How do all of you keep a constant, good enough temp over the basking spot in your tanks? I have digital thermometer with the probe attached to the top of the basking log. I have a clamp on light and I started with a 100 watt bulb. All day the temp was reading around 100 but I noticed that the dragons kept sitting on the lower levels and over on the other side of the tank. I moved the log so that the probe was actually directly below the lamp (same height as before, just more directly under it) and them temp shot up to 115. I fooled around with heights of the lamp, but again the temp was shooting up over 107. Then I switched to a 75 watt bulb and the temp dropped to 90. I lowered the height on the lamp and the temp jumped to 106. I raised the lamp, and it went even higher. I fooled with it for about 45 minutes then gave up since it was bed time for the babies anyway. This morning I turned the lamp on and it was sticking to about 89-90, so again I lowered it (just a tiny bit) and it jumped to 106.5. I tried moving the light a little bit so that it didnt shine directly down, but sort of at an angle, and now it is back down below 100. Is there a trick to this? I have a 20 gall tank. I can send you a picture of my set up if you want to see what I am doing, but I am so confused at this point. I am using a reptile basking lamp, not a regular bulb). I am ordering the repti lamp stand to hang the lamp from because I tried to put it on the screen and I smelled something burning. RIght now the lamp is duck taped to a peice of wood that is on top of the tank, just to keep it off the screen. I figure with the stand, I can adjust the height without worrying about tape and wood. ALso, I have an order of 500 crickets coming today. ANy tips on keeping them warm too. Gosh, I never knew how much work was involved and my husband and I are both frustrated that my mom bought two instead of only one, because in just 5 days we have gone through over 100 crickets and so many different lights, etc, trying to find the right ones and I still may have to get another whole seperate setup to split them up, or at the absolute least, a much larger tank for the two of them. Our other lizard didnt require this much in the way of care, and he only ate about 5-6 large crickets every few days. we had a hard time keeping the crickets alive long enough for him to eat them, and now we are having a hard time keeping enough crickets. Dont get me wrong, I have already grown quite attached to them and I joke with my son that they are more mine than his. To tell you the truth the last few days my whole life has been pretty much nothing but dragons and trying to get everything right for them. pretty pathetic, huh? I just dont want my son to have to go through another loss so soon. Now, instead of one lizard to care for, we have two dragons, 500 crickets, and a hermit crab (my brother gave it to him as a birthday present this past weekend, not knowing about the new dragons). A lot to digest and get used to. THanks for all your help.
Keeping temps can be difficult in a smaller enclosure. Often the enclosure remains too warm or too cool, and it's hard to maintain a proper thermal gradient. Your best bet is to keep doing what you've done... Any temp between 100-105 is good for the basking spot, with a general warm end temp of around 95, and a bit lower at the cooler end of the tank. They'll pick the spot they like the most, and often move from one spot to another as they get too warm or cool. You didn't say if it was a regular 20g tank, or a 20g long tank. It would probably be easier to control the temps in a 20g long, or even a 29g. This would give him more room to grow, but it will make it more difficult for him to hunt prey (crickets, etc.) so you might want to think about feeding him in a separate tub. All our dragons are fed in separate tubs. This helps to make sure they can easily get all the crickets they need, the crickets aren't going to be hiding in/under things, and you don't have to go chasing round the tank every night hunting out the rogue crickets that could chew on the dragon while he's sleeping. But basically you just have to keep doing what you've already done. Just move the light closer & further away til you hit the right temp. But don't be worried if it's a couple of degrees below or over what you want. Anything from around 98-107 or so is good, and chances are, if your thermometer is reading 102 or 103, the warmest part is probably nearer to 105 or 106 anyway. It's hard to judge which is the hottest spot, so always assume the hottest part is a couple of degrees above the hottest you can find. If it gets too warm, like I said, the dragon will move around the tank to cool off. The only thing you've got to watch out for is that the dragon's not gaping all the time (sat there with his mouth open). This means it's definitely too warm. You'll also probably want to mist him a couple of times a day with a spray bottle to help hydrate him a little, and to help ensure good sheds. Growing babies shed VERY often (sometimes as much as every couple of weeks), so the moisture will definitely help them get rid of that shedding skin. Good luck, and keep us posted!
i also have a question reguarding temps. mine is more on the bulb wattage in connection to the tank size. i am temporarily using a 10G tank. im going to be purchacing a larger one(29G) this upcoming week or so. i know what temps beardies need but am having a hard time figuring out what wattage to get for the 10G. might they be the same as id use for the new tank also??? please help..shopping to do this weekend, thanks in advance, Sar
Sar, why not just update to the50 gallon or bigger now. That way you wont have to buy them later. It will skip a tank size and some money
yeah ive been thinking about that...and this week im going to do so....but then i need to know what the wattage of the lights need to be ..i have a 100W basking bulb now and its only getting 90 degrees in there (the 10 G) so does that mean i need to get a 150 watt for the larger tank ????? thnx, Sar
Most pet store will let you bring back heat bulbs if the were too hot or cold...as long as they work. Also, why not try reg. house bulbs for heat. Thats what I do, and it works great...and you have all kinds of those sitting at home I'd bet
Yeah, we just use regular GE house bulbs on the juvie enclosures & Philips Director Spots on the larger enclosures for the adults. We use them along with mercury vapour bulbs, where needed, to supply a little extra heed.
temps Hi. I know the problem w/temps in the tank. I have a 65gallon long, and went through about 5 different types of bulbs to get the correct temp. Right now I have a PowerSun 160watt. For a smaller enclosure, such as a 20g long, 100watt regular housebulb should be good. I also have a baby in a 20gallon long, and the temps are good. If you have babies, they usually like it warmer, but of course that depends on the individual dragon. For a 10gallon, I would try a regular 60watt household light bulb, and see how that works.
