KSB lighting question

[Katielou0071317]

I have my Kenyan in a darker area, so is there a recommended light I should use during the daytime? I don't want it to get its days and nights mixed up nor do I want something getting the terrainum too hot.

[jay's reptiles]

a regular 65- 70 watt bulb from walmart should produce enough heat and daylight for daytime. 65watts produce about 88-92 from a foot away of the enclosure floor.

[TRD]

...65watts produce about 88-92 from a foot away of the enclosure floor
...depending on your room's ambient temp, enclosure size, enclosure type (glass, plastic, wood, ...), ventilation, bulb type, ...

My room temp is 25 C, with a 40W spot, I get a 32 C floor temp @ 35 cm distance (bulb to sand)

KSB can handle some heat, but do really need a gradient. 31-32 C spot heated with a gradient to about 26 C is fine for them.

[dannybgoode]

Any heat source must be used in conjunction with a thermostat really for it to be safe...

[TRD]

Can agree if it's a heat source that can reach temps that become unsafe. I don't have a thermostat on any of my vivariums, but I only use lights to heat and have a temp gun that I use 1-2x per week to check. If too hot I just change to lower wattage light... This is mostly only when the season changes from winter to spring, or autumn to winter. My room temps are all year between 24 C (winter) to 26 C (summer).

Thermostat is really needed when you use heat sources that CAN go way beyond safety, like CHEs, UTHs, RHPs, or using overly powerful lights due to heavily fluctuating or very low ambient temps.

But, I do agree, thermostat is one of the only ways to be 99% sure around the clock... But even then you still need to check often because your snake may move the probe, it may malfunction, etc. It's just another safety measure.

[dannybgoode]

My probes are immobile but yes I always have a second thermometer in all my vivs and my stats are designed to fail off not on - in a normal domestic setting no heat is better than too much for a short period of time.

And yes agree to an extent re: heat from a lightbulb but I just wouldn't risk a Viv with a stat personally.