First viv advice

[MJRigo]

Picked up my viv yesterday (woohoo) it measurses 36x14.5x16, also came with these bits and bobs:-
Exo Terra 50w tight beam sun glo basking spot lamp,
Exo Terra Repti Glo desert terrarium 10.0 UVB lamp
Euro Rep heat mat.

I just wanted to check that these were the right things to be using for my bearded dragon home? I have read that heat mats should not be placed on the bottom of the tank as beardies don't sense the heat from below and it can cause them harm so the plan was to attach it to the outside at one end so he can stay warm during the night as the room hes in gets pretty dam cold.

Also what are the temp ranges I should be getting either end of the viv for night and day time? am I correct in saying between 95 - 100f for basking spot and 80-84f at the other?

Can't wait for the little begger to hatch now, its going to seem like an age before hes ready.

[jools]

Hi, welcome. If you attach the heatmat to the outside of a wooden viv it will do nothing for the temps inside. You are quite right that it should not go on the floor - in fact heatmats are not usually used for beardies at all - they will not really heat the air temperature, just anything that is in front / above them.
The temperatures in the viv should be 105-115f at the basking spot down to about 85f at the cool side of the viv. You will need a dimmer thermostat to regulate this. At night the temps can drop to around 65f. If your house get lower than that then try the heatmat INSIDE the viv on the back wall. If that doesn't get them high enough then you will need to use a ceramic bulb for night. Temps are best measured using a digital thermometer - the ones with 2 probes are good. You will also have to get a bigger viv for your beardie when it is older 4 x 2 x 2ft is minimum. Hope this helps.

[MJRigo]

Thanks for the reply, can you help me out with where I might find a dimming thermostat, tried looking around and could only find ones that went to about 90f, cant find one that goes to the 105-115f needed. Also is any particular digital thermometer bettter than the others.

Cheers

[lee young]

Dont worry about the dimming thermostat going up to 100+, you just set it to around 90 and place the probe halfway down the viv You will need to experiment a bit to get the temps right. Habistat dimmers are quite good, have a look on ebay, theres always some on there. As far as thermometers are concerned, get an indoior/oudoor one, as they have two probes and can read two temps on one screen, ideal for keeping a check on the war and cold ends without buying two seperate thermometers.

[jools]

Hi dimmer stats can be bought at almost any reptile supplier, livefood supplier or ebay. You will not get one that goes above 92f. What you do is place the thermostat probe halfway along the viv - away from the light. This will then control the middle part of the viv at about 90f so that underneath the basking lamp it is higher. I hope this makes sense. Tung Chung (member on here) has a very good diagram on his website - I will see if I can find a link for you. The thermometer with 2 probes is excellent.

Sorry Lee Young - did not see your reply.

[jools]

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