# Ceramic Heat Lamps Yes or No



## junglist (May 23, 2005)

Hi guys just a little problem you lot might be able to sort me out with, I've always heated my viv with a Basking Spot Lamp and a little help off the Fluorescent Lighting but since i've upgraded to a bigger cage its not quite getting hot enough, I use a 100w Basking spot lamp and i dont really want to use a hotter lamp than that as the spot lamps quite close to the basking area, so what I want to know is how good are these Ceramic Heat Lamps that i've seen, should i simply take out the bulb and replace it with a Ceramic Heat Lamp or should i drill another light fixture and place a ceramic heat lamp in the viv as well, what do you think would be best guys


----------



## Simon (May 10, 2005)

What's your tank? Is it made of wood? Ceramics get amazingly hot and can cause fires if set up wrong. You need protectors on the ceramic bulb, a guard of the bulb, holder and heat resistant cable. My suggestion is, don't.

What set up do you have at the moment? Such as : Heat mats (under tank / side mounted), size of tank, etc.

Give us details and I may be able to advise. I am currently heating a 4ftx2ftx2ft tank with a 75w bulb and 2 heatmats to ambient temps. I am also using thermostats to assist. Also... what temps is it outside the viv (day/night?)

Cheers!


----------



## junglist (May 23, 2005)

thanks for the help mate, I have a wooden cabinet with all glass at the front and its approx 4ftx3ftx2ft, the night time temp is fine at about 70, but the day time temp only slightly increases to about 80 although my iguana can regulate her temp under her basking spot lamp 100w, outside her viv is normal room temp as its kept in the living room, so would you recomend a heat matt, this would need to be kept on the bottom of the viv would it under the substraigh, 
cheers once again mate any ideas would be great


----------



## Simon (May 10, 2005)

Ok - this is my set up.

I have a 4x2x2ft with a Heatmat under the substrate which is directly under a 75w spot-light. This is on a thermostat set at 90f. I then also have a heatmat mounted on the rear of the tank covering the middle two quarters. The quarter on the hot end is heated by the under-substrate heat mat an spot-light. This gets me a 80f - 90f range with a guaranteed heat-spot of 90f (or more if I should want).

So, in summary, yeah - I'd get a heatmat or two to up the airtemp. The heat-spot sounds about right but being under a 100w SL bulb... it should be  

Let me know how you get on.


----------



## junglist (May 23, 2005)

nice one mate i'll go check out these heat mats then


----------



## Luke (May 19, 2005)

firstly without trying to crticise simons way of practising, It is not reccomended that heat matts stay under just the substrate for most species as the fact that water may come into contact with it if theres a spillage, Ive seen wet hands before gently touch heat matts and get a weird tingling feeling as if weak electrocution from then, its the way the heat comes out of them, I do know its a definate no no with snakes as theyll sit happily on one and do damage to themselves. if you must heat matt the floor in the certain area then place it under the wood, Its a common fact that the heat will still get in the viv but dont forget to stat the matt.

Ceramics are good but as simon said they need a reflector, guard and the proper ceramic holder and not forgetting theyll need to be statted as with any heating source ( this is something ive later relied on before anything did happen ). With the ceramic you can use any stat like a pulse proportional or a dimmer. The only stats you should be using for a bulb is a dimmer as the viv will look like a 80's disco scenario.

I only use ceramics in the vivs that i need to heat that have nocturnal species in and are very fusser with any colour bulb like my amazons, but as far as an igy would go then you can get some very powerful light bulbs designed for iggys but get a ceramic holder just to be safe as the heat of the bulb will no doubt damage the light fitting.


----------



## t-bo (Jan 26, 2005)

I personaly dont like ceramics... and would usualy recommend spot lamps. 

