# Sticky  Heating large enclosures - How to guide.



## Rick_Albig

"How do you heat your large enclosures?"

I have been asked this question many times, in threads, PM's and in e-mails. This post will hopefully give you some ideas and help those of you who are struggling to maintain adequate temperatures in large enclosures. The following is how I do it and by no means the only way or the right way for every species. I currently heat two large enclosures in this way. The ones pictured are of a 12'x8'x5' enclosure used to house my pair of V.albigularis.

The first area I concentrate on is the basking site. This is the primary heat source for the whole enclosure. I use a bank of 6 60w R80 spot lights in this case (i remove two of the lights in the summer months as they are not required to achieve the required temps.) The fittings are mounted on a ply wood board and suspended by chain. This allows me to adjust the height of basking light until I have the desired surface temperature.











It is very important to make sure that the basking area is of even temperature gradient and it must cover at least the snout to vent length of your animal. This will prevent the risk of thermal burns from a reptile only being able to heat part of its body.




















The temperature is checked using an infra red temperature gun. These are vital tool for any reptile enthusiast and can be purchased off ebay for about £15-20. 




















For my albigularis I have a SURFACE temp at around the 140f (60c) mark. This will vary from species to species but is a good guide for most varanids.

This bank of light heats the entire enclosure for 12 hours a day. I achieve a thermal gradient from about 90-68f (32-20c) with this set up and they use every bit of it!

At night when the lights go out I have a secondary heat source in the form of two CHE's (Ceramic Heat Emitters) These are both 150w.




















These are controlled by a pulse proportional thermostat that I have set on the lowest temperature I want the enclosure to be, in this case 68f (20c.) I find that it is only on the coldest winter nights that these CHE's are actually ever on (as you can tell by the cobwebs on them!) This is due to the fact that the enclosure is fairly well insulated and hold the heat from the day very well.




















I have tried a few thermostats and found the habistat ones to be the best. These can also be custom ordered with any length of probe you want which is really useful! (mine are 3m long ones so I can position the probes in the middle of the enclosure)











Well hope this all helps!

Rick


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## Razaiel

Good post, Rick. There is too little information on "How to" with monitors around here. 

I would just add that for my sav (enclosure 8x4) I use exactly the same set-up with the basking lights on chains (they can be raised and lowered this way to achieve just the right temp) - only I need just 3 of the 60w halogen floods for this .

Thanks for putting this up, Rick - maybe it could become a sticky the same as on repticzone for building larger vivs.


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## paulskin

great!make sticky maybe mods!


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## knighty

Very usefull post! : victory:


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## Moldie

Nice post thanks very helpful :no1:


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## snowyj99

Thanks Rick very helpful!! :no1: 

Free bump:up:


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## lola

very good post - great pics really help explain it all too....

definitely recommend it be made a sticky....


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## Rick_Albig

Cheers everyone!

There is a very important point that I have completely overlooked in this post. I am a qualified electrical engineer and so have the knowledge and ability to do all of my own wiring and installation work. I do not recommend that you try this yourself unless you are 100% sure you know what you are doing! I’m sure I don’t need to go into the danger of electricity but please for the safety of yourself and your reptiles always be sure of what you are doing or even better get some one who is qualified to do it for you! 

Rick


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## miffikins

Really good post Rick, funnily enough I PM'd Razaiel about this this mornin :lol2:

I'm hoping to set up a bank of 2 or 3 halogens in my new viv - if I can pursuade hubby to let me have a bigger one :no1: Although I'm not sure I could manage the suspended thing...

This should be a sticky!

: victory:


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## essexchondro

Hi

Don't really know too much about V.albigularis and how they move about the enclosure etc, but shouldn't those bulbs and ceramics be covered with guards to prevent possible burns?

Maybe I'm a bit over-sensitive about that sort of thing because I keep a lot of arboreal species, but you can never be too careful.

cheers

Stuart


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## Lucifus

What monitor is that? Looks like a bosc but not.


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## miffikins

_Varanus albigularis, _Black throat is the common I think. They're cute :flrt:

I don't have guards on my bulbs as I know for a fact if I did, mine would be up there like a shot gripping onto the guard, increasing the risk of them burning themselves. I know snakes are a lot different but thats how I feel about guards and little monitors, I just make sure no decor always them to get too close.....

: victory:


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## Rick_Albig

Well spotted Stuart! I use guards with all of my snakes but not with any of my varanids. The reason is, mesh guards become extremely hot, admittedly not as hot as the lamp or ceramic itself but still very hot. Lizards have a habit of climbing on everything they can and mesh guards are no exception. They don’t seem to realize how hot they are and usually suffer far worse injuries from holding onto a hot guard them a glancing brush with a lamp. This is a lot worse with CHE's but in my viv is 5' high and there is now way they can reach them.

