Monitor enclosure discussion thread - Page 24

infernalis · 10-01-13, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Halogen bulbs were being recommended and used long before Wayne came into the hobby!

Yes they were....

I didn't invent anything other than a slick web site.

TarantulaSteve · 10-03-13, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, can you give some details of how you keep your captive Varanids?
I agree with you that there`s more than one way to do things, but surely something that`s been proven to work very efficiently (helps to offer the animals supportive conditions) is the way to go. Halogen bulbs were being recommended and used long before Wayne came into the hobby!

You make a very good point, and something I overlooked. Halogens are proven and cheap, and perhaps we should be suggesting their use over everything else.
I just got my cackles up earlier because after Formica said his basking spot was sitting pretty at 132.8F using a CHE, you respond that CHE's arent good for basking spots......

They might not be the best option, but that doesnt mean they are a bad one.

formica · 06-01-13, 02:57 PM

taken all the advice onboard and created a new enclosure setup, now using halogen directional lights, a 3 lamp block (9£ including lamps from Argos, score!) with 3 X 50W lights, actually only using 2 because it gives a good 60-70C spread on a log, 3 lamps gave 140C (centigrade not F!!)

when i had one 75W halogen, he never sat directly underneath it, and it only ever hit 50C. but lets see how he feels about the larger and more varied tempretures!

Enclosure is new, sealed 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft, still not his final home, but has a nice tempreture gradient down to 25C, center is 30C, and he has 5inches soil to make a burron at one end if he likes (creative use of drift wood to make a 'bank' of sorts)

noticed he is molting, shame i had to make changes to his housing today! but he's in a better encloser now, lots of humidity and temperature variations to should settle nicely now

suz1000 · 09-13-13, 08:35 PM

My current enclosure is 4x2x2.5 and is laid out nicely but there are so many more options with the extra space I'd like to utilize it correctly

smy_749 · 10-03-13, 08:05 PM

I personally think they are a difficult option. The heat is sent in every which direction, so to get a proper basking spot you usually need a very high wattage bulb since only a certain amount is sent straight downward. This high wattage then bumps the ambients usually to where you don't want them, and humidity plummets. Imo, its very very easy to find the balance/proper wattage with halogen floods and I would only use maybe a 60 watt CHE set to 75 on a thermostat if my house was very cold (which its not).

Also, I don't think anyone here says there is only one way to do things, however, just about ALL of the successful keepers of varanids are doing these techniques. These ways have proven results over many many years so why change it to something which clearly shows no added benefit, and isn't any cheaper.

franks · 10-03-13, 08:34 PM

I agree with the above about ceramic heat emitters being a more difficult option. Also, in every case where I tried to implement one, it dried the air out and killed the humidity significantly more than a halogen bulb.

varanus_mad · 10-04-13, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franks

I agree with the above about ceramic heat emitters being a more difficult option. Also, in every case where I tried to implement one, it dried the air out and killed the humidity significantly more than a halogen bulb.

precisely why monitor keepers in general dont use them that and CHEs are quite frankly dangerous if your stat fails... they overheat extremely extremely quickly

BH Varanus · 10-11-13, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varanus_mad

precisely why monitor keepers in general dont use them that and CHEs are quite frankly dangerous if your stat fails... they overheat extremely extremely quickly

Honesly, I have never had an issue with CME's for my monitor enclosures, but i definitely think that the stat quality is a huge factor. I'm not opposed to UV but if i do I use them in the winter combined with UVB'. However, when my monitor is gravid and i'm using the night bulb in which case i use a lower wattage CME and omit the uvb ( just my strategy). I think opinions will always vary on this topic. I have found that using commercial grad timers, thermostats, etc. increases the life of CME's I actually don't purchase any enclosure equipment from pet stores or pet supplies manufactures I feel that this has greatly lessened the likely hood of failure. I mean that's what works for me though over the past 13 years.

