I got my little Trevor a ceramic heat emitter for Christmas because he seems to be more active and "happy" at the higher temps as a hatchling. We had just been keeping our house warm for him in the meantime but I'm hoping the bulb will be more efficient and cheaper. We've since turned down the house heat after evaluating temperatures for a day and night cycle to ensure they are appropriate.
I placed it at a vertical distance so that no area actually gets too hot from it, and it's to the side of the Mega Ray bulb (daytime only) so the gradients don't overlap much. I've just been keeping it on all the time so he can get acquainted with it, and it's directly over his favorite hide box. The temperature varies day and night, but inside his box it stays in the low 70s at night (instead of the low 60s of our house).
He's still choosing to sleep in his favorite daytime hangout place, under the hay and aspen shavings, to the side of where his light is. Should I "help" him learn that the box is warmer at night by placing him in it, or let him make the decision himself? He's usually out for the night before the Mega Ray goes off, so that's another factor (it's warm when he falls asleep but cools off to less than the hide's temperature soon thereafter).
Here's a picture of the setup, showing the hide box with emitter over it, the Mega Ray fixture, and Trevor sleeping (uncharacteristically exposed as he usually burrows):
Thoughts? Feel free to let me know I'm over thinking this. I just feel it's silly to leave the bulb on for him if he's not using it (he's had it a few nights now and where he is sleeping there is very little heat effect from the emitter). There is aspen in his hide box to burrow in and I cut out the bottom so he can dig into it.
I placed it at a vertical distance so that no area actually gets too hot from it, and it's to the side of the Mega Ray bulb (daytime only) so the gradients don't overlap much. I've just been keeping it on all the time so he can get acquainted with it, and it's directly over his favorite hide box. The temperature varies day and night, but inside his box it stays in the low 70s at night (instead of the low 60s of our house).
He's still choosing to sleep in his favorite daytime hangout place, under the hay and aspen shavings, to the side of where his light is. Should I "help" him learn that the box is warmer at night by placing him in it, or let him make the decision himself? He's usually out for the night before the Mega Ray goes off, so that's another factor (it's warm when he falls asleep but cools off to less than the hide's temperature soon thereafter).
Here's a picture of the setup, showing the hide box with emitter over it, the Mega Ray fixture, and Trevor sleeping (uncharacteristically exposed as he usually burrows):
Thoughts? Feel free to let me know I'm over thinking this. I just feel it's silly to leave the bulb on for him if he's not using it (he's had it a few nights now and where he is sleeping there is very little heat effect from the emitter). There is aspen in his hide box to burrow in and I cut out the bottom so he can dig into it.