Basking lamp

[Iruhaku]

Hey all, looking for some advice regarding the baking spot light.

I have an Arcadia 50w baking bulb and an Arcadia 75W baking bulb. My problem is I can’t adjust the height of the lamp (fixed to the roof of enclosure, and I wouldn’t want to put it closer) but the 50w is just too underpowered on the dimmer it’ll run at 100% but basking spot temperature is around 95F-97F with the 75W I can get the spot to 102-104F (hotter if wanted of course) but it’s only at 70-80% of power. There’s so much conflicting advice on whether dimmers aren’t natural as the sun wouldn’t dim IRL.

Is it ok to run the dimmer this way? Or should I look for another solution such as the prorep 60w basking and see if that works better? His growth was a little slow with the 50w but has increased using the 75W as well as appetite (wasn’t low but is high now comparatively)

I attached screenshot of the temperatures, the high line is controlled the drop at the end is when I switched over to the 50w.

 

[Iruhaku]

Hey all, looking for some advice regarding the baking spot light.

I have an Arcadia 50w baking bulb and an Arcadia 75W baking bulb. My problem is I can’t adjust the height of the lamp (fixed to the roof of enclosure, and I wouldn’t want to put it closer) but the 50w is just too underpowered on the dimmer it’ll run at 100% but basking spot temperature is around 95F-97F with the 75W I can get the spot to 102-104F (hotter if wanted of course) but it’s only at 70-80% of power. There’s so much conflicting advice on whether dimmers aren’t natural as the sun wouldn’t dim IRL.

Is it ok to run the dimmer this way? Or should I look for another solution such as the prorep 60w basking and see if that works better? His growth was a little slow with the 50w but has increased using the 75W as well as appetite (wasn’t low but is high now comparatively)

I attached screenshot of the temperatures, the high line is controlled the drop at the end is when I switched over to the 50w. View attachment 396945

For reference here it is back on the 75W bulb

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Ï don't have much experience with dimmers, maybe @Alex and the Redfoot can answer your question.

 

[Iruhaku]

Should’ve mentioned it’s a Sulcata around 5-6 months old

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi!
You can see two different arguments against dimmers:
1. Dimmed incandescent bulbs output less IR-A and more infrared-B, which is less sun-like and is not "deep heat" (this is point of view expressed by Thomas Griffiths and Roman Muryn, for example). However, for tortoises excessive IR-A seems to be too desiccating and slightly dimmed bulbs seem to work better (still allows to rise body temperature effectively but doesn't dry their carapace too much). For the same reason regular incandescent bulbs are recommended over halogens bulbs.

2. Sun doesn't turns on/off during the day. That's legit when you have a basking lamp on a simple on/off thermostat. With a dimming thermostat it's less an issue - the bulb is being dimmed to a small extent and temperature stays within the recommended range, just like in your case. I see not problem here. It's not totally natural (when ambient temperature in the enclosure rises, the basking lamp is being dimmed more - opposite to what's happening under the sun). The wrong thing to do is to have a 150W basking bulb in a small enclosure dimmed to 20% of nominal wattage. Probably, you will see such effect in a hot summer with a 75W bulb, in that case switch to 50W.

Using a dimmer switch (rheostat) is another option to adjust basking area temperature. But this will require more attention and regular tuning.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi!
You can see two different arguments against dimmers:
1. Dimmed incandescent bulbs output less IR-A and more infrared-B, which is less sun-like and is not "deep heat" (this is point of view expressed by Thomas Griffiths and Roman Muryn, for example). However, for tortoises excessive IR-A seems to be too desiccating and slightly dimmed bulbs seem to work better (still allows to rise body temperature effectively but doesn't dry their carapace too much). For the same reason regular incandescent bulbs are recommended over halogens bulbs.

2. Sun doesn't turns on/off during the day. That's legit when you have a basking lamp on a simple on/off thermostat. With a dimming thermostat it's less an issue - the bulb is being dimmed to a small extent and temperature stays within the recommended range, just like in your case. I see not problem here. It's not totally natural (when ambient temperature in the enclosure rises, the basking lamp is being dimmed more - opposite to what's happening under the sun). The wrong thing to do is to have a 150W basking bulb in a small enclosure dimmed to 20% of nominal wattage. Probably, you will see such effect in a hot summer with a 75W bulb, in that case switch to 50W.

Using a dimmer switch (rheostat) is another option to adjust basking area temperature. But this will require more attention and regular tuning.

This was useful to read, I tend to say it’s ideal if you can find the right watt without the need for a dimmer, and this explains in much better detail than I could.
I like the fact you expanded on how they can be used effectively without the worry of ‘the sun dimming on&off all day’ thing, do you mind if I bookmark this to refer to others who enquire about dimmers?

 

[Iruhaku]

Hi!
You can see two different arguments against dimmers:
1. Dimmed incandescent bulbs output less IR-A and more infrared-B, which is less sun-like and is not "deep heat" (this is point of view expressed by Thomas Griffiths and Roman Muryn, for example). However, for tortoises excessive IR-A seems to be too desiccating and slightly dimmed bulbs seem to work better (still allows to rise body temperature effectively but doesn't dry their carapace too much). For the same reason regular incandescent bulbs are recommended over halogens bulbs.

2. Sun doesn't turns on/off during the day. That's legit when you have a basking lamp on a simple on/off thermostat. With a dimming thermostat it's less an issue - the bulb is being dimmed to a small extent and temperature stays within the recommended range, just like in your case. I see not problem here. It's not totally natural (when ambient temperature in the enclosure rises, the basking lamp is being dimmed more - opposite to what's happening under the sun). The wrong thing to do is to have a 150W basking bulb in a small enclosure dimmed to 20% of nominal wattage. Probably, you will see such effect in a hot summer with a 75W bulb, in that case switch to 50W.

Using a dimmer switch (rheostat) is another option to adjust basking area temperature. But this will require more attention and regular tuning.

Thanks for the advice mate and yeah it worked perfectly during summer (50W) dimmer was around 90-95% power output so with the colder weather it does make sense. I’ll look in to the rheostat but you’ve made me a lot more confident that my wee guy is all good.

Thanks!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This was useful to read, I tend to say it’s ideal if you can find the right watt without the need for a dimmer, and this explains in much better detail than I could.
I like the fact you expanded on how they can be used effectively without the worry of ‘the sun dimming on&off all day’ thing, do you mind if I bookmark this to refer to others who enquire about dimmers?

Sure, thing. I just feel ashamed about grammar )

However, If you can find relevant posts by Markw84 or jaizei that would much better: they have far more knowledge of the topic.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sure, thing. I just feel ashamed about grammar )

However, If you can find relevant posts by Markw84 or jaizei that would much better: they have far more knowledge of the topic.

Thanks Alex! I’ve read some of their responses to similar ages ago now and wish I’d bookmarkedyours is the most recent I’ve seen and I like that it’s short and to the point, but detailed enough to include all the relevant info