Im suprised that your 100w bulb cant get the ambient temp above 80... you say the bulb is near to the basking spot, is it very close and therefore not fully on due to the basking area being thermostated? if so, moving the bulb further away could both: raise the ambient temp, and still give the required heat to the basking area! (just an idea)

Regarding heatmats.. they dont have to be on the underneath, and if fixed to the roof of your viv can be unseen and will raise the ambient temps more effectively...


----------



## Dom (May 5, 2005)

Hi,
I am heating a 4ft long glass tank, with a 60W spot lamp and 100W ceramic heater, Ceramic is on a Pulse proprtional stat in order to maintain a consistent temp. I find that with the spot lamp on less load is put on the ceramic. Fairly obvious physics I guess. Im mainting a temp of around 100 degrees.

I wired both the ceramic and the spot with ceramic holders and heat resistiant cable, using 13A fuses. Plugged in to an extension with surge and spike protection. Also has a nifty lil LED bar graph displaying the load value, manufactured by Micromark Better safe than sorry
I also have a Reptiglow tube, dont think this throws of much heat tho.

Dom[/url]


----------



## nattyb (Apr 9, 2005)

i personally use ceramics in my vivs to create temps,all are on stats and all have gaurds.havent had any probs so i guess its down to personal pref


----------



## junglist (May 23, 2005)

thank you guys you all have some interesting points there, I think i will opt for a ceramic bulb rather than a heat matt as im sure this would be able to heat the viv up a lot better, And as for a thermostat i guess you get what you pay for do you, just one more thing then would i be better putting the ceramic bulb near to the spot lamp and keep the temp up by the basking spot or would you recomend placing it maybe towards the middle of the viv and raising the temp in the whole viv, i guess its personal prefference, i'd still like to keep an area slightly cooler in the viv though
thanks again guys


----------



## iggyboy (May 23, 2005)

My Iggys viv is 5 foot 4"high by 6 and a half foot long and 3 foot wide and is made from wood with glass sliding doors,homemade,this has always been heated by ceramic lamps (100 watts) on a thermostat with timer (so i can set it to switch off/on automaticly or wotever depending if im late home from work or out etc..) I have never had any probs although if using a ceramic lamp u MUST have some sort of protective cage or mesh around it as your reptile will quite happily lay against it or climb on it (if its near enough) and will burn himself easily.I have heard/read that heat mats should not realy b used for big lizards as u cannot control the temp on them very well if at all.I use habistat thermostats from "living earth" to control my ceramic lamps,these have never gone wrong or been replaced in ten years! and r great for controlling temps,u can even set a timer (sold seperate) on them to lower the temp slightly at night or at set times....etc.
P.S U should always have a part/corner of your viv that is cool for it to cool off/regulate his body temp (i tend to have my heat sources at one end so then your reptile can go to the cool spot to regulate/cool down,then return to his basking spots/place when he is ready.


----------



## Luke (May 19, 2005)

nice iggy there bud.


----------



## junglist (May 23, 2005)

yeah thats one fine looking ig you have there, roughly how old is your ig then, cheers for the advice mate really helpfull, and any chance of seeing some pics of your viv
cheers once again mate


----------



## iggyboy (May 23, 2005)

Thx,Hes 10 years old now (had him since 3 months old  )so hes fairly old and currently on the mend (see my other thread).


----------



## Werty75 (Apr 24, 2011)

*Baby boa !*

I have heard that baby boa's need heat from underneath like a heat mat is this true ????................Or is a bulb with the correct temp ok ?:2thumb:


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

I have a ceramic bulb in a ceramic holder, but no reflector or cage. A cage would likely encourage my beardie to climb and temps are fine without a reflector. Why is one needed?

There is the added benefit of being able to use it for night temps as it emits not lights.


----------



## emmz29 (Feb 9, 2010)

ceramic heating systems are the best on the market imo, i good ceramic bulb, pulse prop thermostat, and reflector,also heat resistent cable couple of quid, its by the fair the best set up on heat side of things, but puts alot of people off as it cost more then the typical light bulb,wire,plug option hope this helps cheers emma


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

What's the reflector needed for, does it reduce the fire risk? My Viv is wooden.


