Temps...

Dbrocato2

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I may be jumping the gun here but.... i am nearly done with my enclosure for my soon to come baby hermanns.. My uvb is being shipped and not here yet. I set up my basking lamp for 4ish hours and I just want to check on my temps.. while my basking light was on (150watt) my bask spot reached 86, my hot side 77 and cool side 70, humidity was 65ish.. i know things will heat up more once my t5 is in.. my temp when everything shut down was 63 and 65.. do I need a heat che? For night? Should I wait for a full 24 hours to get more accurate Temps?
 

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Dbrocato2

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I may be jumping the gun here but.... i am nearly done with my enclosure for my soon to come baby hermanns.. My uvb is being shipped and not here yet. I set up my basking lamp for 4ish hours and I just want to check on my temps.. while my basking light was on (150watt) my bask spot reached 86, my hot side 77 and cool side 70, humidity was 65ish.. i know things will heat up more once my t5 is in.. my temp when everything shut down was 63 and 65.. do I need a heat che? For night? Should I wait for a full 24 hours to get more accurate Temps?
I live in Massachusetts so it can get a bit nippy
 

Srmcclure

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If you order them from Amazon they are really cheap, so I would just to be safe. You never know when you'll need it. I don't know a whole lot about Herman's, but better safe than sorry?
I have a leopard so I HAD to have one
 

turtlesteve

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You are getting a hatchling, right? If so, yes, you need something to provide heat at night.

if you cover the screen with some plastic sheet to reduce air flow, that will also help you keep temperature and humidity up.
 

Dbrocato2

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You are getting a hatchling, right? If so, yes, you need something to provide heat at night.

if you cover the screen with some plastic sheet to reduce air flow, that will also help you keep temperature and humidity up.
Humidity is 60-70.. but I did just remember that I had a window open all day near the enclosure.. do CHE lights need a dome? And should the be set up in a thermostat timer thing?
 

Dbrocato2

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Where should I put che? On top screen? Mounted under?

Screenshot_20200516-210854_Samsung Internet.jpg20200515_213232.jpg
 

turtlesteve

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Putting the heat source inside is better, and I would use as low of a wattage as possible to reach about 85F ambient with the top completely covered with plastic sheet. This will allow you to cover the top as needed to maintain humidity.

Right now my favored method for supplemental heat is a heat mat (either the reptile kind, or one normally used for starting seeds indoors) attached to the underside of the enclosure lid. These are lower wattages than a CHE and spread the heat out better. If you completely cover that enclosure with both the CHE and basking light on, it might be too hot. And, if you don’t completely cover it, it may not overheat but you will be wasting energy and it will be hard to keep the humidity up.
 

Tom

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86 under a 150 watt bulb? That doesn't sound right. I don't think you need night heat for a hermanni at 65. My cut off is 60. It wouldn't hurt to have a CHE set on a thermostat to 70 in there, but in my experience with baby Testudo, it isn't needed, as long as they can warm up the next day. What is the breeder doing? I'd mimic that at first, and then make whatever adjustments you need over time. Having the CHE and thermostat already set up will allow you to warm things up if you find you need to. Additionally, having a warmer daytime ambient, with the use of the CHE, will encourage less basking under the necessary, but desiccating heat lamps.

I would run the whole thing all set up with water in the bowl and everything for a couple of days to make sure all is correct. Your basking area is too cool, so that needs to be addressed. It should be closer to 95ish directly under the bulb, and the bulb should be mounted overhead and painting straight down. I wouldn't want the fixture or dome touching the wood like that.
 

turtlesteve

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I have never actually raised any Testudo so if Tom says they don’t need night heat then I believe it ?.

I keep my hatchling enclosures very moist and I run at 75-80F at night depending on species - but I’m working with different species.
 

Dbrocato2

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86 under a 150 watt bulb? That doesn't sound right. I don't think you need night heat for a hermanni at 65. My cut off is 60. It wouldn't hurt to have a CHE set on a thermostat to 70 in there, but in my experience with baby Testudo, it isn't needed, as long as they can warm up the next day. What is the breeder doing? I'd mimic that at first, and then make whatever adjustments you need over time. Having the CHE and thermostat already set up will allow you to warm things up if you find you need to. Additionally, having a warmer daytime ambient, with the use of the CHE, will encourage less basking under the necessary, but desiccating heat lamps.

I would run the whole thing all set up with water in the bowl and everything for a couple of days to make sure all is correct. Your basking area is too cool, so that needs to be addressed. It should be closer to 95ish directly under the bulb, and the bulb should be mounted overhead and painting straight down. I wouldn't want the fixture or dome touching the wood like that.
Thank you! That was very helpful! The bulb is on top of a screen, I was in the process of building said screen for that picture. I am going to build up the substrate on the warm side as it is lower and maybe move the basking are a bit closer to the middle.. I love all the feed back! I want to make sure its up and running befor my new buddy arrives..
 
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