basking spot ?

[nico77]

I have just set up a old fish tank to house a south western carpet , I have used a down light for the basking spot . My question is , is it to hot if the branch under the light is on 40deg. ? its 30.8 on the tile ( the tile is on the bottom off the tank under the light .The other end off the tank is 28deg.
I'm also nearly finished 2 1200x600x600 enclosures , just need to get a sheet off acrylic for the front . i will be making back grounds later down the track as the enclosures will be getting used for a few weeks as emergency housing .
put some pics up soon .

cheers nico

 

[Kenshin]

I have just set up a old fish tank to house a south western carpet , I have used a down light for the basking spot . My question is , is it to hot if the branch under the light is on 40deg. ? its 30.8 on the tile ( the tile is on the bottom off the tank under the light .The other end off the tank is 28deg.
I'm also nearly finished 2 1200x600x600 enclosures , just need to get a sheet off acrylic for the front . i will be making back grounds later down the track as the enclosures will be getting used for a few weeks as emergency housing .
put some pics up soon .

cheers nico

not the best pic and with the wrong bulb but these are the fittings i like to use on all my reptiles they are ceramic, easy to wire up and last forever also you should use a thermostat so you dont cook ur reptiles the basking spot for pythons should never really get hotter then about 33-35 obviously desert pythons like stimpsons, olives, womas and bhp's can take a nice hot basking spot that is even hotter then this but for the imbricata's i suggest keeping it between 30-35 MAX as they are southern pythons

i like to use my micro climate thermostats as they have a nice easy to place probe that you can run anywhere in an enclosure and if you set up your enclosures in a uniform way you could run multiple enclosures off the one thermostat as the model i have can run upto 600w of heating

 

[nico77]

i have used ceramic holders (660w rating) with 100w night heat bulbs in the 2 malimine enclosures but the fish tank set up has a down light , if 40deg is too hot i will try a lower wattage bulb .
Wouldnt a snake move over if it was to hot ?

cheers nico

 

[Kenshin]

i have used ceramic holders (660w rating) with 100w night heat bulbs in the 2 malimine enclosures but the fish tank set up has a down light , if 40deg is too hot i will try a lower wattage bulb .
Wouldnt a snake move over if it was to hot ?

cheers nico

well in theory yes they should however in captivity they have done stupid things like wrap around the actual light or the cage around the light and burnt themselves as you have to remember that electrical means of heating is alot quicker and possibly feels different to them then the sun itself

what wattage light are you using in the tank at the moment? you could goto bunnings and pick up normal globes in 60-100w and use ur digi thermometer to sus it out till you achive the right temp but again without a thermostat this could be subject to change when the ambient conditions change with season

 

[nico77]

Its 40 deg on the top stick and 30.8 on the floor under the light .







cheers nico

 

[nico77]

im not 100% sure on the wattage off the down light , but it was the higher wattage because it said on the box they could be used with lower wattage bulb to save power .
I have been using a digital thermomiter to check temps as im going , I will get a lower wattage bulb tommorow and let you know the differance .

cheers nico

 

[mun1984]

Hi Nico77, I'm doing up an old fish tank for my V. Gillens too. Would love to see your setup, cos I just finished with the lid (mesh sandwiched between wooden frames) and just need to attach the heating lamp. Wondering if I could be lazy and put the lamp on top of the mesh of the lid? Concerns would be of heat not able to reach the bottom. (the lamp will be 50cm off the tank bottom).

Wondering how to put the sensor for a thermostat in the tank without drilling a hole in the tank. Currently, am thinking of nicking a small hole, silicone any gaps and just run it on the side of the tank.

Yeah....I realise I am very crap at DIY.....

 

[Kenshin]

Hi Nico77, I'm doing up an old fish tank for my V. Gillens too. Would love to see your setup, cos I just finished with the lid (mesh sandwiched between wooden frames) and just need to attach the heating lamp. Wondering if I could be lazy and put the lamp on top of the mesh of the lid? Concerns would be of heat not able to reach the bottom. (the lamp will be 50cm off the tank bottom).

Wondering how to put the sensor for a thermostat in the tank without drilling a hole in the tank. Currently, am thinking of nicking a small hole, silicone any gaps and just run it on the side of the tank.

