uvb heat tube

[mintybum]

has anyone had any use of a combined uvb and heat lighting tube? im going to revamp out table soon and was looking at these, i was worried though that at night when the light is off the heat will drop too or will they be ok as they'd probably be in their hide??

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know of any tube-type lights that provide heat. The tube lights are usually cool fluorescent lights.

I prefer the Mercury Vapor Bulb. This bulb DOES provide heat along with the UVB. But if it gets very cold in your house at night, then you would need another fixture with a night time heat source mounted in it. For night you can use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (che). They provide heat without light.

 

[mintybum]

http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/arcadia-d3-uv-basking-lamp-160w.html

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh...ok! It was the "tube" that was throwing me. Your picture shows the MVB (mercury vapor bulb).

So, yes, if your house gets too cold at night when the light is off, the heat goes away too. And being in the hide won't save him from getting cold. You'll probably need another fixture and use a CHE or a black/red bulb for night time.

 

[Redstrike]

I put a Ceramic Heat Emitter in my enclosure and it is probably the most efficient heating source I have at night. I hooked it up to a thermostat and it works great! I've also had success, heat and humidity-wise, with heat ropes (on a rheostat/dimmer switch) burried just under the substrate:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes

I know you're in the UK, if Big Apple doesn't ship to you I'm sure there is a similar retailer with a product just like this.

 

[Mgridgaway]

I put a Ceramic Heat Emitter in my enclosure and it is probably the most efficient heating source I have at night. I hooked it up to a thermostat and it works great! I've also had success, heat and humidity-wise, with heat ropes (on a rheostat/dimmer switch) burried just under the substrate:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes

I know you're in the UK, if Big Apple doesn't ship to you I'm sure there is a similar retailer with a product just like this.

How exactly do you hook a Che up to a thermostat? I saw the thermostat zoomed was selling but it didn't seem like it had a lot of options or programmability.

 

[mintybum]

i have a ceramic heat emitter at the minute and a uvb bulb, im getting 2 new additions in a weeks time so need to do a new set up would kinda like to go back to the uvb strip lighting as they cover more floor space, ive not heard of tube heaters, will look into them

 

[Redstrike]

I put a Ceramic Heat Emitter in my enclosure and it is probably the most efficient heating source I have at night. I hooked it up to a thermostat and it works great! I've also had success, heat and humidity-wise, with heat ropes (on a rheostat/dimmer switch) burried just under the substrate:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes

I know you're in the UK, if Big Apple doesn't ship to you I'm sure there is a similar retailer with a product just like this.

How exactly do you hook a Che up to a thermostat? I saw the thermostat zoomed was selling but it didn't seem like it had a lot of options or programmability.

I built a CHE housing unit for about $10 (see pics attached). Be sure you get an all ceramic light socket if you do this as well. I followed these instructions:

http://www.redfoots.com/emitter/color.htm

Once you have the housing unit built, just plug it directly into the thermostat. You could also do this with a Zoo Med (or comparable brand) ceramic clamp lamp, as long as it isn't contacting anything directly under the CHE (some really thick gauge wire might be okay, but the 100-Watt gets hot!). All the thermostats are equipped to accept standard sockets. I agree with you, Zoo Med's does not give you much for options, it's low-high. This is a bit inconvenient because you have to watch it for the first couple of times to get the temp right based on their scale, but it is much more affordable than most other thermostats and works well.

Big Apple has one of the best thermostats I've seen, wish I could afford it!
http://www.bigappleherp.com/BAH-1000-Thermostat
You can also get "gardening" or "outdoor" thermostats that are similar to this one with a digital readout allowing you to set the temperature directly. They're going to run you 30-50 Euros/Pounds...I'd guess. They're between $35-55 here.

I hope this helps!

 

[Mgridgaway]

I saw that setup and actually researched a bit more after my initial post, but what I think I'm going to do now is a Mercury Vapor Bulb coupled with a CHE during the night. The ambient temperature in the area I want to put the cage in is about 68 during the middle of winter, so I'm going to buy a digital thermometer/hygrometer to make sure the day/night temps are ok.

 

[Redstrike]

I saw that setup and actually researched a bit more after my initial post, but what I think I'm going to do now is a Mercury Vapor Bulb coupled with a CHE during the night. The ambient temperature in the area I want to put the cage in is about 68 during the middle of winter, so I'm going to buy a digital thermometer/hygrometer to make sure the day/night temps are ok.

Sounds like a good plan. I have a thermometer at both ends of my table (only a hygrometer at the cool end currently, will be getting another soon!) and find it very helpful. I will say the thermostats make life a lot easier, you simply plug in your CHE/Light or whatever heat source you'd like and it shuts the appliance off once your temp is reached. It will save you money and keep things running safely & smoothly. My Zoo Med has two outlets built in and I think most others have 2-3 outlets as well. The "low" setting keeps things around 24ºC/75ºF, if you can fit one that has programmable numbers into your budget, I'd say go for it!

Best of luck with the revamp! Remember to have fun with it.