Letting us know your location (town or area) would help, as climate has a huge effect on heating reptile enclosures. The preferred body temperature for a hatchling and young juvenile is 30[SUP]o[/SUP]C. So you want the temperature inside the hide in the middle of the click-clack, to be 30[SUP]o[/SUP]C. The warm end plus 1 or 2 degrees and the cool end minus 2 or 3 degrees. In other words, a thermal gradient of at least 28[SUP]o[/SUP]C to 31[SUP]o[/SUP]C.
Different rooms in a house get to different temperatures when doors are shut and air cannot circulate from one to another. Ambient air temperature within a room also varies with height and proximity to thin walls or windows exposed to direct sun. Hot air rises and so the higher up you go, the warmer the air will be. This effect is increased markedly in rooms without insulation in the roof space above the ceiling, due to heat from the sun coming through the roof. If the roof space is pretty much sealed (i.e. no exhaust vents), the heat build up can be huge and the amount entering rooms through the ceiling goes up accordingly. Concrete and tiles (on concrete) conduct heat into the ground, especially at night, and can be significantly cooler than say table level. These materials also require a lot of heat energy to raise their temperature, which means they are slow to heat up.
Hence the suggestions for placement “down low” or on “concrete” or “tiles”.
The lowest temperature you can in an enclosure is equal to the temperature of the air entering the enclosure.
To achieve a cooler temperature requires some form of cooling. Some methods have already been given.
When water evaporates, it absorbs heat to do, so it has a cooling effect. The rate of evaporation, and therefore cooling, depends on: the surface area to evaporate from; the air movement over the evaporation surface; and the relative humidity. Moisture from the air condenses when it comes in contact with a “body of water”. So in very humid conditions, the effects of evaporative cooling are cancelled out and it is not very effective.
If you live in an environment that is drier rather than humid, the following evaporative cooling methods can be very effective... A water bowl with a quite a large surface area. A piece of hessian draped over the ‘cool end’ and air vents, with the bottom end of the hessian in a container of water (hessian soaks up water by capillary action). Directing a gentle fan on the hessian will further increase its effectiveness. Sheets of sopping newspaper placed on the floor surrounding the enclosure, several metres wide.
If you live in a highly humid environment then the following can help.... Rather than ice packs, fill 2L soft drink bottles with water and freeze. Wrap them in several sheets of news paper, held by a rubber band or two, so they do not melt too quickly, and stand outside of enclosure along the cool end. Invest in a small portable air con.
Blue
