BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I'm using a 50w halogen in a 10 inch clamp light. my temp gauge that i placed on the rock says 100.4F, but to the touch it feels about room temperature. the rock is about 16 inches away from the bulb. Do I need a stronger bulb?

thanks

Does your skink spent most of its time on the warm end, or does it wander back and forth? The temp guage could be right, or it could be wrong. I suggest a temp gun. I got my temp gun from www.tempgun.com, the PE-1 model. Apparently US RadioShacks also have temp guns.

I don't have a skink yet. I'm purchasing one of andrew's baby northerns. I just wanted to make sure I had good temps before actually having an animal in there.

I'll definatly have to get myself one of those temp guns.

Temp guns are AWESOME and the best way to check for correct temperatures in your vivariums, especially at the basking spot! Personally, in one of my vivs, I have a 50W halogen about 7.5" from a gray brick and a "sand colored" stone (half and half). The gray half will get 100-110F and the "sandy" colored half will get 93-98F. That shows how different COLOR (and material) can make the temps regardless of height, wattage, etc.

The only REAL way to know is to get a temp gun and build your setup and test it...just like it seems you are doing!

When you get the temp gun check the temps over a period of time. As the basking rock heats up things shift. I would check in about 4-6 times over the course of the day to get the full picture. Good luck.

well, I wandered my yard and the forest across the street, and I found a much thicker rock, and a small piece of slate. now the gauge says 102, and the slate and stone are getting warmer. I think the problem was the type of rock I was using before. I'm still gonna get a temp gun, though.

jasjmm27 wrote:Temp guns are AWESOME and the best way to check for correct temperatures in your vivariums, especially at the basking spot! Personally, in one of my vivs, I have a 50W halogen about 7.5" from a gray brick and a "sand colored" stone (half and half). The gray half will get 100-110F and the "sandy" colored half will get 93-98F. That shows how different COLOR (and material) can make the temps regardless of height, wattage, etc.

The only REAL way to know is to get a temp gun and build your setup and test it...just like it seems you are doing!

when you say halogen,show me a pic,is it the paterned ones or what?I have a 100 watt flood light that says 100 on his log but I guees I need a rock because it also feels just warm to the touch,I just used a digi thermometer.

Good job on getting everything set up before getting the skink! Sounds like you're on the right track.

This is pretty much what the halogen bulbs I use look like.

thank you,so a 50 watt is good for about 12 inches away?

i've got a 50 watt, my rock is just warm to the touch. I'm gonna see what happens with a 100 watt. mine is 11-12 inches away now.

The idea is that they soak the heat up from the lamp not the rock, it'll get warm to touch but the real place for the temp reading, is an inch or so above the rock,where your skinks back comes into contact with the beam of light.

Just remember two tools to make this easy:

-- Plug-in dimmer switches. Make that bulb less intense without moving it. Huzzah!

-- Infra-red thermometers. No it's not magic, but you'll feel pretty enchanted when you realize how accurate they are. Makes tuning with the dimmer switches a snap.

Enjoy,

KW