DHP Instant Success

[Elizabeth Freer]

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According to Google's "The Complete Guide to Cardboard Insulation"
Insulation properties of cardboard
Cardboard being a poor thermal conductor makes for a good insulator, which gives us the opportunity to put its insulation properties to good use. Corrugated cardboard boxes are used in packaging and shipping because of its low cost, which makes it even more desirable to insulate your windows or attic at a budget price. Moreover, cardboard boxes are abundantly available, so can be re-used for a few months, if not forever before dumping it out for recycling. You can also make do some corrugated cardboard structures to insulate your home or car.

Thermal properties of cardboard boxes
Thermal properties describe the rate at which the cardboard transfers heat. It turns out to be a good insulator because of the tunnel-like fluted structure of paper between two sheets of kraft paper. Cardboards are basically tightly packed fibers and its corrugated structure traps air in its little pockets. The R-value of the cardboard is somewhere between R-3 to R-4 per inch. It is typically because of the air pockets as air is not a good conductor of heat and takes time to acquire or release heat. So, in winter it can keep your room warm and in summer it will keep your room cool. We also have to have safe insulator which brings us to its igniting temperature; cardboards would ignite between 500 – 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cardboard has a low thermal conductivity which also makes it good at slowing down heat transfer. This makes cardboard a versatile thermal insulator which can be used in various applications.

I don't know whether your thin stick-on floor tiles provide any insulation.

Here's an image of 6 pieces of Flat, Stackable Slate that Etsy sells for $15.99. I found it on another leopard gecko group. If one stacks these pieces & tops them with larger flat slate to create a level basking surface, simultaneously one creates a warm cave directly underneath the basking area.

288543321_2719467978196747_5036196548600678959_n.jpg
(click to enlarge)

Recently a Reptile Lighting group pro made my day! He simplified one of his spreadsheets & created a more legible version listing only Arcadia's original 12 inch ShadeDweller with % mesh blockage at varying distances.

288028188_1221592088605739_2337673563058452928_n.jpg
Original 12 inch ShadeDweller
7% Standard Output (or Normal Output)-T5
"Legible" version of Arcadia's 12 inch ShadeDweller (This looks much better on the internet with +/- enlarging capabilities.)


287869312_10222515782791963_806429884381621842_n.jpg
Original chart version
Includes Arboreal & Max higher-strength ShadeDwellers
(click to enlarge)

[Blush50]

Nel's new cage got here over the weekend (finally!), and so far she hasn't laid anymore eggs and is starting to eat waxworms and hornworms.

Anyway, I set up the "hot" side of the cage with a 50w Arcadia deep heat projector over some dark slate rocks, and once it got up to temp she hasn't left! The thermostat controls it and keeps the air right at 88* but the surface of the rocks is right at 92* directly under it and dropping down to 88* towards the edges. She does seem to move to adjust where she wants to lay on a regular basis.
I don't know if this new heating is the reason she started eating again, but I was expecting such a big change to her environment would throw her off. She is now in a 48x24x18 animal plastics cage. I'll try and remember to get pictures soon.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...6/IMG_2905.JPG

She looks fit May I ask if you provide any heating at night? If not what is the average room temperature?

[MicheleVicchitto]

I don't know whether your thin stick-on floor tiles provide any insulation.

Here's an image of 6 pieces of Flat, Stackable Slate that Etsy sells for $15.99. I found it on another leopard gecko group. If one stacks these pieces & tops them with larger flat slate to create a level basking surface, simultaneously one creates a warm cave directly underneath the basking area.

288543321_2719467978196747_5036196548600678959_n.jpg
(click to enlarge)

Recently a Reptile Lighting group pro made my day! He simplified one of his spreadsheets & created a more legible version listing only Arcadia's original 12 inch ShadeDweller with % mesh blockage at varying distances.

288028188_1221592088605739_2337673563058452928_n.jpg
Original 12 inch ShadeDweller
7% Standard Output (or Normal Output)-T5
"Legible" version of Arcadia's 12 inch ShadeDweller (This looks much better on the internet with +/- enlarging capabilities.)


287869312_10222515782791963_806429884381621842_n.jpg
Original chart version
Includes Arboreal & Max higher-strength ShadeDwellers
(click to enlarge)

I've been looking at stable slate like that just for providing different levels for Donnie.

