# 10 good reasons to use a bulb as a heat source!



## Ascended Vegeta (Jul 1, 2010)

Why do people all seem to all go for heat mats these days?

Even in the minority, I prefer bulbs, blue ones 25w on a dimmerstat.
{I suspect people are pushed to use mats by salesmens convieniance}

Pros for bulbs.
1, cant burn at 25w and a dimmer stat.
2, easy to set up a night drop.
3, you can see when there working or not {light}.
4. heats the air and tank alowing a normal rock to become a nice heat rock for free.
5, eco friendly, on a dimmer stat, they can last over 10 years easaly.
6, cheep to run, 25watts, dimmed is less than battery power levels.
7, better thermal gradiant because the bulb is in a smaller area.
8, some little light is given off so you can see your animals.
9, as the tank can be brighter than the room {with lights off in the room}, the animals see a mirror instead of passers by.
10, a bank of nicely glowing tanks with blue blulbs is relaxing to watch and chill to.:lol2:


Feel free to give your reasons for prefering mats  

.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Some animals require heat from below rather than above, something you can't achieve with a bulb. Mats are also less obtrusive, you might not want a bulb in your viv, mats are pretty much invisible.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

heat mats are cheaper to run
You don't always need a tall viv so there's no room for a bulb
you can't stick a bulb in a RUB


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## Dragon Wolf (Oct 27, 2009)

There are pros and cons for both bulbs and mats, it depends on what species you are keeping for a start off.


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## StumpyFingers (Aug 24, 2009)

I have tried both and prefer Bulbs / ceramic heaters, they heat the air and the surfaces as the sun would do and the Reptiles always seem to find the right spot for basking.


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## Ascended Vegeta (Jul 1, 2010)

Graham said:


> Some animals require heat from below rather than above, something you can't achieve with a bulb. Mats are also less obtrusive, you might not want a bulb in your viv, mats are pretty much invisible.


Stack your tanks for the heat from the tank below to give bottom heat 
Depends how much heat you need though



Meko said:


> heat mats are cheaper to run
> You don't always need a tall viv so there's no room for a bulb
> you can't stick a bulb in a RUB


Mats are cheeper? Not if you use a dimmerstat with a bulb, your then using battery sized voltages.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

and you're using a stat with a mat.

an 11watt heat mat compared to a 100watt ceramic on a stat. The mximum wattage your matt is going to use is 11watts, 9 times less than the ceramic.


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

I think it all depends on what animal and what set up you are using.But given the choice if I can use a bulb I prefer it as they heat the air also. Have you ever noticed that most people who post about snakes with RI's have them in rubs on heat mats.


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## Alon93 (Jul 5, 2010)

Ascended Vegeta said:


> Mats are cheeper? Not if you use a dimmerstat with a bulb, your then using battery sized voltages.


And how much does a bulb with a wired fixture and a dimmer stat costs? now how much does one heat mat costs?

And as someone here said before, it depends on what animals you keep, some reptiles like geckos need heat bellow their bellies and some reptiles like beardies need heat from above.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> Stack your tanks for the heat from the tank below to give bottom heat


And if you only have one tank? Or your tanks open at the top, or have ventilation at the top, or you don't want to stack them, maybe they're different sizes and can't be stacked? So many problems with this suggestion, I could go on all morning!

I'm all for bulbs in the right application, but you can't use them for everything, which is why they make mats.


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## renster (Jul 13, 2009)

I use 2 bulbs and 4 mats and while I was cleaning out one of the viv (biggest one) I noticed even without the mats my temps were great! (Had the mats unplugged for about 45 mins)

So I put it to the test by leaving it over night with the gecko's in it with the bulb on all day and the mat on 30% during the night.

Hot end Day temps (Bulb Only) - Sand = 29C Basking spot = 34C

Hot end Day temps (Mat & Bulb) - Sand = 32C Basking spot = 35C

Hot end Day temps (Mat Only) - Sand = 28C Basking spot = 32C

Yes the Mat & Bulb provide more heat but the hot end of the Viv is to be kept within 27 - 32 so being realistic here the bulb on its own is Ideal!

The hilarious thing is the two bulbs I use are regular energy efficient bulbs that you would use in you house lol £1.50 each  + say £2 for a bottle of heat resistant glass paint (Both bulbs are a dark red)

Light fittings were free as I yanked them off two old lamps we were throwing out!

