firefish Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 I am considering the possibility of getting a BT. With my research I've read that I'd need a basking lamp, a heat lamp and a UVB light. Would getting this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Reptiles-turtles/auction-274856374.htm mean I could reduce the number of lamps I need? It seems to me that it could be both a heat lamp and a UVB light - is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 I just use one of these http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 545395.htm and for heat a standard house hold spotlight ($3-10 bunnings, supermarket etc) basically same thing as these http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 897985.htm You want to provide a warm end a cool end. A heat source with fan will likely heat the whole tank so im not sure what the idea is with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted March 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Cool, thanks for clarifying that. Would I put one of those at each end, or would they both be at the same end? (i'm thinking about getting a 6 foot tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 I don't think they would put out enough heat or UV. I use one to heat a cabinet but I removed the bulb and put it in the bottom blowing over a heat emitter on a thermostat. I don't think it would be easy to run one of them on a thermostat and achieve what is needed. The UV needs to be close(about 300mm) from the lizard and the fan would make too much air movement that close. I use heat emitters and proper UV lights and that way you get heat without light at night and you can get a warm end and a cooler end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 also better to use seperate items as it is easier to replace them singly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 4, 2010 Report Share Posted March 4, 2010 Cool, thanks for clarifying that. Would I put one of those at each end, or would they both be at the same end? (i'm thinking about getting a 6 foot tank) You can get 4 foot tubes of the sylvania. Pet shops also sell the uv tubes in various sizes and often a better product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted March 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 What would I make an enclosure out of ? If I chose to go the non-tank route I got a little book about BTs today so I'm slowly going through it so I can get it all sorted out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 5, 2010 Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/ i just used mdf on the last enclosure i built Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted March 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 That looks really good! I've got no building skills so I'll get my dad to have a look at it and see if he can make it for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneaky2 Posted March 5, 2010 Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 All thats great for winter inside....No substitute for natural sunlight but .... Dont forget to make a cool spot! 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 5, 2010 Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 glass tanks are fine especially for blue tongues as they dont need a lot of heat. Prob easier on the wallet to. If you can make something for outside over summer as sneaky mentioned even better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted March 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 For my protperty an outside enclosure would not be suitable. Theres a massive hill right behind my house so we only get a few hours of sun in the backyard in summer. I kinda prefer the idea of a glass tank if thats ok heat wise. Termometer wise i'm thinking of getting 2 of these http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Reptiles-turtles/auction-275545403.htm Would I have to keep the part that goes into the enclosure away from the BT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 5, 2010 Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 Yea glass is sweet. Timber holds heat better but you dont really need/want that. As you ultimately need the cool end as cold as possible One of my timber setups only has one vent and it gets too hot (more vents on the "to do" list), other setup i have with 3 good sized vents is all good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 5, 2010 Report Share Posted March 5, 2010 You realy need a thermostat to control the heater. There are usually two brands on trademe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Those reptile one fan heater things actually are quite good. Though i would like an expert to try one out! I setup a beardie at work in a brand new enclosure (reptile one pro 90), with the 50w fan light at one end. daytime temps at the warm end sit at around 35C, and the cooler end sits at 28-30. Due to the nature of the enclosure (doesnt allow much heat escape) I turn the heat lamp off overnight. The beardie is looking much better nowadays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 yes they work IMO there are better and cheaper ways of achieving the same or better result not an expert though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 yes they work IMO there are better and cheaper ways of achieving the same or better result not an expert though Maybe for the original cost (these units are around $130 for a 50w), but they are compact, run cool, and efficient (50w is equivalent to a 150w conventional heatlamp) id still probably run a standard reptile light tube with one though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 Don't forget it is a 50 watt light bulb, not a 50 watt heater. You are also restricted to puting the light and fan in the same location and the UV should be close to the basking area so you are forced to have the fan close as well. If I remember correctly they are not high UV out put either. I prefer the light and heat seperate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 so that would be 130 + the cost of light unit and tube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 so that would be 130 + the cost of light unit and tube? Yes... Dont forget its 12v though rather than 240v. The 50w puts out 225 microwatts/cm2 at 20cm distance of UVA and UVB. is that decent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted March 7, 2010 Report Share Posted March 7, 2010 I have read in the past that drafts are not good for lizards. Warm draft i imagine is better than a cool one but still. The temps you give above are not bad but i think you will find just a heat lamp down one end (with thermostat even better). Will provide a better temp gradient. Cool end around 20C would be ideal imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I had overlooked the fact that it was 12 volt. I still think to be close enough to the light they will be in a wind tunnel. As I said earlier, I am using a 50 watt one to heat a cabinet but I took the bulb out and blew the fan over a heat emiitter as I thought it would work better on the bottom and disn't want the light on the bottom. Have put a seperate light at the top. Works good for what I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I had overlooked the fact that it was 12 volt. I still think to be close enough to the light they will be in a wind tunnel. As I said earlier, I am using a 50 watt one to heat a cabinet but I took the bulb out and blew the fan over a heat emiitter as I thought it would work better on the bottom and disn't want the light on the bottom. Have put a seperate light at the top. Works good for what I want. Thanks for the input. Ive only started stocking them recently, so this is good feedback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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