Raising ambient temps?

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Conner

Conner

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2008
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Kentucky
What would be the best way to raise the ambient temperature in my rhino iguana's plywood terrarium? Its been so cold lately that the room he is in is dropping into the 60's F at night, and his terrarium is dropping to 65-68F or so during the night.

Here are the specs:
4x2x2 Plywood terrarium, glass front doors.
1x 10.0UVB bulb, on ~12-13 hours a day.
1x 120W Halogen Floodlamp, on ~12-13 hours a day.

I don't currently have another heat source, because in the summer and fall, ambient temps never got below 80F in the terrarium, even at night. His behavior has definitely been affected, as he is less active as well as eating less than usual.

I do have a 8"x18" (I think) under tank heat pad that I could put in the tank, if that would help. Otherwise, what is the best way to raise the ambient temps, especially at night? Or is that kind of temp drop nothing to worry about?
 
If you're not too worried about your electric bill, I've found that the electric "amish style" space heaters work quite well. I have one to keep the ambient temp up in my reptile room (which is essentially just an insulated garage) and even with it dropping below 0 on quite a few occasions here, the ambient room temp has kept around 70 (with the cages 75+ at night)
Be forewarned though, if it's the primary source of heat for that room the bill can get very $$$
 
Google: Ceramic Heat Emitter
 
Yep...ceramic heat emitter gets my vote. I use them with beardies all the time, set them on a timer to come on a little bit before the halogen goes off.
I would get one on the smaller side though, if the temp is only dropping to 60 you don't need to warm it too much...maybe to 70.
 
Would it be best to replace the flood lamp with the ceramic heat emitter and just let it run 24/7, or should I add it in as an extra heat element, and only run it at night, when the flood lamp is off?
 
I wouldnt worry about a NTL of 65 to 68.
My rhino goes down alot lower than that at night, during these few months, but I do make sure that he has access to a 120 to 130 degree basking spot, for 10 to 12 hours during the day.

No, I would not replace the flood light with a heat emitter, mine seems to like the bright light of a flood in addition to the heat they put out, like simular to daylight and sunshine.

You could set up a heat emitter on a timer, to kick on during the night time hours, for the next few months, if its really bothering you.
 
Rhino Iguanas hail from Hispaniola... So it's a good idea to keep an eye on the weather there to help you get an idea of what your pet needs

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Gonaives+Haiti+HAXX0001

It's the coldest part of the year (in the northern hemisphere) right now and the overnight lows there are still in the low to mid 70s )at least tonight). I would watch that page to give yourself target temperatuers...

Edwardo;4809898; said:
I wouldnt worry about a NTL of 65 to 68.
My rhino goes down alot lower than that at night, during these few months, but I do make sure that he has access to a 120 to 130 degree basking spot, for 10 to 12 hours during the day.

No, I would not replace the flood light with a heat emitter, mine seems to like the bright light of a flood in addition to the heat they put out, like simular to daylight and sunshine.

You could set up a heat emitter on a timer, to kick on during the night time hours, for the next few months, if its really bothering you.
Click to expand...

^^Great post/advice...


I've never kept a Rhino Iguana, but I have an adult Argentinian Tegu and he (quite naturally) displays a wide range of activity, food intake, etc from summer to winter. I suspect such things are very normal to a cold blooded creature.


A practical response to your question though, consider connecting the heat emitter to a thermostat and let it be on whenever the temp drops below XX*F and let your research determine what XX is.
 
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