Heating

[Gedy]

Hello, im new on this forum so ill introduce myself quick :

Im Gedy, I live in Europe and my first Tegu will arrive 20 mai

I have been researching Tegu's for over a year, and im realy excited about getting mine.
The only problem im facing right now is that I bought a realy nice cage for my baby but I don't get the temperature above 85 F.
I Have a 75W daylight spot and a UVB both from a brand the shop recommended.

My question is : Should I buy a heatingmat or a ceramic heater or someting to get the right temperature ?

 

[chelvis]

Avoid heating mats or any belly heat elements. Tegus dig and can distroy them easily. Also they can not tell that heat is coming from the ground and can burn themselve.

You could us a ceramatic heater to bump the heat up, or exchange the 75W day spot for a 100w. Also where are you taking the temp from? Is that the temp at the basking spot, if so that is way to low. Put the themometer directly on the ground under where the spot hits. That is where you want the 100 degree basking temp. The ambiant temp of 85F is fine as long as basking temp is 100-110F.

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Oh and Welcome to the form... sorry i forgot my manners.

 

[Gedy]

Thanks for the quick response

I took temp form just the hor side, but i know it was way to low so im glad you have a solution before my baby will arrive
I will buy a ceramic heater for the basking spot, and I will see if I can get the temp up to 100F.

 

[Strange_Evil]

I would just buy a higher wattage bulb, like switch from 75watt to a 100 or 160watt, better yet are Power Sun merucury vapor bulbs avail where your at?

 

[Gedy]

I don't know about the Power Sun bulbs never heard of them, but im going to ask that straight away when I get to the store What are the benefits from that ?

 

[Toby_H]

I agree with increasing the 75W to a larger bulb...

I agree that any form of belly heat is a bad idea.

 

[chelvis]

powersun is a MVB made by ZooMed that produces both UVA and UVB which aids in calcium absorbation. This is critical to a growing tegu. Sometimes Powersuns can be hard to find, but there are a few other companies amkeing them now.

 

[herpgirl2510]

I use a power sun 100 watt and a 75 watt halogen.I find that the power sun does not give out alot f heat but is essential for them to have for the uvb. Is the top of your enclosure screen? If it is you will lose alot of heat and humidity I would cover 1/2 of the screen see if that helps. You can also lowe the light if the tank is high enough. Also what are you using to take your temps? They sell infrared temp guns they are pretty inexpensive here if you can get one of those they are the best for monitoring temps.

 

[Rhetoric]

Welcome! I use 2 solar glo 160 in Gurus enclosure. Gary and the female have a larger enclosure and they've got one solar glo 160 watt, halogen 125 (not on too much since its warming up) and a 75 watt bulb to keep the other end of the enclosure warm. As it gets warmer I don't think I'll need the 75 watt very much.

As far as measuring temps go, I was really anal about it but the thermometers I have are probed, good for accuracy but my tegus kick them around A LOT. I could figure out a way to make them more stationary if I wanted to but I'm comfortable with doing a check once a day or even every other day. If my tegus are always basking it tells me they might need more heat, if they're never basking that tells me its too hot. I don't think its the best way to judge unless you've had your tegu for a while and you've regularly monitored the temps beforehand.

Just out of curiosity, you had said the store recommended the UVB bulbs you purchased but what kind are they?
Are they coiled like this

Or are they the tube style like this

Or is it a combo with the heating bulb, an MVB?
What is the strength of the uvb bulb do you know? I'm not asking to be rude, its just so we can all help you prepare more.

 

[lirillcriss]

As far as measuring temps go, I was anal about it but the thermometers I have are probed, lovely for accuracy but my tegus kick them around a lot, I could figure out a way to make them more stationary if I desired to but I am comfortable with doing a check one time a day or even every other day.

 

[montana]

That`s one way to use anal and probed in the same sentence ...

 

[Gedy]

@Herpgirl : I just had a thermometer for a few buck from a outlet store, so im buying a temp.gun today when i pick up my tegu.

@ Rhetoricx : The first picture , thats what my UVB lamp is like and it is from Exo Terra
my daylight lamp is from the samen brand, and looks like a large mushroom upside down

I replaced the bulb for a 100W same brand and coverd half the screen now the temperature is perfect ! I'm going to pick up my Tegu today and I realy hope he likes my enclosure I will post a picture when Im back

Thanks all for the quick and usefull replies ! :heart:

 

[Rhetoric]

How far is the UVB from where your tegu will be?
Once you need to replace your uvb bulb (usually 6 months), you should look into the tube style uvb bulbs or an MVB bulb. The reasoning for that is that they give off more UVB rays than the coil bulbs do. I don't have the exact numbers or anything to compare them
The tube style bulbs are more expensive but they generally cover a greater area and they produce more of the uvb rays.

I used the coil type bulbs, that you're currently using, for about a year with my bearded dragon before I found out that the tubes and the MVB bulbs were "better". During that time I had no health issues with my beardie. I would just keep an eye on the tegu and make sure you are giving him a calcium supplement regularly.

Good luck with your tegu! I wouldn't be surprised if it hides a lot the first few days, maybe even the first week or two. Lots of patience, it'll come around. It really helps if you are able to do things like change the water and spot clean every day that way it gets used to your presence.



@Montana hahahahaha :^)

 

[herpgirl2510]

Good luck you must be excited. The temp gun is an awesome tool to have so easy to use and accurate.