| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 21:34:13
i have had a few problems with Boo's tank.
First I had a heatmat on a thermostat which only went to 81oF and so had a 25 watt light to boost the temp, unfortunately made to temp go to 96oF so had to keep turning the light on and off to keep the temp stable.
Then i was told to get a 75 watt infra red reflector red bulb and put it on a dimming thermostat and get rid of the heatmat. I swapped the matstat for a dimming thermostat today, brought a 60 watt red heat bulb and got it all set up, thought it was good till i realised that the bulb was too big for the guard, the guard was boiling in the heat.
So i decided to put the 40 watt bulb on the thermostat to see if that would work as it was smaller than the 60 watt. no luck as the 40 watt only managed to get to 82.9oF.
So for now i have had to put the heatmat and 25 watt bulb back in, and get another matstat for it, so ended up spending so much money these last two days i have no money left.
can i buy a 60 watt bulb, the same as i have but smaller, i see the bulbs go up in size as the wattage goes up, but surely you can buy a 60 watt light bulb that is say the same size as a 40 watt cause we have normal lightbulbs for the house that are all different wattages but are all the same size.
if not i am going to have to buy a bigger light guard, but to be honest i am thinking about getting a ceramic heater, so i dont end up with a lightbulb shop in my bedroom. do i need a heatmat with a ceramic heater or can the ceramic heater be used seperately.
if anyone knows that i can get a smaller sized 60 watt bulb then that would be great.
if not then gonna have to go to ceramic heater.
sorry about the length, nothing like this happened with my other snakes, so im kinda annoyed
thanks |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 21:20:22
thanks very much |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 20:10:12
That temp is fine. |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 19:54:53
Ok, the temperature is sitting at 31.1oC. I'm sure it will fluctuate, that's what happens, but this seems to be the temperature that it wants to sit on.
The light is very dim for a big bulb, and if I turn the stat down a bit more there is practically no light on at all.
Is 31.1oC a decent enough temperature, its between ambient and basking temperature so I'm hoping that this will be fine.
Guess the only way to tell if Boo is happy is if she eats mouse on thursday |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 19:28:01
its ok, i have that 3D background bark stuff that covers the wires. i have holes in it where the probs poke out of but all the wiring sits behind it, i took it out to show you where the prob was exactly.
its gonna be annoying putting it back though with Boo trying to rest.
but thanks for the advice anyway guys/girls |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 19:22:26
32*C is alright as a basking temp, though I prefer nearer 30. Turn the stat down a bit if you want it lower. Also, take the tape out of the viv, the snake wont appreciate it getting stuck on its skin or head. Use a cable nail instead. |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 19:07:12
ok this is the prob position with the bulb
i am measuring the temp in oC and have set the themostat to 30oC,but at the moment the digital thermometer is reading 32.2oC. the thermometer prob is placed in a corner at the hot end on top of the substrate the substrate. How long will the temperature to sort itself out, if i have set it to 30 is should go down to 30 but not sure how long it will take |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 18:47:39
ok, the light isnt infra red but it is a heat bulb, i will get an infra red in due time if its better. Boo has only just eaten so i dont expect her to be coming out of her hide for a while, i will take a picture of where the dimming thermostat probe is so that you can tell me if it ok, also i have set the dimmer to 88oF so im guessing right next to the bulb it will be about 95+ maybe 100oF |
| wolfspirit |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 18:46:12
as Matty says once the heat has had time to settle the guard will cool down...
that guard is fine for that bulb... |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 18:41:40
The guard will be hotter for the first half hour of the bulb being on. it should cool down after that time. |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 18:32:16
here are some pictures, the bulb just looks massive in the guard, i put my hand on the guard when the light has been on for 5 minutes and its boiling, thing is i cant tell whether it is the guard that it hot or the heat from the light, either way it burns my hand, so surely Boo????
 |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 09:49:31
I use 60W or 75W IR bulbs. |
| Remmy |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 09:02:30
Reptilekeeper, my guard is smaller than yours and my 100w fits in it, look at previous post. |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 07:10:33
Thanks spor. Wolfspirit said that i would need need a minimum of a 100 watt to heat up the 3 foot vivarium efficiently. This means that I am going to have to stick with the same size that the 100 watt you showed me is. which means i am going to have to get:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Infra-Red-Heat-Lamp-100W-R80-ES-Screw-in_W0QQitemZ120365115982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item1c0651ea4e&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262
followed by this because my one is too small
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6x6x8-HEAT-LAMP-LIGHT-BULB-GUARD-for-SNAKE-REPTILE_W0QQitemZ290308763238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item4397c02e66&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
hopefully once i get these things, the temperature and heating problem will stop being a pain |
| spor |
Posted - 04/10/2009 : 01:22:24
there are to main sizes you can get.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Infra-Red-Heat-Lamp-75W-R63-ES-Screw-in_W0QQitemZ120365116022QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item1c0651ea76&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262[/ur]
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Infra-Red-Heat-Lamp-100W-R80-ES-Screw-in_W0QQitemZ120365115982QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item1c0651ea4e&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262
the latter of the 2 may be what you have. i use the first on. 75w and this is where i buy them as well.
good luck |
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 22:51:27
if i cant get a smaller bulb, i will get ceramic.
888reptiles have 80mm (8cm i think) diamter ceramic bulbs, so if i replace that for bulb, put in bulb holder and use my light guard, will that be ok
i dont need to have the ir bulb because i only liked them cause they had a nice light to them, my bedroom light always on till about 3am so im never gonna not be able to see into the tank
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| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 22:45:29
my guard is the same size as one of these
http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/productdetails.php?ProductID=2677&ProductGroupID=1311
trouble is i cant have one going to much bigger, cause otherwise it would be near enough touching the floor, just need smaller bulb if possible.
|
| reptilekeeper1992 |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 22:38:13
ok, i am not sure what light guard make it is, i brought it from the pet shop because i needed one quickly, i will measure it quickly.....
not good on measuring 3D objects:
from viv ceiling downwards - 6 inches
from side to side - 4 inches
from front to back - 5 inches
(i dont know all this length width and depth stuff lol)
the vivarium is:
3ft long, 1.3ft tall, 1.4ft deep (front to back )
the 60 watt light bulb is massive, one of those wide bodied ones almost touches the side of the guard, so looking for a small 100 watt infra red reflector heat bulb if poss
be my pleasure to abuse me at my rubbish ways of measuring |
| wolfspirit |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 22:19:18
bulbs can be so frustrating cant they..
have you got one of Reptiles Inks guards ? what sort do you have?
not sure what area size you are trying to heat ...
but in my corn snakes viv i have a bog standard guard (not one of Daves) and a 75w IR, its not much bigger than a standard light bulb, but it struggles to keep the temps up..so i will eventually move that over to one of Daves hinged guards and a bigger wattage bulb.
i cant fit a bigger bulb in there, but with Daves guards in my other vivs i have the plesure of being able to put in a 150w ceramic a 100w IR and a 250 Ceramic and another 150w bulb...
the 150's and the 250w are bigger bulbs but still fit nicely into his guards..
If your heating a 3 foot viv then i have found the bulb needs to be a minimum of a 100w to heat it sufficiently for a royal,
it would be cheaper for you to get a guard than a ceramic heater though surely...
|
| Remmy |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 22:11:36
Hi reptilekeeper, How big is your guard? I have a 100w IR bulb in tillys viv and that fits into a standard guard. It is a Komodo and i got it from 888 reptiles but you might be able to get it somewhere local. |
