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Thread: Heat and Humidity

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
    Posts
    97

    Default Heat and Humidity

    I'm having a problem getting the heat in my Tegu's cage up. Right now I have 2 150 watt ceramic heat emitters, Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 High Output UVB Fluorescent Bulb 32 Watts, 48-Inch, and I believe I have a Zoo Med 160 watt Powersun UVB heat bulb. Right now the temps are about 85 degrees throughout. The cool side gets to about 80. The basking spot gets to be around 95. 4 lights in one cage seems to be a little extreme. Is there anything i can do besides adding more lights to help increase that? Also I'm about to add a misting system and worried that the system will lower my temps. Right now I'm just misting by hand and I don't think thats changing the temps too much. Any advice would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    104

    Default

    I had a problem at the start with my 4ft enclosure about 1 mouth ago but I fixed it by riseing his basking spot up about 15' - 20' from his light "160 watt powersun". may take a bit of moveing it about to get the temp you want just remember to facter in the body size of your tegu.

    whats the humidity at in the enclosure? it can play a big part in the heating of the enclosure.

    my basking spot gets to about 99-102 and and my humidity is 79-85 at the time.

    I hope some of this can help you out I know it might be a pain getting your temps right where you wont them XD
    The ones you love, truly love, Never die. You keep them with you, and like this you keep them alive.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
    Posts
    97

    Default

    Humidity isn't as high as it should be. Doing it by hand doesn't keep it up high enough for long so it goes down to about 40%. The problem with raising the basking spot is that if I raise it too much he will deff be able to get to the light. He is about 30 inches long and he knows he can stand on his back legs. So not sure about the risk for that. Might try it a couple days to see if he will be okay with it. Also I'm getting a humidifier and making that kind of system and putting it on the other side of the cage. Hopefully that wont lower the temps of basking spot too much. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know in a couple days how it goes.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    104

    Default

    didn't know he 30' but glad I could help anyway

    I use a platform that can be lowered if needed for my basking spot but ill see what happens when I get my tegu Tuesday
    The ones you love, truly love, Never die. You keep them with you, and like this you keep them alive.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Las Vegas, NV
    Posts
    746

    Default

    What kind of enclosure, tank with screen top or something else?
    How big is the enclosure? You mentioned 48" but for what?
    What are you using to measure temps? 95 is too low for basking and proper digestion.
    More than likely you have too many heat fixtures drying out the enclosure.
    0.1.0 BP (Spiral) aka Rita Wayward
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Abbotsford, BC
    Posts
    234

    Default

    I find that halogen bulbs put out the best heat for a basking zone, I use 2 x 100 W halogen lamps to get around 105-110 in a nice wide area. Using halogens should fix the problem of the tegu getting too close to the lamps, they put out enough heat that it shouldn't be an issue.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Abbotsford, BC
    Posts
    234

    Default

    I should mention that my tegu is past the climbing-up-walls stage, he's 10 years old, so I don't have to worry as much about him coming into contact with lights. You could use 175 W halogens and place them higher up.

    The combination of high temperature and high humidity is tricky, as one goes up the other goes down naturally. Especially if you have a highly ventilated enclosure such as a screen top. Even with frequent misting, the moisture escapes too easily. Reducing the ventilation helps with this, you can cover up some of the screen with plastic (less effective but easiest) or a wet towel (works best but requires more maintenance).

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
    Posts
    97

    Default

    The enclosure is a 8'x4'x4' made from plywood. It has plexiglass door. I have a digital temp gun and another thermometer inside the cage on the back wall. I know 95 is too low. I've been working on trying to get it higher without getting the lights too close. I just hooked up a humidifier system and its keeping the humidity at a good level. It's about 80% right now but i can still increase it if i want. I have one more idea about the basking spot. I'll try it out later when I get home. I'll try the halogen bulb when I get around to going to the store. My tegu is almost a year so he is really curious still. Ill update you guys again in a day or two. Thanks.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
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    I've moved all the lights around and now I think I have them in a good spot. Cool side is about 82-85, warm side around 90-95 and a basking of about 100-103. Humidity is about 75%. Have to fill up the humidifier everyday but it works.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

    Default

    I'm glad it all worked out. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. Do you stir up the mulch every so often so it doesn't get to wet on the bottom of the enclosure ?
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