Lucifus: The monitors in the picture are V.albigularis - Black throated monitors. Quite similar to bosc's but much larger and darker tan/black/silver colors.

Rick


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## Lucifus

Rick_Albig;
[COLOR=black said:


> Lucifus: The monitors in the picture are V.albigularis - Black throated monitors. Quite similar to bosc's but much larger and darker tan/black/silver colors.[/COLOR]
> 
> Rick


Thought so it looked larger than the average bosc and more chunky too. That enclosure is huge too, is it a barn/garage that has been converted?


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## Fill

Nice thread mate, I vote it to be stickied aswell :no1:


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## DeanThorpe

cool thread, 
In our 8x4 for our bosc we have a couple larger diameter bulbs, one 250 watt and a 160watt megaray giving about the same effect.
we also have half a dozen 60-100watt bulbs riggged up but we quickly found those werent needed even over winter [we have one single 60watt ordinary round lightbulb nearer the cool end to increase the light in that area a bit but this doesnt effect temps as far as we can gather]

Very good point and an important one about atleast the snout to vent being able to be under a bask at one time.


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## Razaiel

BUMP!! It should be sticky!!


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## Razaiel

BUMPITY-BUMP

Just been advising yesterday on monitor enclosures - can it be a sticky?


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## R0NST3R

This really could do with being sticky....Monitors amnd other bigger lizards are becoming more available and common now!!!!!


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## Trice

Very nice and informative posts.


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## makaveli

*.*

thank you


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## Kris_sayer

ACE POST!!! i am doing a shed conversion atm, its not going to house a single rep i am installin vivs on all the walls, the shed is only thin wood, what do you guys think would be the best insulation?


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## Rick_Albig

Hard to say really :hmm: Rockwool or similar products would be the best i would of thaught but this would be allot of work as you would would need to put a second skin on the inside of your shed and creat a cavity for your insulation. You could always just line the shed walls with polystyrene, not sure how much this would cost though. 

In the short term it is going to be expensive but in the long run it will be worth it. You will save on energy as the shed will stay warm for longer and it will also help in the event of a power cut as the shed will stay warmer for longer even with no heat sources.......

That reminds me, you may want to look into the option of a backup heat source, non electrical in case of a power cut!

Rick


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## fixitsan

Kris_sayer said:


> ACE POST!!! i am doing a shed conversion atm, its not going to house a single rep i am installin vivs on all the walls, the shed is only thin wood, what do you guys think would be the best insulation?


 
There's some nice insulating materials used by builders these which ordinary people can access fairly easily at a local builders merchant. In particular i'm thinking of reflective foil insulation,like the stuff made by this company YBS Insulation - Reflective Foil Insulation 

Other things such as mounting the vivs as high as you can will help because there will be a noticeable temp gradient between floor and ceiling in the shed itself, mounting the viv's higher will cut down on the overall energy consumption.


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## Devon_Paul

Hi, I just have a quick question with regards to heating and lighting. I currently house my baby bosc in a 5x2x2 viv with a Mega Ray bulb which handles the heating and lighting perfectly, however you have not mentioned UVB. I have read conflicting info on this on the internet and in books and the overall concensus seems to be that due to the fact that they are reptiles that like to bask in the daytime, you should simulate this as best as possible which includes UV wavelength light. A normal light bulb as most on here will know will not provide anywhere near enough UV as the sun. The setup you describe, does not cover this...

Thanks Paul.


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## Rick_Albig

Very good point Paul. The UV debate, especially for varanids, is a never ending one. Over the years I have used various UV styles of lighting and have seen no visible/physical differences with my animals. This thread shows how I heat my enclosures at present and so far it is working well for me. 

I believe that UV should be provided where possible, but I also believe that light intensity plays a big part too. I have two 5' twin fluorescent light fittings in the viv that make them incredibly bright. I believe this also helps. 

I have been speaking to another forum member about this recently over e-mail and I may be trying some more UV type basking lights in the near future. I was not happy with the last ones I tried due to the way the light was fragmented giving a very uneven basking surface and varying temps.

Rick


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## zune_lai

Wow thats alot of bulbs expensive and harmful to the environment lol


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## Razaiel

This is how it has to be. To use one more powerful higher wattage bulb would not work for an enclosure of these larger sizes. Higher wattage bulbs will suck humidity out of the enclosure which could lead to dehydration of the monitor. Also one high wattage bulb would not be big enough to cover the length of the larger monitor and rather concentrate heat into one spot on the monitor's back which could lead to burning.

It is I who am (still :bash awaiting delivery of a megaray to replace one of the halogen floods for my 8x4 viv.