Yeah....I realise I am very crap at DIY.....

i have done aquariums with monitors and dragons in them and i made a simple wooden lid that was heavy and escape proof + i used bird wire on the lid and wired one of those ceramic globes into the lid (have had 2 tanks 1 with one ontop and one underneath the lid) the ceramic is able to deal with the extream heat that you need for the varanids so ither a high mercury vapour bulb or a ceramic bulb will do the trick no thermostat is neccisarry for goannas as they commonly seek basking spots of 45-70 dagrees celcious u normally get them to about 60

 

[mun1984]

i have done aquariums with monitors and dragons in them and i made a simple wooden lid that was heavy and escape proof + i used bird wire on the lid and wired one of those ceramic globes into the lid (have had 2 tanks 1 with one ontop and one underneath the lid) the ceramic is able to deal with the extream heat that you need for the varanids so ither a high mercury vapour bulb or a ceramic bulb will do the trick no thermostat is neccisarry for goannas as they commonly seek basking spots of 45-70 dagrees celcious u normally get them to about 60

Thanks so much for the info Kenshin, will really help me out. I'm going to get the lamp and ceramic bulb tommorrow, and will try to wire it onto my lid. Good to know i won't be needing a thermostat! Yup, my wooden lid is secured quite tightly, had to file it down for it to fit in. I was told by a Gillen keeper to use aluminium fly screen, which i did. But am having a nagging feeling that it may be to flimsy. I guess if I were to switch to ridge tails it'll be too weak. Hopefully it'll be fine with the little bugger.

Cheers Kenshin!

 

[nico77]

I got a new bulb today that said 35deg but it is hotter than the last bulb so i just orderd a couple off thermostats 1 for the tank and i'll use the other 1 on the malimine enclosures they are the same so 1 thermo with a double adaptor should run them both ok ?
would the probe be better in the top enclosure or bottom i'm guessing the top will be a bit hotter than the bottom ?

cheers nico

 

[Kenshin]

Thanks so much for the info Kenshin, will really help me out. I'm going to get the lamp and ceramic bulb tommorrow, and will try to wire it onto my lid. Good to know i won't be needing a thermostat! Yup, my wooden lid is secured quite tightly, had to file it down for it to fit in. I was told by a Gillen keeper to use aluminium fly screen, which i did. But am having a nagging feeling that it may be to flimsy. I guess if I were to switch to ridge tails it'll be too weak. Hopefully it'll be fine with the little bugger.

Cheers Kenshin!

no probs mate i havent had any dramas with ackise getting out or tristis for that matter but i used the wire you would make bird avarys out of just use a smaller gauge i nicked the frame together out of wood and used a staple gun and some wood stables to secure the wire placement of the light fitting will depend on how much height you have to play with and weather or not you want to use raised branches as basking spots or a tilestack i tend to use both but tilestacks are really good for monitors and offer thermal gradient in one spot

also take into consideration if you are going to use high mercury vapour bulbs you should have them no less then 20cms off the basking spot but 30-40cms is fine to plus the bulbs themselves are bulky and not compact like the ceramics

 

[Kenshin]

I got a new bulb today that said 35deg but it is hotter than the last bulb so i just orderd a couple off thermostats 1 for the tank and i'll use the other 1 on the malimine enclosures they are the same so 1 thermo with a double adaptor should run them both ok ?
would the probe be better in the top enclosure or bottom i'm guessing the top will be a bit hotter than the bottom ?

cheers nico

if you set up your enclosures identically you can run multiple cages off the one thermostat as i said earlyer i use microclimate thermos that are rated for 600w of heating so on a bank of 6 python enclosures they are set up exactly the same with same lights ect and run 6x 100w bulbs i like to put the probe on the bottem enclosure as i always thought that heat riseing from the other cages could make the probe on top trip sooner and ultimatly make the bottem cages cooler of course i havent tested this and im most likely wrong but i really dont think it will matter to much if the probe is on top or bottem

 

[nico77]

i added a couple off hides to the back wall today .

 

[Jake_the_snake]

I have heard a General rule of thumb than you can hold your hand palm down under the light and it shouldnt feel any hotter than what you would feel on a regular summer day.

IE: if it feels like its burning or too hot on your hand then it is too strong a spot light.

 

[nico77]

I got the doors in today ( flexi glass) so heres the pic . just need to get some edging to finish it off .
sorry about the mobile phone pics

 

[Kenshin]

looking vary good, now if you want to be real flash buy a heap of silk plants and attatch them at random intervals around the walls and along the branches

 

[nico77]

finished

I have finished the 3 enclosures , the only thing i need to do is make another light cage so i can get a night bulb for the fish tank , I have a thermostat on there now but the light is on and off a fair bit . Also got the door locks today .
Only 4 hrs to go before i pick up the new tennants , i hope they like it .









cheers nico