Hi all need some help with setting up a viv, by using both bulb in day light & heat mat at night reason is i`ve seen what a bulb can do left unattended & burning a house down. So any ideas on the best way to set it up. Many thanx Alan. P/s i keep 8 leopards geckos.
have you thought about cermaic bulbs - i know they are expensive!
IF you use a thermostate a dimming one preferable you should ok - i beleive as when it reaches the correct temps that you set it at it should stay stable and if it gets to hot or cold it should change the buld to go up n down.
Thats what we got on our snakes viv
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2.0.0 Beardies 2.0.0 Corns - both Amel 0.2.0 Corns both snows 0.1.0 Corn x Rat 0.0.4 Whites tree frogs
Thanks for the info,i was told that yesterday it`s not the price of them it`s mainly the setting up that is doing the brain cell in. I have 4 viv`s set up at the moment all are on heat mats on thermostats its the cost of getting more stats for the cermaic bulbs or do you mean stop using the heat mats mind you the way things are going, i`ve got two more 4 foot vivs comming soon one is for the geckos & the other is for a bearded dragon but will wait & see. The problem no thats wrong its not a problem is my son may be moving down here so a few things will have to go no hold for a while. Still never mind i will sort the vivs out, but if you can let me know if that is what you ment about the cermaic bulbs. Many thanks Alan
Sorry what i meant was i beleive ceramic bulbs are quite expensive. But ceramics give out heat and not light. So maybe dont use a heat mat at night and either use a infarred bulb or ceramic bulb instead of both. IF you use an infared it will give you a nice glow at night instead of a bright light ( like an ordinary heat bulb) so may be better for them. Ceramics as you know dont give out any light - just heat.
No need for heat bulb and heat mat! IF you put bulb on a dimming therm then it will kick in when tmeps change from the setting you have selected.
Now Ian is back i will ask him to add his comments -w hich may be clearer than mine ( blodne u see lol)
MY beardie has a 12 on 12 off cylce for his uv and heat bulb and the snakes are on an even temp 24/7 hope this helps Lin
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2.0.0 Beardies 2.0.0 Corns - both Amel 0.2.0 Corns both snows 0.1.0 Corn x Rat 0.0.4 Whites tree frogs
Leos Dont Need Direct Light. Ceramics In My Oponion Give A Fair To High Air Temp In The Set Up.
I Currently Have a 4ft vivarium, halfed, with my male on one side and my female on the other. I used a ceramic for the first day, but even on the cold side it was far to hot.
So in my oponion, Bulbs arnt any good for leos.
Heat mats are your best bet with out a doubt. Cheap and you could get away with the cheapest thermostat (MATSTAT).
Leos also need the heat from below to help digest.
i always used infra reds with my leos and dint use heat mats at all i even used uv tube and kept them like that for years in a 4x2x2 as i had a colony they had caves that i made from papier mashe and a moss box where they religiously laid two eggs every fortnight each female that was i had five at the time so i nust have done something right? hope you sort yourself out
Hi all Thanks to you all for the in put. Lin no worries did you think i put the photos of 2 leos to makeit look nice lol. If you remember somewere along the line you asked me what i kept, cos i asked you about beardeds as im thinking about keeping one to start with then wait to see what happens. Going back to my leos is i have 2, 2x18x18 eco terra vivs 112x12x18 viv with a small female leo in she had been picked on & was under weight so she is in there being fed up, & 1 40x16x19 glass viv which i can get sorted now. But which is the best way to heat a wooden viv it`s 48x18x18 thing is i`ve seen to many fires that have been started as i said by bulbs. This is why i wanted to know if there was another way, in the day i`m at home and i the same room as them but at night im in the bedroom so thats why i wanted to put the light on in the day & mat on at night.would this work & how would i set a viv up that way,by this i mean what would i need to switch on the lights then the mat. This is the problem that i`m trying to get around my head, sorry brain dont work that well when it comes to wires. Many thanks all. Alan
well to be honest if all your fittings are safe you shouldnt be worried about fires i know its somthing to conemplate but dont worry so mush! You can use a heat lamp in the day and a heat matt at night lots of people do put you your day lamp on a timer and wack your heatmatt on then get a timer from bnq dead cheap and your away! As for the leos they are social animals and hate being alone and will develop anorexia try to match the bullied one up soon or it will waste away!
Treeboa34 many thanx to you and all the other for your help,Can get this sorted out. As to the leo she is next to the p/c she loves it when im the p/c as she knows that she will get a fuss made of her. Thanx Alan
Hi treeboa 34 Yea shes feeding realy well she eats all that is put in with her. But she will not be in there on her own for much longer, just another 2/3 weeks as she needs to grow a bit more then she will be in with the girls for good. She is the one on the left on this opening thead. Thanx Alan
Thanks Lin she`s doing realy well, the only one is asunglow that i got felt sorry for it she had her tail bitten off all the way to where her tail started.I`ve had her two weeks now & her tail is about 18mm long now, bright red/pink bit i have to feed her which i dont mind at all but justcant wait to see eat for her self.But all the rest ( touch wood) are all doing well, cant wait till next year to see if they will breed, i`ll be like an old mother hen. Right off to bed as am at hospital in the morning to have my heart scan to see if its working ok talk to you soon Alan.
Good luck with her Alan, im sure she will eat on her own eventually. My snake did thta i had to help eat and he is doing well.
At least her tail is growing! whne it comes to breeding think we are all a bit like that - ask Ian and Linda (scotlandukboa) they both had snakes that took thier time giving birth lol!
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2.0.0 Beardies 2.0.0 Corns - both Amel 0.2.0 Corns both snows 0.1.0 Corn x Rat 0.0.4 Whites tree frogs