My Viv is 2 feet high, from lowest point of bulb to substrate is 1.2ft seen as my geckos are tiny the height ain't an issue for me but could understand the concern of someone with a beardie or boa.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

renster said:


> The hilarious thing is the two bulbs I use are regular energy efficient bulbs that you would use in you house lol £1.50 each  + say £2 for a bottle of heat resistant glass paint (Both bulbs are a dark red)
> 
> .


by 'energy efficient bulbs', you mean the 10watt ones rather than normal bulbs?

when it gets to winter you won't have the same results. Try doing the experiment again but also with no heating to see how much the ambient room temperature is contributing.


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## Alfonzo (Mar 7, 2008)

Graham said:


> Some animals require heat from below rather than above, something you can't achieve with a bulb. Mats are also less obtrusive, you might not want a bulb in your viv, mats are pretty much invisible.


A bulb will warm the floor beneath it - so animals that get their warmth from beneath will be fine.

I prefer using bulbs because in winter my reptile room can drop as low as 16-18oC when the central heating is off, and a heatmat simply doesn't cut it. with bulbs the air temps are raised and I don't have to stress about ambient temps so much.


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## zeus7 (Jul 17, 2008)

> Even in the minority, I prefer bulbs, blue ones 25w on a dimmerstat.


Can a 25W bulb maintain the required heat level?


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## kevcollyer (May 22, 2007)

*mats/bulbs*

I use rubs while my snakes are small, i have a heatmat under part of the rub with the rub raised about 6mm off the mat & i have a 40w bulb on a dimmer stat about 6" away from the rub which is on a 24hr timer 12 on & 12 off.
My temps are always spot on & i also check these regularly with a digital temp gun.
The bulb wattage is not important as long as its on a dimmerstat but i think 25w is a little to small as i have tried these myself


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## Saber (Nov 9, 2009)

The other good idea with bulbs is that if you put a very large black rock underneath it,you can get bottom heat in a very natural way. As the rock heats up under the bulb you get the perfect natural bottom heat for many species, who would absorb heat through a rock as part of their thermo regulation.That heatrock is not only free but free to run because it is using the energy that has already been used to heat the tank,no batteries/wires needed.
Stacking your tanks also creates a general background bottom heat situation. Regardless of that one main objection(which has been dealt with) to bulbs being superior,there was still all of the other good reasons to use bulbs, with my favourite, number 10, it's pretty.:2thumb:


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## R.S.ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE (Feb 12, 2010)

i agree with all of the above but mainly on this they both have up sides and down sides and realy just as good as each other so not realy much point in this topic the same thing is being said again and again :lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:


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## CSJ10 (Jun 7, 2010)

zeus7 said:


> Can a 25W bulb maintain the required heat level?


Exactly what I was thinking. Any opinions on wattage? For my boa I use a 100w reflector bulb or 150 watt ceramic and have to have my stats turned right up to reach the desired temp. (I have digital hot/cool end thermometers in all my setups). In three of my corn snake setups I use mats and a 25w bulb for light during the day. I haven't measured the output but I found the energy saving bulbs seem to give out a lot of heat.


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## Wegotsnakesandthings (Feb 4, 2010)

It really depends on the animals that are being kept, regarding energy consumption heat mats are more efficient than bulbs as you're electricity is being used only to give heat whereas the lamps are less efficient as they also give out light energy. I have used both heat mats and lamps and have thermostats that operate at two different temperatures so that the heat mat will always maintain a minimum temperature for background and night time and the lamps are used to give a top up if required during the day


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## Bikewatch2000 (Dec 8, 2008)

Just my opinion as i used to use bulbs but now almost entirely swapped to heatmats and led's for lighting (species dependant of coarse)



> *1, cant burn at 25w and a dimmer stat.*
> _Incandescent bulbs of any wattage can burn as they produce light by an element glowing white hot (regardless of the colour of the glass)_
> 
> *2, easy to set up a night drop.*
> ...


*{I suspect people are pushed to use mats by salesmens convieniance/profits}
{I suspect people are pushed to use bulbs by salesmens convieniance/profits}*
I suspect both statements to be true

Obviously i'm not saying that mats are the be all and end all as i'm well aware that certain species requirements mean that you are always going to need bulbs i'm just trying to put over a balanced point of view.


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## agama boy (Aug 8, 2010)

*heat mats*

the reason i use a heat mat is my lizzard likes to dig deep and its nice and warm when she digs.

agama boy


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## naja-naja (Aug 26, 2009)

i hate blue and red bulbs, i use mats on my tubs, ceramics in my vivs (maybe rphs eventually) the bulbs blow easily and if i was to get any bulb it would be a ceramic as it lasts longer, better heat and emits no light to stress the animal unnecisarily(sp).


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