----------



## emmz29 (Feb 9, 2010)

GeeUK said:


> What's the reflector needed for, does it reduce the fire risk? My Viv is wooden.


 fire risk was never a issue with ceramic heaters with me allways done as i was told by local reptile shop and had nothink but perfect temps, reflector is just better for the heat as none escapes, and penatrates the heat straight down under ya baskin site, log, stone, ect i have never used dimming thermostats and normal reflector light bulbs just not for me hope this helps:2thumb:


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Cool.

I don't currenly use a reflector and use a ceramic on a dimming thermostat and the temps are fine. 

If a reflector was fitted, would it cause any issues with the other temps in the Viv?


----------



## emmz29 (Feb 9, 2010)

GeeUK said:


> Cool.
> 
> I don't currenly use a reflector and use a ceramic on a dimming thermostat and the temps are fine.
> 
> If a reflector was fitted, would it cause any issues with the other temps in the Viv?


whats the size of ya ceramic bulb hun and the size of ya vivarium?i can send u a link for the right reflector hun x


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Hi,

It measures about 5" across and 6/7" in length. Viv is 4x1.5x1.5.


----------



## kattes (Jun 8, 2011)

Werty75 said:


> I have heard that baby boa's need heat from underneath like a heat mat is this true ????................Or is a bulb with the correct temp ok ?:2thumb:


That doesn't make much sense to me. In fact, I'd say the best direction for heat is always from above. Just like the sun. It's true that some snakes bask on heated rocks, but I'd say that's not the normal situation for a baby boa dwelling on the rainforest floor. Some breeders seem to be very much against heating from underneath as they claim it can dry out the snake. I wouldn't know though, I haven't used bottom heating in over ten years.



GeeUK said:


> Cool.
> 
> I don't currenly use a reflector and use a ceramic on a dimming thermostat and the temps are fine.
> 
> If a reflector was fitted, would it cause any issues with the other temps in the Viv?


No. The reflector will make some difference if the heater is placed outside the viv, on a mesh top for example as the heat can't rise so easily. But if it's on the inside, it wont make any difference as the amount of energy turned into heat inside the viv remains the same. A ceramic heater emits no light to reflect, so the reflector mostly absorbs energy (and naturally keeps releasing it too.) But you should still never leave a ceramic heater or high wattage light source unprotected as they can and will burn the animal if touched. Protecting cage or a reflector with screen will get the job done. And always make sure you're using a good socket and proper wiring.


----------



## reptiles-ink (Nov 4, 2006)

Ceramic bulbs are designed to provide heat and nothing else.
Reflector bulbs are made to give off light and the heat from them is purely lost energy due to the design of the bulb. This is why energy saving bulbs give off less heat as they are more efficient at doing what they are made for.

If set up properly with the correct holder/cable and guarded then a ceramic is far superior for heating and perfectly safe.


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

My cermamic is a few inches away from the side of the Viv, is this okay? Well it has been for over a month LOL.

Only been concerned since someone mentioned they can become a fire hazard?


----------



## kattes (Jun 8, 2011)

GeeUK said:


> My cermamic is a few inches away from the side of the Viv, is this okay? Well it has been for over a month LOL.
> 
> Only been concerned since someone mentioned they can become a fire hazard?


I doubt it'll be a fire hazard at that position if it's just properly installed, but it's definately a hazard to your dragon. Seriously, a guard box isn't expensive or hard to install. Why take the risk of seriously injuring your animal?

You can also measure the temperature right on the wall to make sure.


----------



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

I'm led to believe a cage encourages the lizard to climb towards the lamp? As it is, it is out of reach and the lizard shows no interest in it, however I will purchase a guard.

Or actually, I may raise it up further. I could never get the right temps the higher up it was..maybe I'll try both.


----------

