Household bulb recommendations

[BenjiTheCham]

I bought a new heat bulb and I’m not sure which household bulb to buy. The first one I got was a 60w incandescent, but it gets my basking spot to 80 F from 4 inches away

 

[BenjiTheCham]

Could it be because it says the bulbs are low energy or something

 

[Pickle-cham]

As long as it doesn't say equivalent to 60w low energy LED then its what your after do you have a dome over it?
I actually use arcadia UVA solar basking floodlights 'can get 100w 75w and 50w ?

 

[Beman]

I bought a new heat bulb and I’m not sure which household bulb to buy. The first one I got was a 60w incandescent, but it gets my basking spot to 80 F from 4 inches away

80 is good for most chams...what type and is it a male or female? 4 inches is way too close though and is a thermal burn risk. How are you measuring your temps?

 

[BenjiTheCham]

As long as it doesn't say equivalent to 60w low energy LED then its what your after do you have a dome over it?
I actually use arcadia UVA solar basking floodlights 'can get 100w 75w and 50w ?

Yeah I have a dome. I’ve had my cham for almost two months now, but my bulb burned out (I bought a reptile branded heat bulb to begin with).

https://www.target.com/p/general-el...nt-halogen-light-bulb-soft-white/-/A-15118227
This is the one that I bought, but it barely produces heat. Is there a reason why?

 

[Pickle-cham]

The reptile specific bulbs have a burn in time before they give optimum heat output I'd imagine incandescent be similar

 

[BenjiTheCham]

80 is good for most chams...what type and is it a male or female? 4 inches is way too close though and is a thermal burn risk. How are you measuring your temps?

I moved it a bit closer just to see if I could make the bulb work. It’s normally around 6 inches from the basking branch and I am trying to mount it up higher above the enclosure to reduce risk of burns (any tips on that would be appreciated as well). I am using a infrared temp gun thingy

 

[BenjiTheCham]

The reptile specific bulbs have a burn in time before they give optimum heat output I'd imagine incandescent be similar

Really? I didn’t know that. Mine has been running since about 11 today and still doesn’t seem to change

 

[Pickle-cham]

Something to do with filaments, what is *** subtext looks a lot like it could be led tbh

 

[Beman]

I moved it a bit closer just to see if I could make the bulb work. It’s normally around 6 inches from the basking branch and I am trying to mount it up higher above the enclosure to reduce risk of burns (any tips on that would be appreciated as well). I am using a infrared temp gun thingy

So the infrared gun only measures surface temp not the actual temp... You need a thermometer with a wired probe to put at basking to get an accurate reading. tie it in the the basking branch with zip ties.

Your using basically a 43 watt bulb there... it is an energy efficient one. So temps produced are not going to be equivalent to a real 60watt incandescent.

 

[Pickle-cham]

I moved it a bit closer just to see if I could make the bulb work. It’s normally around 6 inches from the basking branch and I am trying to mount it up higher above the enclosure to reduce risk of burns (any tips on that would be appreciated as well). I am using a infrared temp gun thingy

On for How long after switch on i find infra red takes surface temperature good for taking chams temp but i prefer to use a probe at basking branch set up

 

[BenjiTheCham]

So the infrared gun only measures surface temp not the actual temp... You need a thermometer with a wired probe to put at basking to get an accurate reading. tie it in the the basking branch with zip ties.

Your using basically a 43 watt bulb there... it is an energy efficient one. So temps produced are not going to be equivalent to a real 60watt incandescent.

Okay thanks. I actually do have one with a wired probe, but I have it testing ambient temp. I didn’t know the infrared wouldn’t be the same

 

[BenjiTheCham]

So the infrared gun only measures surface temp not the actual temp... You need a thermometer with a wired probe to put at basking to get an accurate reading. tie it in the the basking branch with zip ties.

Your using basically a 43 watt bulb there... it is an energy efficient one. So temps produced are not going to be equivalent to a real 60watt incandescent.

I moved the probe and put my basking branch to its original position and I can barely even feel the heat of the bulb. I definitely need different bulbs. Should I use an 80w?

 

[Beman]

Okay thanks. I actually do have one with a wired probe, but I have it testing ambient temp. I didn’t know the infrared wouldn’t be the same

yep it is different. Honestly I don't ever use my temp gun. I have wired probe at basking and then a thermpro one that I have hooked on to the side and inside wireless.

 

[Beman]

I moved the probe and put my basking branch to its original position and I can barely even feel the heat of the bulb. I definitely need different bulbs. Should I use an 80w?

How far away is your total distance? A real 60 watt bulb should work.

 

[Pickle-cham]

Not a energy efficient you want old fashioned type bulb there is a push to eliminate these in favour of thr low heat led after all in lighting heat is a by-product

 

[Beman]

This is what I use. I live in California and standard incandescent are not available to us here. So the only thing I can get my hands on are real reptile bulbs. I love these ones and have used them the last year or so.