Basking light help

[grccola]

I am getting a 3 month old panther today the cage is all setup . I have my basking spot 8 inches under the light witch is a 75 watt bulb. my question is what is the right way to measure the temp because I have a herpkeeper that comes with a tem/ hum. probe and the temp was 109 but is say not to put in direct light so I turned it upside down and it went down 106 is it just that the bulb is to high of wattage or am I just measuring it wrong way The cage is 24 inches wide and 30 inches high so I do not think lowering the branch is not a good idea and the garage temp will be in the mid 60s most of the day
thanks for any in put

 

[MelissaB]

I;m guessing that you're using a digital thermometer, so it should be fairly accurate. I'd just try a different wattage light bulb. Sometimes you have to play with different bulbs, until you get the temp you're looking for. Or you could go to the hardware store, in the light switch section and get a dimmer switch for your light. They have the kind that you use similar to an extension cord, with a sliding switch to dim the light.

 

[ashutt19]

You can try to raise the light off the cage or getting a lower watt bulb incandescent house bulb.

 

[grccola]

yes it is a digital temp ok thanks for the input. I will go out and get a bulb today