Also since CME's have gained popularity like anything else manufacture have sacrificed quality for quantity. The last CME I had ran for 12 months on a 12 hour timer. Now I'm lucky if i get 6 months...ugh...

formica · 10-04-13, 01:28 AM

just to say I switched back to Halogens pretty quickly - the Ceramic was only suitable for covering a small area, which my Sav had ougrown with a couple of weeks, and my Sav was not getting the humidity he needed in that enclosure - GU10's where used until he was 2.5months (give or take birth>sale age) and E27's since then

not sure what thermostats fail in the ON position, i've yet to come across that issue myself? seems like an absurd design flaw, which makes do this?

smy_749 · 10-04-13, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formica

just to say I switched back to Halogens pretty quickly - the Ceramic was only suitable for covering a small area, which my Sav had ougrown with a couple of weeks, and my Sav was not getting the humidity he needed in that enclosure - GU10's where used until he was 2.5months (give or take birth>sale age) and E27's since then

not sure what thermostats fail in the ON position, i've yet to come across that issue myself? seems like an absurd design flaw, which makes do this?

All of them can. Once your probe goes whacko, anything can happen....

formica · 10-04-13, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

All of them can. Once your probe goes whacko, anything can happen....

Ive only used microclimate and habistat, and they have all failed ''Off'' when they did eventually go, is there any more specific info you can give me? because it seems to me that this is a pretty major flaw in the design if this is happening - i've heard it mentioned, but only on this forum in the last few months

smy_749 · 10-04-13, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formica

Ive only used microclimate and habistat, and they have all failed ''Off'' when they did eventually go, is there any more specific info you can give me? because it seems to me that this is a pretty major flaw in the design if this is happening - i've heard it mentioned, but only on this forum in the last few months

Again, not talking about the stat itself. I'm sure there is a fail safe like you are talking about so they turn off. I'm simply referring to the probe going haywire. When any of these probes are exposed to extreme heat or cold or whatever, they tend to stop working. Now, the stat still works, but if the probe is reading 40 degrees F then you will have a problem....

fldaddy2 · 10-07-13, 11:47 AM

I was using a Zoomed thermostat that stuck on all the time. Just a light thump and it would turn off. Never had a problem coming on, but it damn near cooked my sav a few times (120 ambient). Until I moved it to my blackthroat enclosure (after working on it and mounting it differently)and he ripped the probe off. It's now in the county landfill. Since then I have just played with different wattage lights and combinations and locations until I got my enclosures to stay consistent where they should be.

TarantulaSteve · 10-14-13, 05:32 PM

I use a 100w CHE with my Red Tail Boa on a dimmer, and have been able to maintain temps and humidity in her aquarium. I work from home, and keep my animals in the office. Or more accurately, keep my work station in the exotics room. I check temps daily, and look over each and every animal enclosure more than once per day, and have for the past few years.

I read everything I can and make up my own mind. If something doesnt work, I do more research and change it. Aquariums arent ideal for monitors, CHEs may not be ideal for monitors. But if your handy enough you can make it work for you and your monitor lizard.

murrindindi · 10-15-13, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarantulaSteve

I use a 100w CHE with my Red Tail Boa on a dimmer, and have been able to maintain temps and humidity in her aquarium. I work from home, and keep my animals in the office. Or more accurately, keep my work station in the exotics room. I check temps daily, and look over each and every animal enclosure more than once per day, and have for the past few years.

I read everything I can and make up my own mind. If something doesnt work, I do more research and change it. Aquariums arent ideal for monitors, CHEs may not be ideal for monitors. But if your handy enough you can make it work for you and your monitor lizard.

Hi, I suspect your snake doesn`t need or use a surface temp between approx. 50 to 60c+, the CHE`s are NOT suitable for creating these temps at the basking site simply because the heat is directed all around as previously stated, they also dry out the air to a much greater extent than for example the relatively low wattage halogen (flood) bulbs, though I have and still do use them for raising the ambient temps at times (during the night, very cold weather).
It would be good if you could explain how you provide those basking temps with CHE`s, and also how you control the humidity range in your Varanid enclosures if you primarily use those (size of enclosure, wattages, distance from animal/s, etc)? Thanks!