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Post by sillywoman1969 on Sept 28, 2004 5:43:01 GMT -8
Ok I was cleaning a closet for my mom, in my dad's computer room, and came across a red bulb the kind used for heating the bathroom so I snagged it! hehe Let me say WOW it got hot in a hurry and Puppy got toasty! I'm gonna go today and look for a thermometer gun cuz I don't think I'm getting a good reading. I still have to get him some clear plastic covering or plexiglass, thank goodness payday is close!
Next heating question. What's a good way to keep him warm overnight during winter but not too warm? I have a black reptile bulb that I use now but I don't think that will be sufficient for the winter months and he will not sleep with a regular light on at all. Would a space heater close (not inside) to his enclosure benefit him for sleep time?
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Post by IguanaKing on Sept 28, 2004 10:00:37 GMT -8
Yup, that's an IR heat lamp for you, they do an awesome job heating your iguana the way he is designed to be heated. Use your temp gun to measure Puppy's body temperature. Remember IR heating can give you falsely high readings on thermometers.
As far as keeping him warm at night, just do what I do, let Puppy sleep in your bed with you. ;D I know...its not for everybody...and it depends on how much you and Puppy trust each other.
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Post by sillywoman1969 on Sept 29, 2004 8:31:03 GMT -8
Yesterday was the first time he's come to me on his own. I had him on my bed while I was sitting next to it while on the phone with a pc tech for 3 hours tryin to fix my home pc, anyways that's the second time I've let him "semi" roam and he did take a nose dive once to the floor which freaked me out and scared the tech when I screamed, hehe, but after that he just kept exploring the top of my bed till he finally came over to me and crawled up me! So we're making progress but I don't think we're close to a sleeping together stage yet, lol I'm so scared of him being on the floor! I'm afraid he might hurt himself if he were to crawl under my bed or something. I think I'm just gonna try using a space heater close to the enclosure and see if that helps for now.
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Post by IguanaKing on Sept 29, 2004 9:58:42 GMT -8
His coming to you and climbing on you is one of the first signs that he is starting to trust you. Congratulations!!! That's a lot of progress for a very short time, especially considering how "aggressive" you were told he was. ;D Pretty soon he'll come running to you when he's scared, like mine do when I take them to the vet. Either one of them, when the vet is done with their exam, they immediately run and jump on me as soon as he sets them down.
A space heater will work fine, but it might not be necessary, just as long as you keep his sleeping area around 75 degrees during the night.
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Post by sillywoman1969 on Sept 29, 2004 10:17:55 GMT -8
This mornings temp was 70 so I'm getting that space heater today for him no matter what! His room is converted from a garage, prior to me moving in, and the temperature is harder to control down there. It'll be ideal during summer but winter will be harder for me to keep him toasty. I'm gonna do the clear plastic vinyl covering this weekend, per Marks suggestion, and getting rid of the mesh. I'm going to find a different heat resistant material that will let his lights shine thru and heat him and then put vinyl across the other half without lights. I'm just too scared to put his lights back inside the enclosure with him. Ya know I just can't imagine NOT having him around now! OOOHH and big news my son is handling him now as well!! He remains pretty calm with both of us! I'll get some pics of my moose sized boy holding my puppy named iguana taken soon to show yall!! ;D lol
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Post by IguanaKing on Sept 29, 2004 12:23:04 GMT -8
Just make sure you don't overdo it with covering everything with solid materials, good ventilation is also extremely important. I have two small areas on my ig habitat, one on the side, and one on the top, that have plastic mesh on them which provides the ventilation.
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Post by sillywoman1969 on Sept 29, 2004 12:53:59 GMT -8
Do you think plastic mesh would withstand the heat put off by the IR, UVB and Night lights? I want an open material like the mesh, for the light and heat to get thru and for ventilation but only more safe for Puppy's lil toes than the chicken wire I have up now.
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Post by mar on Sept 29, 2004 14:12:32 GMT -8
Plastic would melt and stink very quickly, no good. Wire is fine if it is the galvanized square welded type. Usually easy to find in a 1cm x 1cm square hole sold in a 3 foot wide roll. Look for a little bluge or node where the wires overlap.
This is kind of weird, right now Bob is sitting less than 10 cm directly over my head.
If you can't find that look for a wire rack in a kitchen or thrift store. Again stay away from plastic.
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Post by IguanaKing on Sept 29, 2004 14:33:00 GMT -8
Nope, plastic won't work around the heat lamp. In that spot, either use the wire that Mark suggested or you could leave that area open. If its not within leaping/climbing distance, you won't have to worry too much about him getting out. I have an open space at the top of mine just because I never got around to covering it, but its not a problem. My igs love the environment in there so much, even the door is just a formality, they'd rather be there than anywhere else most of the time. Heh...I leave the door unlatched so Hercules can got to the bathtub when he needs to poop. He just pushes it open, wanders to the bathtub, does his thing, then comes back to his habitat, all on his own. ;D
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