Advice heating a large enclosier

bluesox_68 · 12-27-15, 05:46 PM

I upgraded my bearded dragons enclosier and I can't seem to get the heat over 85 in the day. If she needs to warm up she can climb but last night it dropped to 69. And this is only day 2 so she's not comftable or adventuress yet. I have 4 lights and I should be ok. Ones a fluorescent so I don't expect heat from that but the rest are a 125 Exo terra watt solar glow, a power sun 100watt and a red 100watt zoo med basking bulb spot light. Any tips or advice would be great. I think the dimensions are 56x24x28? I'm working on getting some pictures.

bluesox_68 · 12-27-15, 05:54 PM

Another pic

bluesox_68 · 12-27-15, 05:56 PM

The silver light is just a blue nightlight but I put another hood and light up that's not in the pic

trailblazer295 · 12-27-15, 06:44 PM

That's a really tall enclousure, is it possible to add more "ramps" so he can move closer the a given heat source?

bluesox_68 · 12-27-15, 06:49 PM

That's a great idea. I will figure something out but any thoughts to raise the overall temp? I'm sure if she wanted to climb to the peak right now it's over 100. Thanks for the idea!

trailblazer295 · 12-27-15, 06:57 PM

I haven't kept a glass dessert terrarium but I'll guess increase bulb wattage size or increase room temp. What's the ambient room temp? Any drafts?

Someone with more experience will chime in to help.

murrindindi · 12-28-15, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesox_68

That's a great idea. I will figure something out but any thoughts to raise the overall temp? I'm sure if she wanted to climb to the peak right now it's over 100. Thanks for the idea!

Hi, the reason you can`t properly control the temps is the screen top, there is no way to control the humidity either (and no need for all that wattage). I suggest you cover the screen as completely as possible (you can use kitchen foil as a quick fix). Obviously if you do that the temps will rise somewhat, so check them carefully. Contrary to popular opinion Bearded dragons DO require a moderate humidity ranging @ between approx. 30 to 50%+.
In some parts of their wild range the humidity can get to 60% or so at times and the places these animals shelter are likely to be significantly higher in humidity than the outside air. I`m talking from personal experience with them in the wild for many years.
Edit: The screen is also blocking out a significant amount of UVB, also, there is evidence to suggest the American (and Canadian?) brand of "Powersun" MVB`s are not very effective regarding the amount of UVB they emit (possibly because of the lower voltage which I believe is 120v, at least in America)?

**Tsubaki** · 12-28-15, 02:29 PM

A RHP should help, however this does make me wonder.. Did you take the reach of the UV light into account? Many Uv lamps only have an incredibly short range in which they produce enough UVB, especially for animals with such high needs as bearded dragons. Did you measure the UVB output on the basking area?

bluesox_68 · 12-28-15, 05:30 PM

I covered the lids with tinfoil, great tip! Before tinfoil I was getting 82 on the basking side. If you look in the picture right above you can see where the probe for the thermometer is. So far flash hasn't climbed to the top basking spot and is more interested chasing her reflection. I looked at the humidity and its 32% that might change with the tinfoil though. Can you enplane the not needing all that wattage? I would rather not use it all but i thought that was my only choice to push the heat. Oh and thanks again

murrindindi · 12-28-15, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesox_68

I covered the lids with tinfoil, great tip! Before tinfoil I was getting 82 on the basking side. If you look in the picture right above you can see where the probe for the thermometer is. So far flash hasn't climbed to the top basking spot and is more interested chasing her reflection. I looked at the humidity and its 32% that might change with the tinfoil though. Can you enplane the not needing all that wattage? I would rather not use it all but i thought that was my only choice to push the heat. Oh and thanks again

Hi again, if the top is covered as completely as possible you won`t be losing as much heat (or humidity), therefore you won`t need as much wattage.
To make it easier for you, you only basically need to know two temps; the lowest ambient (air) @ between approx. 21 to 24c (72 to 75f) in the coolest parts, then the SURFACE temp of the basking object @ between approx. 40 to 45c (105 to 115f) during the day.
Nighttime, I personally wouldn`t go below 19c (68f) unless the animal was brumating.
If you use a flat piece of stone/similar as a basking object it will hold the heat more efficiently, I also recommend using a halogen bulb for that purpose, either par 30 or par 38 (par refers to the bulb face diameter), these bulbs can be fitted with a dimmer switch which makes it much easier to adjust the surface temp (or obviously you can raise/lower the bulb or basking object), you MUST use a ceramic fixture. They are cheap to buy and can last up to 3,000 hours. You should be able to buy them on eBay, or any decent hardware store. This is an example of the type I`m currently using... The basking site of one of my Asian water monitors, I need more bulbs because of his size but it will give you an idea of how to set up the basking site for your Bearded dragon (you may only need a single bulb to achieve the surface temp I recommended).

bluesox_68 · 12-28-15, 07:10 PM

Thanks! So basically I need to head to a hardware store and get a flood light bulb to pump out heat then? All my lights have the the ceramic housing too. I'm hoping with that bulb I can eliminate 2 fixtures so I just have the uv sun glow bulb and the flood and run a ceramic at night time. Does that sound about right? Any tips on how to convince my wife to let me get flash a roommate lol

murrindindi · 12-29-15, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesox_68

Thanks! So basically I need to head to a hardware store and get a flood light bulb to pump out heat then? All my lights have the the ceramic housing too. I'm hoping with that bulb I can eliminate 2 fixtures so I just have the uv sun glow bulb and the flood and run a ceramic at night time. Does that sound about right? Any tips on how to convince my wife to let me get flash a roommate lol

Personally I would use a T5 UVB fluorescent tube rather than the MVB (I haven't used the brand you mention so can`t comment on it`s efficiency, can you give me a link to the product?
No need to convince your wife to let you get the dragon a roommate, because they are best kept alone unless you intend breeding (they are VERY territorial). Even if they were both female it could be stressful for both, two males are quite likely to fight, at best inflicting moderate injuries, at worst fatal.

jjhill001 · 12-29-15, 02:05 PM

Is that one of the National Geographic cages?

bluesox_68 · 12-30-15, 05:00 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I bought 2 Phillips 90 watt halogen bulbs and now I'm having a consistent temp of 94in most of the terrerium and a basking spot of of up to 110 so I'm pretty happy with the results! Also I'm not sure of the name brand. I would love to know but the sticker is half torn, all I see is repti. I know it's not national geographic though.