Before reading any further, I understand that there are "better" options for winter and just general temperature control. Many of you might want to decry that I should have used much fancier technology and so forth. I was on a tight budget however and this, I think, has actually worked out really well.
Anyways....
I live in Florida and in the summer months I haven't had any issues with maintaining proper temperature in my Leo's habitat. My apartment however, is rather old and isn't insulated very well and my bedroom has three exterior walls. When the temp started dropping this month it appeared as if I was either going to need to shell out a lot of extra cash for a uth that i don't normally need, a thermometer to regulate it, and someone suggested an infrared temp gun just to make sure. I was looking at 100+ on the conservative side. My other option was to really pump up the heat in the entire apartment which would have greatly increased our electric bill much to my and my roommates dismay.
Based on my analysis the issue I was running into was that the lamps I use, which typically keep my temps right where I need them, were having a hard time competing with the cold air around them that was practically seeping in through three of four walls in my bedroom.
Finally the idea occurred to me that I should first try one of those little single room space heaters before investing in everything else. I figured I would spend the 20 bucks on one, see if it worked, and if not return it and put that cash on the other materials I listed.
I bought a small heater at Lowes by my apartment (I forget the wattage, I will look it up if requested), and put it on a timer to run from 7am to 8pm, based off of the thermometers in the tank the night time temperatures are typically still in a good place.
Based off of the past two months using the space heater I've really liked the results. My bedroom stays really warm, for me too warm to really sit in there haha. So from what I can tell the heater raises the ambient temp of my bedroom and the tank, and then the light on Balboa's warm side heats it up even farther. I've been averaging out at 88ish-92ish depending on the day. Anyone who knows about Florida "winters" will know that some days in the dead of December/January can be in the 80s (like today), so some days I don't need it.
Basically I wanted to just throw this out there in case anyone was having similar issues I was and don't think they need the uth, thermostat, and the like year round. I think it's really working well and my Leo really seems to have responded well to it. When the winter started and I didnt have it I rarely saw him due to inactivity. Since I purchased it he's been as active as he is normally in the warmer months.
Thoughts? Further questions? Anything else? I'm open to them. And let me know if you read this and try it out, I'd love to hear how it works out for you!
-Alex
Anyways....
I live in Florida and in the summer months I haven't had any issues with maintaining proper temperature in my Leo's habitat. My apartment however, is rather old and isn't insulated very well and my bedroom has three exterior walls. When the temp started dropping this month it appeared as if I was either going to need to shell out a lot of extra cash for a uth that i don't normally need, a thermometer to regulate it, and someone suggested an infrared temp gun just to make sure. I was looking at 100+ on the conservative side. My other option was to really pump up the heat in the entire apartment which would have greatly increased our electric bill much to my and my roommates dismay.
Based on my analysis the issue I was running into was that the lamps I use, which typically keep my temps right where I need them, were having a hard time competing with the cold air around them that was practically seeping in through three of four walls in my bedroom.
Finally the idea occurred to me that I should first try one of those little single room space heaters before investing in everything else. I figured I would spend the 20 bucks on one, see if it worked, and if not return it and put that cash on the other materials I listed.
I bought a small heater at Lowes by my apartment (I forget the wattage, I will look it up if requested), and put it on a timer to run from 7am to 8pm, based off of the thermometers in the tank the night time temperatures are typically still in a good place.
Based off of the past two months using the space heater I've really liked the results. My bedroom stays really warm, for me too warm to really sit in there haha. So from what I can tell the heater raises the ambient temp of my bedroom and the tank, and then the light on Balboa's warm side heats it up even farther. I've been averaging out at 88ish-92ish depending on the day. Anyone who knows about Florida "winters" will know that some days in the dead of December/January can be in the 80s (like today), so some days I don't need it.
Basically I wanted to just throw this out there in case anyone was having similar issues I was and don't think they need the uth, thermostat, and the like year round. I think it's really working well and my Leo really seems to have responded well to it. When the winter started and I didnt have it I rarely saw him due to inactivity. Since I purchased it he's been as active as he is normally in the warmer months.
Thoughts? Further questions? Anything else? I'm open to them. And let me know if you read this and try it out, I'd love to hear how it works out for you!
-Alex
Seminole Co.