Is temperature to hot?

Cheryl1503

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Hi guys! Todd is doing great, we are 5 days in and he’s a character! He has been having his morning soaks and enjoying them. I’ve still to change his substrate but plan to get him coir . Got my temp gun and I feel the temp in his hot end is too hot, especially u set his lamp. It’s 38-42, his cool side it 26-38 and his night temp is about 20- all Celsius!
how do I cool down his hot end? Do I buy a smaller wattage of bulb ( he has 75w) , do I move his heat bulb more into the corner rather than over the centre of his hot end? Help!
I have read the care sheets and I know what the temps should be, just need on advise in reducing the heat?
Species- Hermann
Age - 4 months
Enclosure a 4ft viv

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Tom

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Sounds like a lower wattage bulb will do it. Or you can run the existing bulb through a rheostat and dial it down a little.

You've got to get him off that substrate ASAP. Every day that goes by is risking more impaction.

The water bowl needs to go too, before he tips over into it.
 

Cheryl1503

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I’m ordering it tonight Tom, so hopefully will be here tomorrow. With the coir being easier to retain moisture, I think I will wait to see what my temps are like before I change anything with the bulb. Thanks again for you swift advice!
 

Lyn W

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Sounds like a lower wattage bulb will do it. Or you can run the existing bulb through a rheostat and dial it down a little.

You've got to get him off that substrate ASAP. Every day that goes by is risking more impaction.

The water bowl needs to go too, before he tips over into it.
For us in the UK Tom, is a rheostat the same as a thermostat?
 

Tom

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For us in the UK Tom, is a rheostat the same as a thermostat?
No. A thermostat turns power on or off depending on the temperature at the probe. A rheostat allows the user to control how much power goes to a device. Like a dimmer switch for lights.

In a closed chamber where the height of the light fixture is fixed and not adjustable, a rheostat sometimes makes life easier than trying a bunch of different bulbs.
 

Lyn W

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Hi Cheryl, I don't know if you saw Tom's additional comment about the bowl but the sides are a bit too steep for him and could cause him to tip over and drown if he is in the water. Terracota plant saucers with shallow sloping sides are safer and if you sink them level with the substrate they are easier to get in and out of.
 

Lyn W

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No. A thermostat turns power on or off depending on the temperature at the probe. A rheostat allows the user to control how much power goes to a device. Like a dimmer switch for lights.

In a closed chamber where the height of the light fixture is fixed and not adjustable, a rheostat sometimes makes life easier than trying a bunch of different bulbs.
Thanks Tom!
 

Cheryl1503

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Hi Cheryl, I don't know if you saw Tom's additional comment about the bowl but the sides are a bit too steep for him and could cause him to tip over and drown if he is in the water. Terracota plant saucers with shallow sloping sides are safer and if you sink them level with the substrate they are easier to get in and out of.
[/QUOTE
Oky doke, I’ll see about changing that too and I’ll make a ramp with his substrate in the meantime, between you and Tom over the past few days, I’ve learned so much already! Lifesavers!
 

Lyn W

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no
No need to make a ramp, just sink the saucer so the lip of it is level with the substrate.
 
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