Hey guys , I have two Sulcata babies housed separately . I am from India and the day temp is around 30c that is around 86F minimum ATM . In the enclosure the ambient temp is raising to 100 to 105 under the basking lamp and the ambient temp is around 92F. I am concerned if I am overheating the enclosure .
Maximum ambient temperature
- Thread starter zeus6626
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The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
If the ambient temperature gets over 95F, you could consider a lower wattage basking bulb or raising the current one if possible.
Hey , it’s a 75W and the least I could find here . It’s raised as high as possible .
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
Does the ambient temperature constantly get over 95F?
At mid afternoon it stays around 92-93
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
If it doesn't go above 95F I wouldn't be too worried. On option would be to use a timer that would shut of the basking lamp during the hottest parts of the day. Another would be to use a dimmer, but that is a bit more difficult.
At the moment what I am doing is , I have put the basking bulb on a timer where it stays on for 2 hours and break for an hour. The whole setup with the ambient lighting is on a 12 hr timer 8 to 8
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
I will ask @Alex and the Redfoot about what he thinks would be the best. I am not that good at technical stuff
I'm not sure if I can help there...
You can observe, when your tortoises bask (usually it's in the morning and in the afternoon) and turn on basking lamp and UVB lamp (if you use it) only at these intervals - maybe 1-2 hours a day overall.
Second thing to try is to increase air flow in the enclosure and spray substrate. This will temporary lower temperatures due to evaporation. Some humidity drop is expected, yet with the lamps turned off it should not result in pyramiding (and overheating is much more serious problem, anyway).
The easiest, of course, is to use room air conditioner during heat peaks.
You can observe, when your tortoises bask (usually it's in the morning and in the afternoon) and turn on basking lamp and UVB lamp (if you use it) only at these intervals - maybe 1-2 hours a day overall.
Second thing to try is to increase air flow in the enclosure and spray substrate. This will temporary lower temperatures due to evaporation. Some humidity drop is expected, yet with the lamps turned off it should not result in pyramiding (and overheating is much more serious problem, anyway).
The easiest, of course, is to use room air conditioner during heat peaks.
An ambient temp rising to 95° during the day is not a problem. I would definitely keep it from getting above 100° as a limit. Ideal temperature for ambient is in the 85°-90° range but I do not worry at all if the temperatures get well into the 90°s on a hot day.
You can put the basking light on a dimmer as suggested. In the US they sell extension cords with a dimming switch on it. You could dim your basking light with that to where it is on at a 2/3 level to help keep the temperature lower if you want. You also could put your basking light on a thermostat. Set the thermostat to about 93° and plug the basking light into that. It will then turn off your basking light when the temperature at the probe reaches 93° (or whatever you set it).
You can put the basking light on a dimmer as suggested. In the US they sell extension cords with a dimming switch on it. You could dim your basking light with that to where it is on at a 2/3 level to help keep the temperature lower if you want. You also could put your basking light on a thermostat. Set the thermostat to about 93° and plug the basking light into that. It will then turn off your basking light when the temperature at the probe reaches 93° (or whatever you set it).
Mark, I've seen some advice against using dimmers because of spectrum shifting into long wavelengths. Does it make sense?
If you are talking about UV producing bulbs, then absolutely! But for an incandescent used for basking it is completely appropriate to use on a dimmer.
Those temperatures are perfect! Perfectly perfect!
This is not so good. The basking bulb is meant to simulate the warm sun outside. You don't want it turning on and off all day. You need a lower wattage bulb, or the suggested dimmer switch, also called a rheostat, to dial down the wattage of the heat lamp a little bit.
Its good that you also have ambient lighting all day.
I believe he's talking about incandescent. The Reptile Lighting Group generally advises to use the smallest wattage bulb to get the desired temperature and to dim as little as possible.
Around minutes 27-30
Yes, that's what I was asking about. Thank you, jaizei!
Ok awesome . Should I set it at 93 or 95 , pls suggest me
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Not sure what the point to this is, @jaizei The question was that @Alex and the Redfoot thought dimming changed the wavelength of the light. It does not. This long video looks at mostly power/number of photons produced, etc and has little direct correlation to what a tortoise keeper needs to consider. His summary at the end states that in fact dimming has little effect on the wavelengths and quality of light produced.
We are talking about incandescents used for their heat value in the basking area. This is along with other ambient light and UV light to provide for the total values in the basking zone. The heat component is best achieved by using the correct wattage or by dimming the incandescent. Dimming will adjust to the desired heat level while not substantially changing the quality of light. The ambient lighting (normally LEDs) plus the UV light is by far the most important for the overall light values in the basking zone.
