Distance from basking light

spottea

Member
Bought my jackson's a basking light today, as it's been a bit cool, and not much sun. This is only going to be used when I'm home, and sporadically, as the light is instead of the MistKing this afternoon! Only one outlet you see.
Anyway, I've placed the lamp, a ZooMed deep dome with a 75W bulb on the shelf above the cage, about 6/7 inches away from Piko.
It's reading around 88 degrees next to her. She appears to be thrilled,and is flattening out, leaning over etc. is this OK? Will she move if she's too hot, or just sit there like banana! ( We had a labrador that would just sit there by the fire, and wouldn't move, even though you could smell singed fur!)
The weather is around 72 today, and she's been wandering around trying to find the sun all morning.
Later on, however, I'm putting it away, and plugging the MistKing back in. There will be tears.
 
She will likely sit there and burn without ever moving. Not sure of the anatomy and how they perceive heat but burns are far too common. The distance you have it at is excellent. The wattage is a tad high but might be necessary for your climate.
Use a reliable and accurate thermometer and measure the temp of the screen closest to the bulb... Assuming you have screen that is.
Jackson's turn a deep brownish color to absorb more light, so your probe or therm should be lightly spray painted or ideally airbrushed if not already black. Infrared therms are great for doing all of this quickly.

The idea is to never let the radiant heat of the screen reach higher than 100 and keep the ambient air as close to 80-85as possible. Make sure the screen never exceed 110℉
At 111℉ proteins lose their shape and break down causing gradual cell and tissue damage. Jackson's have not evolved to tolerate temps higher than 90.
 
88 is probably a bit too high. Watch to see if she starts opening her mouth and gaping - sign that she is overheating. Most chams probably aren't smart enough to move out of the light if they overheat (my Jax isn't, he just sits there with his mouth open like a dummy) so keep an eye on her. The leaning and color change are normal. My Jax has very specific times of day he likes to bask. His little routine just cracks me up :)



I have a small basking area set up to be on all day with the UVB lamp. You can get a timer and have everything running on one outlet. Plus with a timer, you can automate the lights and don't have to worry about turning them off and on. I bought a timer strip off LLLReptile that has 8 plugs (4 always on, 2 daytime cycle, 2 nighttime cycle). It's really useful and I think was maybe $30. They probably have something similar at Home Depot or Lowes.
 
88 is probably a bit too high. Watch to see if she starts opening her mouth and gaping - sign that she is overheating. Most chams probably aren't smart enough to move out of the light if they overheat (my Jax isn't, he just sits there with his mouth open like a dummy) so keep an eye on her. The leaning and color change are normal. My Jax has very specific times of day he likes to bask. His little routine just cracks me up :)



I have a small basking area set up to be on all day with the UVB lamp. You can get a timer and have everything running on one outlet. Plus with a timer, you can automate the lights and don't have to worry about turning them off and on. I bought a timer strip off LLLReptile that has 8 plugs (4 always on, 2 daytime cycle, 2 nighttime cycle). It's really useful and I think was maybe $30. They probably have something similar at Home Depot or Lowes.

2cycle timer (1on1off) and a 2ft grounded power strip will run you less than 15$ at walmart...
but this timer strip you speak of sounds freaking awesome! i want one
 
Thanks for all the replies. It's normally around 80 to 85 this time of year, and she's quite happy outside. I was just thinking ahead for when it gets cooler, around January, and experimenting with a basking light. It's going to be hot again by the weekend, and dry, so the MistKing is more important than heat right now.
She did enjoy the light while it was on however, and I'm glad it wasn't too close to her. Useful info for the long, cold winter, which we never get here in L.A .!
When it rains, for the two days a year in January/February, at least I will have alternate methods for keeping her warm.
 
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