BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hi Everyone. Being a BTS rookie, I am facing cold weather for the first time. In the last couple days here in Wisconsin, the temperature had dropped dramatically. My cage, which had perfect temps, is now really cold. I am on my way out to buy some higher watt bulbs. Kona has been buried for the last few days and I know it is because she is cold. We just took her out and are warming her up is some warm fuzzy blankets and she is loving it. At night, we turn all of her lights off but I am worried about the night temps getting too cold in the room she is in....how cold is too cold at night???
Shoud I keep a light on at night???...or get one of those night light bulbs?

Cold weather sucks!!
Thanks in advance for any insight.
Amy

Thanks.
Amy

Ohhh good question.. I am in the same boat! I was thinking ceramic heat emitters, but they are pretty pricey. I don't want to do undertank heat pads though.. hmm.

I wouldn't let it get much colder than 60 at night.

Regulated UTH are not a problem, and instead of ceramic bulbs, infrared or "purple" moonlights work.

NomadOfTheHills wrote:I wouldn't let it get much colder than 60 at night.

Regulated UTH are not a problem, and instead of ceramic bulbs, infrared or "purple" moonlights work.

Agreed....much lower, and they will surely go into a brumation; they may anyway even with higher temps. Some BTS recognize the change, some don't. How cool are your nights? Under tank heaters are a pain and can even be dangerous for the animal....a low light bulb at night is fine, but you may not even need it.

Zach wrote: Under tank heaters are a pain and can even be dangerous for the animal.

In my opinion, they are pretty easy, but yes, they can be dangerous, thats why they need to be regulated.

I've never used the heat emitter from reptileuv.com but if you believe their marketing (and I would- their marketing claims for the MV bulbs have been substantiated by multiple sources) it's very efficient and safe to use.

I've used the Heat Emitter from them and loved it!

what species are u keeping,if an eastern cold nights wont be an issue,if a northern or indo type then id recomend a night heat source,res lights or low wattage ceramic heat light,but depends on the temps,do u measure how low the temps r getting,also wrapping them in soft blankets wont warm them up

What would be the lowest ground temps in nature? shouldnt you let them brumate if they're already starting to bed down?

I was thinking of getting a red night bulb (that gives off a little heat but won't disrupt her sleep) and setting it up with my temp regulator. That way if it goes below say 60 degrees (which happened last week) I can depend on it to bring it back up to atleast 70.

mom, does your room temp get that low? I would imagine that the set up would be a bit warmer as its all enclosed so to speak.

Hey Leigh,

Yeah it got pretty cold in my house at night with it getting down to the 50's last week. It doesn't help that my hubby refuses to turn the heat on until it's practically Christmas! But you're right, her enclosure was about 65 at night at the time that the room temp was 60.

I know I worry too much.

Nah, I worry about that too. My house is freezing. I have my herps in a temporary location while I take the wallpaper out of my bedroom. Yesterday I came home to find that my ball python's heat lamp had gotten unplugged somehow and his cage was below 60 degrees! I freaked a bit and plugged it in and gave him a warm bath while it heated up. My bluey's cages stay a little warmer than his little cage, but still... these cold temps are worrying me.

You can also try putting some insulation on the sides of the tank; it looks a little unsightly, but I use this foam insulation stuff on the sides, it really helps keep the heat in (and I put it on the bottom too). I also have towels on the cage screens. I live in Michigan, so it gets rather cold here too, but doing that has helped me in the past. Although my skink Blue does like to brumate, so I do let him do that if he wants to, but with the foam and towels it keeps the temps around 70-ish at night in the winter, and that's with shorter light periods as well. It's a bit unsightly, but it works.

In the 50's at your house! Sheesh!