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## lizard lover =D

gr8 information ill be needing it all soon


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## Varanus guy

Where did u get the black throat from Ive been looking for aaaaaaaaages :lol2:


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## murinus

where do you get your light fittings from ? i cant find screw fittings like yours ? great post by the way


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## trejones

very helpful post thanks


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## Varanus guy

Good post mate at first I struggled with heating large enclousres (dunno if i spelt it write lol) and it took me soooo long to get it write :no1:


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## eeji

when i had my iggy, i used heat tubes from screwfix direct as the primary heat source, they kept the perfect temperature : victory:

these:
Creda Suntube 180W Tube Convector Commercial Heater - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys

connected together with a few of these kits:
Creda Suntube Interlocking Kit - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys


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## =)Al=)

Thanks alot that was a very usefull post!


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## metalgod

How much does it cost to keep a Bosc each month? Food, bedding etc... and what size viv does an adult need, and how much do THEY cost?
I'm contemplaiting buying one but I'm not too rich so I don't know if I'll be able to afford one /

Also, is it likely to eat my cat????


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## lucaswilb

The other thing i have used to keep the general and night time temperature up is a greenhouse tube heater. fairly economical and comes with handy cage to cover it.

just a suggestion


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## Grayspoon

I will soon be adding the heating for my new viv... its 44 inches wide x 5ft tall and 24 inches deep... Of cousre the basking spot temps will be easy at the top from basking lamps... However heating the rest and at night I am unsure of... I was considering a 250W ceramic on a stat mounted on the roof.. Hiowever this may cause some issues where its to hot at the top and much to cold in the base... I will require at least 80 in the coldest part as its for an iggy...

I have used those screwfix tubes in another viv before... perhaps I could add one lower down on a seperate stat to keep the temps consistant? OR would the ceramic be enough alone?

Thaughts / suggestions please


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## jason-knott

*montier*

hi,i have a pair of b/montiers about 3ft long and very tame.what the size of yours?jay,[email protected]


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## murrindindi

*Heat and lighting*

Hi, this is a great piece of advice, but have you ever used or considered using Metal Halide bulbs? they give an excellent quality light,and are cheap to run, (I mean in conjunction with the other heat/lights source) London zoo use these in most of their reptile enclosures. Regarding the use of U.V lighting, there have been a couple of studies which show the use of lamps like the "powersuns" etc. have a beneficial effect on Varanid species, although they don`t come close compared to natural sunlight.
At present I have a Varanus ornatus, TL.225 cm., mass 21kilos, I`ve had him for 12years, since a 32cm. baby, he`s ridiculously tame! 
Regards,
Stefan l
P.S You can now buy self-ballested Metal Halides


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## zlollar

wow i never thought about just mounting them to a peice of wood lol. this is a great way to save money and i was trying to find a way to save money when i get my frilled dragon i have found a way to make a cage for cheap with proper air circulation and now i have found a way to heat it easy for cheaper(of course i wont need as many as you) thank you:no1:


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## Courtz&Robert

*problem with heating*

hi,

i need help with this, ive got a 3foot x 2 foot viv, got two thermometers (one in cold and one in hot) the hot reads 92f and the cold reads 77f do you think thats ok , beardie 6 weeks old 

cheers


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## DaveAnscombe

basking spot 110/115/ cool end 80/83


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## ianb

:notworthy::notworthy::2thumb::2thumb:


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## Jellyman

Great post guys. Just a thought i am building a large viv for my Varanus salvator after xmas and i am thinking of using a micro climate AHS system 500w.
It hasn't been mentioned on this post, has anybody got any thoughts or views on it?


Cheers


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## fuzzzzbuzzzz

VG thread. Thankyou


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## jantoto

*heating large enclosures*

HI let me first say "I take my hat off to members like you!.To heat and get the temps right must be a nightmare.!And I`m worried that my 500w ahs system is not heating my 7Hx21/2Dx4L viv.Makes my problem look like nothing.!Keep up the good work,very interesting and informative thread.
many thanks
martin


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## Puff&Pebz

hi rick you certainly know your stuff so maybe you can give me a little advise on my build with regard to the lighting. i have a beardie which will hopefully be moving house in the next few weeks. im wanting to set up either 1 30" or 2 18" stip lights with 2or3 basking lights but wanting to have a dimmer switch for the basks. also ideally id like to run them both/all into the one transformer/powerbox so its only plug (2 at a push) into the mains. is this something you could maybe advise on?

Its roughly 3x3 and 2.7 in height
the link will give you a better idea of it 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/753499-bearded-dragon-custom-habitat.html


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## targonne

thank you for the guide, it is being very helpful, but i am wondering how do you make the animal not want to go on top of the board?


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## AmieLouiseThomas

Hello, I was wondering was it easy to wire the basking bulbs like that so you can adjust them etc? what bulbs were used as I have read halogen are best for basking as they get really hot, cheers


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## bloominators

heyy, can i ask what you used to limit the current while setting up the baskin site?


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