problem with basking light

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by nepoez

OK. that would be a big cut back, let's see how this goes for the next 2 weeks then! thx again.

And my guy is a guy I think. After he poos, he always walk around then pauses, and sticks his hemipenis out a few times.. it looks like a flower from mars or something I hate looking at it. I was told the flower shape means he's male?

Yes, if the hemipenes are "fancy" at the end it`s a male. It does make it somewhat easier for you because at least you won`t need to worry about having to provide a suitable nesting site (basically the whole enclosure).
Stick to the diet, otherwise it won`t work and don`t worry about him being hungry and needing to have "a little bit more", that will not help at all!

[nepoez]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Yes, if the hemipenes are "fancy" at the end it`s a male. It does make it somewhat easier for you because at least you won`t need to worry about having to provide a suitable nesting site (basically the whole enclosure).
Stick to the diet, otherwise it won`t work and don`t worry about him being hungry and needing to have "a little bit more", that will not help at all!

Right, perhaps I just slipped into the american diet for him, meaning he should eat until he's full. But that's not how nature works. Just eat till you are not starving should be more like it.

I hope the over feeding is the issue. Only time will tell..

thx

[nepoez]

updated the cage so the basking platform is bigger and spread out the lights...

[formica]

stil looks like 3 separate hot spots to me, i'd raise them personally for a more even distribution of heat

[nepoez]

I'm having trouble with that though. If I raise it higher it won't be as hot anymore.. so I think I'll have to make them closer to each other.

Originally Posted by formica

stil looks like 3 separate hot spots to me, i'd raise them personally for a more even distribution of heat

[formica]

Originally Posted by nepoez

I'm having trouble with that though. If I raise it higher it won't be as hot anymore.. so I think I'll have to make them closer to each other.

did you see my list of temperatures and wood types on the previous page? I use Cork for exactly this reason, it allows for a good basking temp without having to use lots of power - I am using only 35W floods

experiment with diffrent woods, or perhaps even stone, which will hold even more heat

[infernalis]

are you sure they are not spotlight bulbs?

[murrindindi]

I think they do look more like spot than flood bulbs, but it may just be that the distance is relatively short so the beam isn`t as wide?
I personally would have tried 75w (and fit a dimmer switch), at least you could raise them a little more which should widen the beams and still get a decent surface temp. I don`t think it would be money wasted on the current bulbs because during the warmer weather next year you might still make use of them.
Edit: Is the new basking shelf sealed, it looks like bare wood?

[nepoez]

I'm sure it's flood light, pretty sure, but i threw the boxes away already so no way to be sure 100%. Either way, I guess I'll go get the 75w... not sure how to install a dimmer though.

also that's just bare plywood. is that a problem?

[formica]

its pretty easy to tell the diffrence between flood and spot, spot lights have a smooth reflector (like a mirror), and the glass on the front is clear and smooth; flood lights tend to have either a diffused/frosted or bubbled glass front, and the reflector is usually not smooth like a mirror, but may have bubbles or some other effect which spreads the light

[nepoez]

Originally Posted by formica

its pretty easy to tell the diffrence between flood and spot, spot lights have a smooth reflector (like a mirror), and the glass on the front is clear and smooth; flood lights tend to have either a diffused/frosted or bubbled glass front, and the reflector is usually not smooth like a mirror, but may have bubbles or some other effect which spreads the light

thx! it's flood then, the glass is distorted like my small floods.

[formica]

the other thing to note, is the angle at which they distribute the light, even floods can be quite narrow beam width compared to what is needed for a basking area - obviously if you dont know the angle of these ones, its going to be hit and miss - but if you measure the diameter of the widest part, and buy a slightly wider one, that would be a good place to start



for basking areas closer to the lights, i've personally found that the diffused/frosted bulbs distribute the heat a bit better, thats what I am using in my enclosure - the ones with bubbled fronts gave hot spots similar to what I am seeing in your pic above

[murrindindi]

Hi, I use the 75w "Sylvania Hi-spot 95" 30% flood (the 95 is mm diameter), and mine are approx. 50cm above the basking surface which gives me a decent spread of heat/light.

Edit: The glue used to fix the layers of plywood together is toxic, so if they happen to slightly open with the heat and humidity it might cause a problem over time, better to seal it with a couple of coats of water based varnish. If you can get the quick drying type it would be ready to use in 2 or 3 hours.
Are the bulb fixtures ceramic?

[nepoez]

shiit... i didn't know that about the plywood and toxic... I think I might replace the whole thing with some other wood instead....