Dangerously hot?

[Foxrun402]

Left the digi running while I went to work... Thank goodness Suzi knows how to escape to the cold side of the terrarium when it gets hot....

Warm side was reading this temp with only a 50w incandescent bulb in a 5.5" dome sitting on the screen... I have the thermometer line running down the back glass and under the substrate... the probe comes up to rest on top the substrate directly under the lamp... its on the surface reading 106 degrees 10" under the light... I don't understand how this bulb is generating so much heat! I have switched to a backup lighting for now, a 60w incandescent bulb in a Zilla Clamp Lamp... Keeps the light elevated much higher and the temps lower... and have heatpad and thermostat on the way!

Any ideas why its getting so hot? is the surface temp supposed to be dramatically higher?

[infernalis]

Left the digi running while I went to work... Thank goodness Suzi knows how to escape to the cold side of the terrarium when it gets hot....

Warm side was reading this temp with only a 50w incandescent bulb in a 5.5" dome sitting on the screen... I have the thermometer line running down the back glass and under the substrate... the probe comes up to rest on top the substrate directly under the lamp... its on the surface reading 106 degrees 10" under the light... I don't understand how this bulb is generating so much heat! I have switched to a backup lighting for now, a 60w incandescent bulb in a Zilla Clamp Lamp... Keeps the light elevated much higher and the temps lower... and have heatpad and thermostat on the way!

Any ideas why its getting so hot? is the surface temp supposed to be dramatically higher?

Yes, surfaces get hot, Radiant absorption... Simply use a 35 watt halogen flood. They sell them at any retailer for track lighting. They are small, don't bake your snakes, and make plenty of basking heat.

[Foxrun402]

Like this?
35w bulb

I will have a heating pad soon too so I soon wont need much heat from the light at all

[infernalis]

Like this?
35w bulb

I will have a heating pad soon too so I soon wont need much heat from the light at all

Yes, make sure it's a flood light and not a spot light.

Spot lights concentrate all the energy into a small spot, flood lights spread it out.

[Foxrun402]

Ok I will keep this in mind but with the 60w in the clamp lamp its now sitting at 85.8 warm and 73 on the cool side

problem solved for now