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 #1728552


Tprang
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 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

im planning on getting a baby savvanah monitor sometime in the next 2-3 weeks but i have a lighting question. the tank it will be going in will be a 20 gallon long while it is a baby. i have everything ready besides a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. i wanted to get the sun glo 125Watt self ballisted mercury vapor bulb, becuase it gives off heat and UVB at the same time, would that work for my set up?



05/07/08  07:57pm

 #1728557


Krusty
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1728552


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

No. Those bulbs throw off immense heat and your entire tank will get hot beyond what you want.



05/07/08  08:03pm

 #1728558


R0NST3R
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1728552


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

By my understandings Monitors lizards don’t 100% need UV lighting. I am sure there is some one on here somewhere that has some really nice Niles(?) that he has had since babies and not used UV lighting. with good growth. (btw I do know Niles and Savvys are different species)
05/07/08  08:03pm

 #1728688


Sidbarvin
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   Message To: R0NST3R   In reference to Message Id: 1728558


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

You mean these niles?




05/07/08  09:13pm

 #1728728


Reptictale92
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   Message To: Sidbarvin   In reference to Message Id: 1728688


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Sid, buy those away before my mom sees them:). Every time I see your Niles I see nothing, but perfection, and a little if you mess with me I will kill you.
05/07/08  09:49pm

 #1729344


Tprang
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   Message To: Reptictale92   In reference to Message Id: 1728728


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

hm those are very nice looking niles. but i want to play it safe and use a UVB bulb. so then should i just get one of the compact florescent 10.0 bulbs and a basking lamp?



05/08/08  02:38pm

 #1729368


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1729344


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Quote:

i want to play it safe and use a UVB bulb. so then should i just get one of the compact florescent 10.0 bulbs and a basking lamp?

No! that would not be ’playing it safe’.
If you’ve decided you do want to use UVB, especially if it’s going in a small cage, you should stay away from compact flors’ and go with the long tube type. Compact UVBs are high output and made to go on top of a screen and you can’t use a screen top for a monitor, you need a solid top to keep the humidity level up. So, either forget the UVB, till you have a decent sized enclosure, or go with the tube type that will sit across the top of the cage. You’ll have to block the rest off with wood, or plexiglas and make a hole to drop your basking light through.



05/08/08  03:12pm

 #1729405


Tprang
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1729368


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok so i will get a long florescnet UVB tube. and a basking lamp. and ill cover the top with something. but i have always heard that the UBV output of the tubes is not very strong and the lizards have to get very close to get enough UVB
05/08/08  03:47pm

 #1729413


Nermie
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1729405


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

this is true but the nature of the monitor vs something like a bearded dragon is differnt

as far as i know monitors do not need uvb to produce d3.
ya can ask a few of the sav keepers here i dont think any of them really use it ither.
05/08/08  04:00pm

 #1729417


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1729405


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

First off, you’re safer with lower level output UVB than risking over exposure. Second, monitors seem not to need it at all, but to each his own. I would recommend the Reptisun 10.0 tube as a safe UVB source, but even then, I wouldn’t place the basking spot closer than 8" to it. Again- most breeders/long term keepers of monitors , don’t us UVB and claim it’s not necessary.



05/08/08  04:06pm

 #1729424


Tprang
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1729368


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok so i will get a florescent 10.0 tube and a basking lamp. and ill cover the top with something, but i have always heard not to get the tubes because the amount of UVB they put out is so small that the lizard has to be very close to the bulb to get enough UVB.
05/08/08  04:12pm

 #1729426


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1729424


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

What you’ve ’always heard’ has nothing to do with monitors. Maybe other lizards. Ask around, you may get different answers from keepers, but I doubt it.
BTW even on the Bearded Dragon forum, they highly recommend the Reptisun 10.0 tubes, and they believe they can’t survive without UVB!



05/08/08  04:20pm

 #1729481


Tprang
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1729426


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok thanks for all the help guys. im going with the reptisun 10.0 florescent tube. and a basking lamp. does anyone have any suggestions on brands for the basking lamp?
05/08/08  04:58pm

 #1729532


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1729481


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Save yourself some money and just get halogen flood lamps for the basking spot. In a small cage, you may only need a 40w, but it’s always good to have several different wattage bulbs on hand, so I’d get a 40w and 60w and use watt-ever one gives you the right temps!



