Blackdog
Active Member
Oi enough with the old, your no spring chicken yourself.
all my main cages are set up in the same way as the photos below .i have a main light (fluro) and an other light under the basking shelf (up high in a corner)to keep it warm so that is the only "hotspot"in the cage.i dont use more than a 25 watt bulb (in winter)for the basking light and i have found that the higher wattage fluros (15-18 watt) give of enough heat to warm it.at night i give them no heat.the cages are well ventilated and i dont use a thermostat.if they want the warm spot they know where to go.in the summer months i just take the basking bulb out.Slightly off topic Rob but what are you (and every one else i suppose) going to do when you can only buy the fluro type of globe? I think we are only a year away from the incandescent globes being banned.
LMAOI have a friend that works at a light/electrical shop, and ill just stock up and by a few grands worth of bulbs to last untill i die.
There really is no need for the sarcasm Rob, I understand exactly what you are saying but my point is that having a thermostat somehow shortens a snakes life and I still have heard nothing to come close to showing me how.
I know you have said to me that I argue with you but I am trying to understand what you are saying and some of it to me makes no sense. I use dimmer stats which don't switch lights on and off and maintain a constant temperature extremely well.
I think what you need to do is avoid telling people, especially new keepers, that thermostats are bad and will kill your animals because that is all people see KILL YOUR ANIMALS. Of course a thermostat can fail and could kill an animal but that is only if the keeper is using a bulb that is way too powerful for the cage it is heating.
I have seen a great many collections big and small including some of the biggest breeders in this country and almost without fail they use good quality thermostats and have amazing results. That is not to say their system is right but equally it isn't saying yours is wrong, both systems work in different situations. Rather than scaring people with theoretical scenarios I feel it is better to advice keepers, new and old, on the correct way to set up a cage be it with or without a thermostat.
this is not directed at anyone inparicular! i feel this gets thrown around WAY to often!
'IN THE WILD' is a bad term imo, i have a part time job in a pet shop on the weekends and i here this atleast once a day! this is just a few of the things i have customers say to me every weekend:
-'they dont need a heat light, they wouldnt have it in the wild'
-'they eat live mice and rats and what ever else i catch around the house, they would eat it in the wild'
-'i feed him every 10-12 weeks, thats all he would catch in the wild'
-i never worm them, who's gona worm them in the wild?'
im not joking this is some of the things i here EVERYWEEK! then i reply with the following:
1) these arent wild animals.....they are captive and so should be given the best of conditions that you can give them!
2) i then usually ask if they have a dog and wether the treat it like a wild dog, and throw them rotting animal, or just release animals into the backyard so the dog can catch it and kill it like it would do IN THE WILD, dont supply a bed etc and just let it find somewhere in the yard it likes (which some dogs do), wether they worm them or wash their dog.......... usually they look after their dog ok, but to them they look at reptiles like wild animals still.
i just believe with the rate that this hobby is growing, that the coment just gets thrown around to much and people should start talking about reptiles lilke they are captive animals more cause if we the breeders dont, then all the new comers will also be using the excuss that its like that 'in the wild'
sorry about my little rant..... i probably should have started a new thread...lol
I feel I should just say that I have nothing against the style of cage Rod uses, I have seen all sorts of variations of it over the years and they seem to work well with or without thermostats.
I think the without thermostat system certainly can work in the right climate, probably not as useful in southern states but it has it's merits. My 'issue' if you like is that the exact same system can't work with a thermostat or the assumption that a thermostat somehow shortens a snakes life. I still haven't heard anything to suggest that could be true.
Each to their own and whatever works but we mustn't be telling people something is dangerous without telling people why and what can be done to make them safe.
I'll sit this one out this time, but I will get beer and popcorn if anyone wants to join me.......LOL
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