To keep your reptiles, amphibians and other pets warn. Most of these pets, including bearded dragons, green iguanas, horned mountain dragons, chameleons, basilisk, frogs, spiny-tailed monitor, water dragons, salamanders, and so on, need specific temperatures to thrive.
Therefore, it means you need to invest in various heat sources to keep your pets safe. Some of the most popular heat sources you should consider include the following:
1. Infrared lamps
Produce infrared rays with very little visible light. These are nothing other than incandescent bulbs that are tinted red to produce very little visible light.
Note
Besides infrared lamps, anything that emits heat is said to emit infrared rays. The sun and any object that radiates warmth, such as fire, infrared lamps, plasma torches, welding arcs, hot metal surface, and so on, emit infrared.
Infrared rays are electromagnetic radiations whose wavelengths are longer than visible light, typically from 700 nm to 1 mm, making them invisible to our eyes, but we can feel them, and they don’t need a media to be transmitted.
However, the shortwave or near-infrared ranging emit visible light while the far-infrared (dark emitters) don’t emit visible light.
2. Incandescent bulbs – halogen basking lamps
When electricity heats these bulb’s filament to high temperature, they produce visible light and infrared rays. The halogen lamps (tungsten halogen, quartz iodine lamp, or quartz-halogen) are typical examples.
You have a choice of buying halogen UVB lamps that emit warmth, light, and ultraviolet rays (UVA and UVB).
Naturally, most incandescent bulbs have a near yellow color making it not to look like that from the sunlight. Pairing them with a metallic halide bulb will help resolve this problem and produce full-spectrum sun-like light.
Finally, if you go for Incandescent basking lights, their edges should have a silver coating or reflector. Also, they should have a transparent glass to ensure it produces focused, bright light, which these pets will love and will make creating a thermal gradient easier.
3. Ceramic heat emitters or bulbs
Ceramic heat emitters or ceramic infrared heat emitters use electricity to warm or ceramic semiconductors, which in turn emits radiant thermal without emitting any light. These types are the best choice for warming your pet’s tank at night.
Most ceramic heat emitters are bulb-like shaped and can fit into Edison screw ceramic lamp holders. However, there are also flat and concave brands.
Finally, their typical wattage is between 60 to 150 watts. Therefore, depending on your vivarium size, you can get those of higher or lower wattage.
4. Mercury vapor lamps – basking
These are high-intensity gas discharge lamps whose electric arc uses vaporized mercury. They are more energy efficient when compared to most halogen or incandescent bulbs.
Furthermore, they produce bright white light, last longer, and produce UV (UVA and UVB) rays. All these will ensure proper coloration of pets, increased appetite, and improved health.
However, you cannot control them with a thermostat or rheostat, are more expensive and require proper disposal when you stop using them. Varying placement distance is the only way to regulate the amount of warmth and UV light that your pets receive from these bulbs.
Finally, mercury vapor lamps need a ballast controller, and they will focus their heat and light to a smaller area.
5. Metallic-halide lamps – basking
Like mercury vapor lamps, they are also high-intensity gas discharge lamps that will produce not only visible light but also ultraviolet light and heat. They are an ideal choice for people with larger terrariums.
Unless self-ballasted, they need a ballast controller, and you cannot dim them (with thermostat).
6. Heating pads and mats
Heat pads or mats are mainly electrical devices with heating elements that heat the pad. While they radiate a little heat, therefore, these devices conduction to keep surfaces warm. However, they don’t produce light and come in various sizes.
You can place them on beneath or on the side of your vivarium using their adhesive side. Placing them on a vivarium side will make them less effective. Similarly, if placed beneath your tank, have a thick substrate will make them ineffective.
To avoid overheating, ensure you have a thermostat such as a thermostat or ministat for on-off control to reduce the chances of belly burns. Some have inbuilt thermostats too.
If possible, avoid heating mats or pads since they can burn your pet’s belly. Beardies sense warmth from above their head and not below on their bellies, meaning that these lizards may sit these mats for a long without knowing they are burning.
Also, since they keep these pets warm by conduction or contact, only cover a third of their vivarium with these mats to give your pet a chance to choose whether they will sit on it or not.
Finally, use them as a supplemental source of heating and not the primary source of warmth.
7. Heat rocks
They are more or less similar to heat pads, with the difference being the warming happens on specially designed basking rock. A familiar brand is the Zoo Med Repticare Rock Heater for Reptiles.
Like heating pads, they are not the recommended ways to warm your pets since they may cause thermal belly.
Finally, ensure they have thermostats to control temperature and place your thermostat’s probe on the surface of the rock and not in the air.
8. Heating cable and heat strips
Heat tape, cable, or wire are low wattage, low-cost heaters used as a secondary source of warmth. They have a heating element and can be wrapped around basking rocks, branches, furniture, or used under tanks like heat mats.
Strips and cables are similar with the only difference being a heat cable is stiffer but can be plied around anything without shrinking while a heat tape is much more flexible.
The Zoo Med Reptile Heat Cable is an example of a cable you can buy for your bearded dragons.
9. Space heaters
For people who have an extra-large terrarium, a space heater is one of the options to consider, as it will avoid having several basking lamps.
10. Reptile Deep heat projector
These reptile heat projectors are vivarium infrared heating bulbs that warm up fast, don’t produce light, have reflectors to target where you want to keep warm such as the basking area, to hence minimizing losses and use less power when compared to tungsten bulbs.
Best vivarium heating tips
- Cage or guard the bulb – Put heat lamps in on places where your pets cannot reach. Furthermore, cage or guard it. Moreover, you can mount it above the tank or on your terrarium screen cover.
- Ensure they illuminate your pet’s entire body and not some spots, as this can result in thermal burns. Also, your bulbs should not have any hotspots, too, as this can also cause thermal injuries.
- Buy and use several lower wattage bulbs instead of one high wattage basking bulb.
- Go for unfrosted bulbs such as halogen floods lights since they have white light.
Deciding on bearded dragon heat lamp wattage
The wattage you choose depends on by your terrarium size, the distance of lamp placement, lamp type, targeted temperatures, among other factors.
Typically, smaller vivaria use low wattage lamps as opposed to bigger ones. Also, those placed far from the basking area will require more wattage to effectively keep your pet warm as opposed to the set closer.