Uv light
Basking spot bulb
Night time heat source (I'd recommend a ceramic bulb or AHS)
Thermostats for the above
UV starter unit
Eco earth (coir expanding substrate stuff):- they like damp substrate
Big water bowl.
Lots of stuff to climb on:- branches n rocks n stuff

 

Thanks, that's a good start

Basking spot bulb
Night time heat source (I'd recommend a ceramic bulb or AHS)
Thermostats for the above

I'm thinking I'd need a fitting for each bulb as well as a stat for each bulb, dimming stat for the stat bulb & pulse stat for the ceramic?

UV starter unit

What UV level are we looking at for Rankins, 12%?

What size Viv is better, 3ft or 4ft ?

Do They not need a heat mat at all? I've read conflicting advice

 

in a 4 ft you could house a pair of rankins, for your uv go with the arcadia T5 12%, i personally would not have a ceramic for night time unless your house gets really cold. if you feel that it would be benificial tho then the stat is best to be a pulse propotional stat as is for your spot bulb stat.

i use a B1ME stat on my spot so that it turns off at night on its own, but if the temp does drop to much the spot will come on very low. the spot does not effect my dragon as she sleeps under a log and cannot see the light

 

hmm I don't really want a pair, one is enough for me :flirt:, the house can be cold, especially at night in winter so I would definitely need something for night time.

I was under the impression that you couldn't use a pulse prop stat on a spot bulb, am I wrong there,

I would worry about the light coming on overnight and disturbing the dragon :blush:, actually not JUST the dragon :lol2: as he/she will be in a room with several other reptiles and a canary & 3 finches, so if a light came on, they might get a bit confused, and you don't want 4 birds singing sweet dawn songs at 1am, its bad enough in mid summer :censor:

 

sorry yes you are right, i meant to write dimming stat for the spot which is what the B1ME is, if you are going to run a spot and a ceramic you will have to make sure that they are on timers so that when one goes off the other comes on.

 

Hmm yeah good point or it could get seriously hot in there, although the stats should prevent that, but I have timer plugs anyway so that wouldn't be an issue

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on a heat mat as a source of night time heat ? The reason I ask is many websites recommend them for bearded dragons so I started wondering if a spot bulb + a heat mat may be a better option than a spot & a ceramic ?

 

Dont use a heatmat. if you must use night time heating get a ceramic but they do thrive well on no heat at night both my rankins viv just have day time heating as in the wild they have a drop in nightime temps . I used a heatmat when I first got my beardies and it upset their system and stopped them eating , Vet told me to reduce nightime heat and they were fine and have been ever since

 

how low does your night time temps actually reach? it shouldnt get cold enough to warrant extra heating otherwise you will be too cold yourself. my central heating kicks in when its gets to about 19'c so i dont have any night time heat sources in the vivs.

i know its quite a distance but i have 3 rankin's for sale and my girl has just laid the first batch of eggs for this year. these will hatch in a couple of months

 

The lowest I've known it drop in there on a very frosty night was 16.5c, it's a chilly house lol, and my grumpy old father with whom I live doesn't believe in night time central heating (if you're cold, get a blanket :devil that's why I was worried, in summer it's fine, in winter it's chilly. Opinions please, is that too chilly ? My tortoises seem ok with it but they do have a ceramic and have the option to go to it, although they usually sleep at the cool end of their tables

I'm not ready to get a rankins yet, it's going to be after June at least ( I'm going away in June for a week so would want to get one prior to that, although I do have a good friend coming to help dad look after the zoo I don't want to take advantage) unfortunately I think you might be a bit too far away I'm disabled, back problems, and I can't drive more than about an hour

 

16'c is pushing the boundaries a little but i honestly dont think they would come to any harm if thats THE bare minimum in the depth of winter. if you dont mind paying then a heat mat stuck to the back wall or side wall on a thermostat would be a good idea. but set it so the viv can drop to 18-19'c before it kicks in. chances are its only going to come on for a few night per year so might not be worth getting. id say that is very much up for debate but personally i probably would get it. you could use a ceramic but position it well away from any area accessible to the rankins dragon as you dont want it coming on one night while the little guy is sleeping underneath it. i would prefer to get a heat mat as they dont get anywhere near as hot. i know my lot once asleep would sleep though anything. my central bearded dragon is the opposite, such a light sleeper and any light dim source will wake her up

 

I'd rather get it and be sure, otherwise I would just worry, a heatmat on the wall maybe behind a tile (sort of like a mini radiator) , is a good idea I hadn't thought of that option, as you say it would rarely be on but if there is a risk I'd rather not risk it. Ceramics get SO hot! Ive burnt myself many times. The tortoises are fine with them, they don't climb, but dragons do :gasp:

 

But for warmth at night it doesn't get so hot. Least mine doesn't. I wouldn't want to put a heatmat in a viv that has moisture/humidity.

 

I've got the same problem.

Got my Rankin at the weekend. My spot light is on a Day/Night Habistat thermostat because my night time temperature goes down to 58F. With the thermostat, it's now 68F. 58F would be the minimum and I assume I won't have a problem in the summer.

However, my wife got up in the night (4:00am) and saw that the Rankin was trying to bask under the dimmed spot! I'm now worrying that this won't do him any good.

Am I right in being worried and is the heat mat on the wall the best option? Or would it be OK with no heat at night?

Thanks

(sorry to hijack this thread!).

 

OK, so if I go for the ceramic option, would I be right in thinking that the lowest wattage I can get would be sufficient to keep the temperature around 68F?

Also, would I need a guard around it even though it would be well out of reach of the Rankin?

Just looking, I see you can also get infrared heat lamps. Are these as good? They say they have very little light so don't disturb the sleep patterns, but is that true?

 

An infrared heat lamp is a ceramic.

 

Yes, I know ceramic heaters are infrared, I actually meant one of these:-

Zoo Med Infrared Heat Lamp 50W ES RS-50 - Surrey Pet Supplies

 

iv seen on a few care sheets that the lowest temp rankins are meant to get at night is 65F.

My viv drops down to about 54-58 at night but a simple towel hung over the glass keeps it at 65 or slightly above!

 

:lol2: sorry I shouldn't laugh but that gives me a vision of sweet little curtains drawn over the glass :whistling2: yes I know I'm sad

 

Thanks, will give the 'towel method' a try.

 

Well, I covered the vivarium last night and the temperature only dropped to 62F. Bearing in mind it was quite cold last night, I'm guessing this is the lowest it would fall to during winter.

BUT, it's still below the 'magic' 65F, which has left me in a quandry. As it's only just below 65F, and probably still well above what they might have to endure in the wild, will this be OK, or should I still look at getting a low powered ceramic heater just for the colder nights?

 

Im not sure wether 65 is a strict minimum or not. Anyone???

Could you not try a thicker towel? covering the top aswell - heat rising and all that lol.

or even a sheet of grout coverd polystyrine inside the roof of the viv?

 

It was actually a throw for a chair, so quite thick.

I suppose I could try polystyrene fitted over the glass, although I do wonder if the 3 degrees difference really would have much effect.