THe stickable tiles were going to just be under the entire enclosure to stop airflow (i.e., heat) from escaping through the wire shelf. But my UTH decided to die (not sure why it died so quickly - kinda sad). So, I got an 80w Arcadia DHP and am using that with the shadedweller and it seems to be working well.

Once my leg has fully healed from surgery so I can get around better, I'm probably going to see about setting up a more naturalistic environment for Donnie since I won't have to worry about heat getting through the UTH anymore.

I actually purchased a nice slate hide off of Etsy and he really seems to love it. He had a nice successful shed last night. I'll be double checking him to make sure he doesn't have any leftover shed stuck anywhere, but a quick look over seems to indicate he was completely successful.

I shared the attached pictures on Facebook, but just as a quick update on how he's doing:

289960761_10159964942969360_217840628588840118_n.jpg289719782_10159964943669360_5409009845956938508_n.jpg289270287_10159964944774360_3761348503390915988_n.jpg

[Elizabeth Freer]

I actually purchased a nice slate hide off of Etsy and he really seems to love it.

Look at how far Donnie's come. , Michele!

When you have a spare moment, please link /\ that slate hide you found on Etsy. I'd really appreciate it.

[Elizabeth Freer]

She looks fit May I ask if you provide any heating at night? If not what is the average room temperature?

Hi Blush50 ~

For leopard geckos: As long as the ambient night room temperature = 65*F or higher, it's quite safe to turn off any enclosure heating during the night.

[MicheleVicchitto]

Look at how far Donnie's come. , Michele!

When you have a spare moment, please link /\ that slate hide you found on Etsy. I'd really appreciate it.

This is the one I got. Donnie really likes it. And because it is slate he was using it to help rub against during his recent shed (after "rearranging" his furniture on the cooler side while trying to rub against the simple black plastic hide).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1178444...f=yr_purchases

[Blush50]

Hi Blush50 ~

For leopard geckos: As long as the ambient night room temperature = 65*F or higher, it's quite safe to turn off any enclosure heating during the night.

I was just curious of how spotteddfagon personally kept them, but I appreciate your response. I noticed partially undigested food at times if no heat was provided at all at night. Perhaps because my house heater was set to 64f and I fed at night? Who knows right

[MicheleVicchitto]

I was just curious of how spotteddfagon personally kept them, but I appreciate your response. I noticed partially undigested food at times if no heat was provided at all at night. Perhaps because my house heater was set to 64f and I fed at night? Who knows right

I have a similar issue. We keep our house set very cool (63-64f) because of my husband's migraines.

What I've ended up doing is, during the day, I'm using the 80w DHP bulb and the Shadedweller light for Donnie's UVA/UVB needs, and then, at night, I switch over to just the 50w DHP. And, like you, we feed him at night after his Shadedweller is off for the evening. He's kind of funny about it because the minute the light goes off, he comes out and sits demandingly next to his food dish (and he's gotten very good at giving me the great big Puss In Boots eyes from the Shrek movies on nights when he's not supposed to be fed).

He's becoming a lot more active and adventurous now that I'm using the DHPs instead of the UTH.

Funny note: Now that we are settling into a pretty good routine, Miss MooMoo, my cat who has the gecko watching obsession, knows that, once the light goes out, Donnie comes out and sits by his food bowl and, on feeding nights, chows down. So right when it's time for the light to go off, she comes running into my bedroom, leaps onto the chair I have near his enclosure and settles in for "Donnie TV".

[Elizabeth Freer]

Our time is precious!

[SpottedDragon]

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I keep the DHP on 24/7, and right now with her gravid I keep the small UTH under the nest-box on. The DHP's are not necessarily designed to maintain temps in the whole cage, its more of a "beam", 92* directly under it and dropping to room temps at the furthest point away from it. I don't use much a/c so my house temp is 77*-80* depending on the heat outside, so I don't have much need for more heating.

But with the house set at 66* in the winter and just the DHP for heat and nothing additional, the cool end of the cage furthest away from the heat rarely drops below 70*. I have low wattage che's on hand for really cold periods when the house drops into the low 60's. I don't let their cages drop below 68*.

I will mention that the Animal Plastics cages are 1/4 pvc and extremely well insulated. I don't think the DHP would work in larger glass tank quite as well for a sole heat source in the winter in a cold house.