[Mygala]

Jess, what kind of set up are you envisioning?


I've never found thermostats useful in controlling light fixtures.


Because, for accuracy's sake, you'll need the thermostat to be inside the tank with Dudley, the visible light might not read accurately on a thermostat. A white thermostat will read a different temp than a black one because of the way visible light is absorbed differently by different colors. The angle and surface area exposed to the light will also affect it's accuracy.



What's more, you need different heating gradients for different spots. One thermostat won't give you accurate readings across the board.



You might find that using a light that doesn't produce heat (like the flourescents you mentioned) is helpful, and having your heat source (heating tape or a heating pad on the side of the cage) controlled by a timer. This gives him a general gradient, from the warm side to the cool side of the tank.


You can put the heat source on a timer, because you can roughly predict when the ambient temps in your room will be problematic.



For his basking spot, you could use a lower wattage light, but use a spot focus so that it's still warm where he needs it, but it will have less effect on the temps throughout the enclosure.


Just my two cents.

Bob

 

[Mygala]

How much heating to you actually need? If your room is getting that warm, it should stay within the comfort zone of your dragon without supplemental heating. I'd explore what you said earlier, just a timer for the basking light.

Although 30mins on/of is going to shorten the life of the light significantly.

He doesn't necessarily have to have access to a basking light all day long. A lot of desert animals only bask in mornings to warm up. Then again in the evening to get a little last warmth before the cool of the night.

For Dudley, as long as the temps don't get too cool in between, an hour of basking in the morning and an hour in the evening might be a good starting point to see what he needs.

In the winter, when temps my cool off in your house, you might consider using a ceramic heater in his basking area. That way he can have a warm spot 24hrs/day and you don't have to leave a light on at night and disturb is diurnal cycle.

Just some suggestions. Hopefully you won't need a thermostat at all.

Bob