is my light ok?

decided to put a lamp in place cuz my heat mat wasn't givin enough heat. so im gonna use a lamp during the day and the mat at night. its a 40watt red tinted lamp. was just wonderin if thats suitable enough as i got it from a local DIY store not a pet specific shop.

what are the dimensions or how many gallons is your tank? This will help in determining the wattage you require for heating. For my 10 gallon I was using a 60W bulb which I felt was enough.
I don't like heat mats either, but I've heard some do the trick. I've personally gone the route of infrared heat bulbs as well.

im not sure its infra-red though. its just tinted and the element is very bright.

Stan wrote:

im not sure its infra-red though. its just tinted and the element is very bright.

Is it a red bulb?

more pink its just tinted red gonna get a proper infra-red one tomorrow

Well be careful on how close that you place it to the tank or you can heat that tank up really fast. If you do it, try to place it about 3-6 inches from the top of the tank. Make it so its like the sun raining down on one side of the tank. So if the vert wants, he can leave it...

ive got a infrared heat lamp about 1.5 feet from the substrate its a 60 watt infrared bulb but you need to be carefull on what bulb you buy because some can emit uv rays which will harm your scorp. any red bulb is usually fine. ive used power sun bulbs and the exoterra ones and they seem to be fine

I'm finding that the lamp and a heat mat work great for my v. spinigerus but the lamp sucks the humidity out of the viv immediately with my h. spinifers.

Has anyone else noticed that the lamp sucks the humidity out of tropical set ups and keeps the humidity down for desert set ups?

Stan, what kind of scorps do you have?

Also I use the ExoTerra HeatGlo Infrared Heat Lamp (http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_glo_lighting.php). I have a 50w, 75w and a 150w and have rotated amongst them depending on what my tanks are sitting at for temp and humidity. I really haven't used a bulb on the tropical set up though for the above stated reasons.

I have a question of my own as well. My V. Spin viv is alright with the lamp but the temp and humidity just dropped here and I'm noticed it reflect in H. Spin viv. Are there any suggestions for a lamp that will not suck the humidity out of the viv or is the best bet just swapping out the mat for a larger one. The H. Spins are in a 20 gal high and I used a mat that was for a 10 or 20 gal tank. I'm starting to worry that it is not going to do the job.

that is a problem for me but i discovered that the light whats messing around with the humidity meter but if you dump water on the substrate the humidity is fine for about a week.

Hey everyone, this is my first post and I apologize for hijacking the thread but I had a similar question. I just got my first scorpion 3 days ago (Emperor). I have been using a heat mat but I also noticed that I was not getting the right temps and humidity in the tank. So today, I purchased a heat bulb at a local pet store. It is a blue bulb and says daylight heat bulb. When I bought it I didn't think it would be so bright because of the blue tint, but it's really bright. And the box said it contained UVA rays, which I did not notice until after I got home. Is that bulb harmful to my scorpion? The heat and humidity are up to par now though.

Edit: I forgot to mention, 5.5 gallon tank, and 40W bulb.

From what I have read and heard on this forum (correct me if I'm wrong guys and ladies) is that UV is bad for your scorps. You should look for a Infrared Light or something without UV.

iitomodachi1 wrote:

From what I have read and heard on this forum (correct me if I'm wrong guys and ladies) is that UV is bad for your scorps. You should look for a Infrared Light or something without UV.

OK thanks. I'm still pretty new at this, and I'm trying to do all the research I can. I also have Bearded Dragons for a couple of years (aside from cats, dogs, and pond animals) so I'm trying to get all the different tank setups correct.

iitomodachi1 wrote:

From what I have read and heard on this forum (correct me if I'm wrong guys and ladies) is that UV is bad for your scorps. You should look for a Infrared Light or something without UV.

scorpions are negatively phototactic (i dont know if i spelt that right) meaning no light at all....
they are nocturnal animals...
and the reason everyone says IR bulbs, is because the scorpions cant see red in the color spectrum, if i remember correctly...

the lycan mikey wrote:

and the reason everyone says IR bulbs, is because the scorpions cant see red in the color spectrum, if i remember correctly...

I have heard that they can not see red in there color spectrum, but I was under the impression that infrared does not have UV, is this not true?

Q: Is any old red bulb fine for viewing my scorpion at night?
A: Yes and No. Depending on the frequency you view you scorpion depends if its fine or not. If it isn’t clearly stated to be a Infrared bulb then it would emit UV (UVA & UVB) rays which are harmful to scorpions. So it would be ok once and a while for a minute or two to use a non Infrared bulb. I’d still recommend you buy a low wattage IR bulb to view them with.

https://scorpionforum.darkbb.com/the-burrow-in-ghana-emperor-zone-f34/frequently-asked-questions-about-emperor-scorpions-p-imperator-t13.htm

id just go by this....
im not intellectual enough to explain the whole light thing...
lol

I got an IR bulb, 60W and it heats the tank to a perfect temperature. Now I'm just having trouble regulating the humidity and the heat together. With the lamp on, I get to about 83-85 degrees F, but the humidity drops down fast to about 30-40%. With out the lamp on, the temp is about 72-74 degrees and the humidity is at around 70-80%, having trouble finding a balance of high enough heat and a high humidity. He is more active with the lamp on also.

I had problems with my heat bulb as well. It would dry out my enclosure, but all I did was dump water onto the substrate every week to make sure the substrate was damp. As long as I did that, my scorpion seemed to be healthy and active.

How did you position your heat bulb? I placed mine on one side of the tank on top.
I agree, they are also more active when the temperature is higher.
Keep in mind, though, that the humidity is different on the substrate. Mine stayed in a burrow most of the time and the humidity in there is different from the outside air, so I knew it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

I'm having the same problems, and my substrate is damp all the time. I have a false bottom and make sure the substrate is damp to the touch but not soaking. I have substrate ontop of some wood too and that drys up so I mist it heavy and it still drys up with the lamp on for 30 minutes. I'm going to get a couple of Rheostats and ceramic heat bulbs tomorrow and see if I can work with that although that is a very expensive route! If it works out well for me I'll post up a success story

H. laoticus wrote:

Keep in mind, though, that the humidity is different on the substrate. Mine stayed in a burrow most of the time and the humidity in there is different from the outside air, so I knew it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

This makes me feel a lot better, thanks

It is still starting to cool down by me, just over the hottest part of the year here and I'm noticing changes in my temp and humidity so I'm a bit worried when it is full on winter, cold and dry.

iitomodachi1 wrote:

It is still starting to cool down by me, just over the hottest part of the year here and I'm noticing changes in my temp and humidity so I'm a bit worried when it is full on winter, cold and dry.

i hear that up in alberta for me, concerned for my emp having a heating rock and contemplating throwing a heating pad to the side of the tank for extra measure

Is a tank temperature of 73 degrees F too low? That's how my tank is without the lamp and just the mat. I'm pretty sure I read that it should be in the 80s though. Where it is now though, I have the perfect humidity, I'm just thinking the heat is too low.

Yes it is too low, however its fine on a temporary basis.

It should be between 77-86.

I moved the IR bulb higher away from the tank, so now I'm maintaining a temperature of 79-80 and a decent humidity throughout the day, misting it every once in a while to increase the humidity.