05/08/08  05:35pm

 #1729662


Krusty
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1729532


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Go to a DIY store or hardware store,etc and just buy halogen FLOOD (not spot) LAMPS. They are the same type of lamps but cost 1/2 of the "zoomed" or reptile-marketed lamps. DIY stores are places like Home Depot or Lowe’s. Try a 45Watt or so at first, but don’t guess at temperatures recommended. Make the changes with a dimmer or different wattage lamp if your temperatures are not in the recommended range.



05/08/08  07:15pm

 #1730396


Tprang
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   Message To: Krusty   In reference to Message Id: 1729662


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok so i have my lamps all set up, and my basking area is about 100 degrees F. and my cool side is about 75 degrees F. does that sound good?
05/09/08  03:29pm

 #1730509


AlbigsRule
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1730396


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

You want your basking spot around 130+. Are you measuring the basking spot with a digital thermometer? If you are don’t!!! Go buy a inferred temp gun! I will post mine later, when my computer decides it will cooperate!

Brandon
05/09/08  04:59pm

 #1730510


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1730396


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Your basking spot could be higher. Though 100f hot end and 75f cool end sounds good, can you raise up your basking spot closer to the lamp to get the surface temp around 120f? It’s a bit tricky in a small cage, but you have to try different things. One thing you need to be careful of , if you’re using the UVB 10.0 and have to raise your basking spot higher to get the temp up, your monitor may be too close to the UVB. Krusty may have a better way to get your temps right. Are you using a temp gun, or digital?
05/09/08  05:00pm

 #1730969


Tprang
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1730510


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

well i dont have an infered temp gun so i was measuring the basking spot with one of the stick on the glass thermometers. so its not the surface temp. where could i get one of those infered temp guns and how much do they cost?
05/10/08  09:38am

 #1730983


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1730969


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Pro Exotics has them on Ebay. or Tempgun dot com. Basic ones are $25. Laser ones are better for $50, as you don’t have to go into the cage to touch the surface. Handy when you have an aggressive feeder, or a large enclosure.
05/10/08  09:52am

 #1731085


Angelo
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1730983


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

if ur going to get a sav baby i would suggest getting a bigger cage like a 45-55 gallon cage. i keep mine in a 45 gallon rubbermaid tub for the time being and i’m going to build a 4’x3’x2.5’ wood and wire cage. that would better if u are going to use a 10.0 UVB bulb, like i do. i use a 75 watt bulb and it works just fine for keeping temps at 85 degrees and they don’t need to much heating at night, maybe just a low-watt heating pad.
05/10/08  12:36pm

 #1731148


Silentjt
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   Message To: Angelo   In reference to Message Id: 1731085


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Can we please leave the husbandry advice to the EXPERIENCED Monitor keepers please. Thank you.


Jesse



05/10/08  02:24pm

 #1731161


KAP10CAVY
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   Message To: Silentjt   In reference to Message Id: 1731148


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Quote:

wood and wire cage


Please explain to me how you plan to heep the heat and humidty in this cage?
Also explain how you plan to give the wide range of temps.

Scott
05/10/08  02:50pm

 #1731859


Tprang
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   Message To: KAP10CAVY   In reference to Message Id: 1731161


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok so i will try to get an infered temp gun soon, and he is only going to be in the 20g long while he is still a baby, i am having a wooden enclosure built for him for when he is bigger. and idk if this really matters but his substrate is going to be newspaper for a little while.
05/11/08  11:28am

 #1731900


Sdslancs
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   Message To: Tprang   In reference to Message Id: 1731859


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

Quote:

and idk if this really matters but his substrate is going to be newspaper for a little while.


Why? Even in a 20L you could at least give him dampened coco fibre for a while, so he has something to dig in and you can keep the humidity level around 60%. I personally think it would be cruel to put a baby monitor in a tank with nothing but newspaper, for more than a few hours, especially when there’s no good reason for it. Coco fiber $4 a brick. Backyard Dirt= 0$. Store bought bag of top soil/sand = $5
Newspaper = owner not providing the basics.
05/11/08  12:21pm

 #1732258


Tprang
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   Message To: Sdslancs   In reference to Message Id: 1731900


 Sav. Monitor Heat/Lighting question

ok well i will get some coco fiber for him then.
05/11/08  07:07pm


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