Heat bulb alternatives

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When an animal basks all day long, its a sign they need a hotter hot spot. They want to get up to body temperature, and go about their business. Being out in the open means more opportunity to be eaten by a predator, though in the case of a large iguana this may not be as big of an issue. I would suggest just keeping him away from whatever heat source you have, just keep him from touching it, and I doubt he will get burned. I do not have experience with radiant heat panels, but why are you worrying about a heat light? You're already going to have to put uvb in...
 
crayfishguy said:
When an animal basks all day long, its a sign they need a hotter hot spot. They want to get up to body temperature, and go about their business. Being out in the open means more opportunity to be eaten by a predator, though in the case of a large iguana this may not be as big of an issue. I would suggest just keeping him away from whatever heat source you have, just keep him from touching it, and I doubt he will get burned. I do not have experience with radiant heat panels, but why are you worrying about a heat light? You're already going to have to put uvb in...
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I know for a fact him basking all day long isn't an issue. He has been in my care for almost 12 years now. So I feel like I know his routine.

I'm not worried about the heat light. Would just like to have a cleaner looking enclosure with no bulbs hanging down. UVB bulbs I can hide up out of view and am already planning on having at least 3 4' ones in the cage.
 
crayfishguy said:
When an animal basks all day long, its a sign they need a hotter hot spot. They want to get up to body temperature, and go about their business. Being out in the open means more opportunity to be eaten by a predator,

Yes...
The hot spot might not be hot enough, also the lizard is telling you the rest of the cage is to cool.
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Mike D said:
I know for a fact him basking all day long isn't an issue. He has been in my care for almost 12 years now. So I feel like I know his routine.

I'm not worried about the heat light. Would just like to have a cleaner looking enclosure with no bulbs hanging down. UVB bulbs I can hide up out of view and am already planning on having at least 3 4' ones in the cage.
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Like I said larger animals may not be as much of an issue with staying out in the open, but if he seems to be unable to go extended periods of time without basking, its a sign somethings up. I see your point about the bulb, I have no experience with anything but bulbs, so I can't help you there. Just a suggestion, try giving him a couple hot spots, one at the temp you have now, and one a bit hotter. Give him the option to choose. While I truly respect you being able to care for him for so long, the animal knows best. Just don't provide conditions they don't encounter in the wild, and give him an option to get away from it.
 
If the lizard is unable to go for extended, or even shorter periods of time without going back to the basking spot it means that the air temps outside of the basking area are too cold, or the rest of your cage is not hot enough.
Basking under the lights all day is not normal to an animal like that, they need to thermoregulate, also he is dehydrating at a faster rate then he should be, I would keep an eye on that.
 
Well spent the better part of yesterday on the phone/emailing with various makers of heat panels, and have come to the conclusion they just won't work. Well not well enough to justify the overall cost of them. So I will be going with either standard outdoor halogen flood bulbs(150w in center of cage and a 100w for basking spot) or ceramic emitters in the same configuration. And I will hook the basking one up to a dimmer to fine tune the temp that way.

Not my normal plan but it's what I need to do. If he's happy then I am happy.
 
I mount the bulbs out of the cage so that is doesn't take up much room and then use chicken wire for safety and leave an inch or two gap in between the bulb and screen so they can't get burned if they manage to get up there!uploadfromtaptalk1391706400809.jpg

And for the space heaters they have built in fans so it wouldn't need one and they make energy efficient ones. But its just an idea, with basking spots 90° + humidity is always going to be hard to achieve and this is why a giant water dish is needed or a mister, even in winter my home is 20-25% humidity and in the cage with 1 night time heat bulb (on temp controller) basking flood light and t5ho uvb I can maintain 60% humidity and the cage is 4'x4.5'x2' with good ventilation.




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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
 
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