Quote:
Originally Posted by formica
thanks for the info, I've now changed the heating light (which was not directional) to a ceramic heater, and moved the basking area a little closer to the heater which is now providing a 56C spot with a spread of about 48C near by, changing the bulb to cermaic has also had the effect of bringing down the lower end to 24C
I have also added a significant amount of soil-sand mix (3 inches across the base, with a bank of upto 6 inches on one side, compacted down and moist so it will hold up to digging holes) to help keep the humidity up and for it to dig, the area it likes to sleep has so far kept at a constant 90-100% any way
my reason for posting here is because I am currently trying to decide the best approach to building its final home, I've layed out my basic plans in the initial post, and any feedback would be gratefully appreciated  that said, i suspect that many of the designs I've come accross on this thread will heavily influence my final design
if he's likley to reach 60cm at 6months then I may well begin building his final home now and skip the intermediate stage, so I think I need to rethink my current ideas and make the setup a little more portable!
pics will follow at some point soon!
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Hi again, the ceramic heat emitters are good for maintaining ambient (air) temps, not good at all for creating a basking site surface temp because they direct heat all around rather than downwards. Much better to use relatively low wattage halogen bulbs (flood, not spot) @ between approx. 40 to 60w+, raise or lower them or the basking object `til you get the desired surface temp @ between approx. 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), or simply fit a dimmer switch.
I usually pay around £5 each for my halogens and they can last up to 3,000 hours, I get them from the following website: thelightbulb.co.uk
This is my Asian Water monitor`s basking site to give you an idea, I need to use more bulbs because of his size, you might well only need 2 x 40w at the present time.
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