 

[Lobretto]

I normally don't mind leaving it the way it is and this isn't a excuse but with the pandemic I'm accustomed to being from home. I guess having it in the mid 80s is better than to be way to hot 100+ I'll figure something out. But as you said they will move if they are hot I may just get a better done to make the "spot" tighter to bask

I like my basking spot to be wider not tighter. That allows for a bigger temp gradient. My basking area ranges from 95 to 115. They get to choose where they want to be within that area. My basking area is about 1/6th of my 4x2x2 enclosure.

 

[TheBeard9789]

I like my basking spot to be wider not tighter. That allows for a bigger temp gradient. My basking area ranges from 95 to 115. They get to choose where they want to be within that area. My basking area is about 1/6th of my 4x2x2 enclosure.

Wow 115? I heard 110 was dangerous I have a resin platform & I have noticed they stay longer and more frequent between 90-98. Sometimes I will have it around 101-102 but generally my room/house keeps their temps a bit higher. It allows them to not have to bask directly under it but will hang and sit under the UVB and still be hot 90-95

 

[xp29]

Age determines temp. Lobretto has young dragons so they need higher temps. (His beardies are gorgeous)

 

[Lobretto]

Wow 115? I heard 110 was dangerous I have a resin platform & I have noticed they stay longer and more frequent between 90-98. Sometimes I will have it around 101-102 but generally my room/house keeps their temps a bit higher. It allows them to not have to bask directly under it but will hang and sit under the UVB and still be hot 90-95

Yeah I got babies so they get a bit more heat at the peak spot. But technically the way mine is set up I could leave it as they have mutiple platforms of varying temps. If the highest spot is to hot for an adult it'll just move down a couple inches.

 

[TheBeard9789]

Yeah I got babies so they get a bit more heat at the peak spot. But technically the way mine is set up I could leave it as they have mutiple platforms of varying temps. If the highest spot is to hot for an adult it'll just move down a couple inches.

Ohh ok my bad I didn't think that through I was like "WOW that's hot" but that makes sense. My 2 girls are over 2 1/2 and almost 4 1/2 normally they seem to like the lower temps. I thought a deep dome allowed a tighter spot to beam right on the basking platform. Plus some bulbs are a bit bigger depending on the manufacturer. Would a bigger/smaller dome be better for the platforms? I'm looking to use some brick slate and other stones to offer a natural feeling for them

 

[Lobretto]

Ohh ok my bad I didn't think that through I was like "WOW that's hot" but that makes sense. My 2 girls are over 2 1/2 and almost 4 1/2 normally they seem to like the lower temps. I thought a deep dome allowed a tighter spot to beam right on the basking platform. Plus some bulbs are a bit bigger depending on the manufacturer. Would a bigger/smaller dome be better for the platforms? I'm looking to use some brick slate and other stones to offer a natural feeling for them

It really comes down to space and what basking bulb you use. If your using a smaller enclosure like a 40 gallon breeder then a deep dome with a smaller diameter will help contain the heat but in a larger 4x2x2 enclosure you have room to make a large basking area which will generally be accomplished with a larger diameter shallow dome. Using 90watt par38 halogen flood lamps on dimmers for basking makes accomplishing either style a breeze. For the tighter smaller basking area the deep dome small diameter dimmed to about half to 3/4 power for me makes a great basking area for an adukt beardie but at a set temp throughout. Put the same bulb in a shallow dome with large diameter and don't dim it and you'll get what I have now, a large basking area with temps ranging for the 90s to 115, all I need to do to drop that 115 to 110 is dim the light 5% or so. I like having the large basking area with a big temp range so my beardies can choose where they want to be at any given moment. Like in the mornings they tend to stay in the mid range, then they eat and they'll be at the hottest spot for about 30 minutes to an hour before moving back down to a cooler spot.

 

[TheBeard9789]

It really comes down to space and what basking bulb you use. If your using a smaller enclosure like a 40 gallon breeder then a deep dome with a smaller diameter will help contain the heat but in a larger 4x2x2 enclosure you have room to make a large basking area which will generally be accomplished with a larger diameter shallow dome. Using 90watt par38 halogen flood lamps on dimmers for basking makes accomplishing either style a breeze. For the tighter smaller basking area the deep dome small diameter dimmed to about half to 3/4 power for me makes a great basking area for an adukt beardie but at a set temp throughout. Put the same bulb in a shallow dome with large diameter and don't dim it and you'll get what I have now, a large basking area with temps ranging for the 90s to 115, all I need to do to drop that 115 to 110 is dim the light 5% or so. I like having the large basking area with a big temp range so my beardies can choose where they want to be at any given moment. Like in the mornings they tend to stay in the mid range, then they eat and they'll be at the hottest spot for about 30 minutes to an hour before moving back down to a cooler spot.

Makes sense I have never used dimmers for my dragons (only for my BP) I have been flip flopping 28w 40w 53w and 100w. Normally in the winter a 75w-100W will be perfect between 90-100 degrees i have a super deep dome I found it wider and deeper than a cheap clamp light. Once i upgrade I am gonna put more rocks and get rid of most of the resin platforms. I may look in to a dimmer switch my Amber doesn't bask directly under her dome but slides a bit down at a angel to bask since it's so wide