Thank you!! I sure wish I would have joined the board BEFORE building his enclosure! hehehe The top of the enclosure is wood covered in 1/4" wire mesh over the light holes to keep my ig away from the lights.

I will definately order the MVB! $40 is a heck of a lot cheaper (and more humane) than a sick ig with Metabolic Bone Disease!!! The Flukers thermometers are the dial-type, so before getting the MVB, I am going to pick up a digital probe tonight to check the temps. in the enclosure. Then I'll let you know the "results" and get your feedback on which MVB to get based on his basking location, etc. Should I also update the florescent to ZM 10.0 on the other side of the cage, too? Or will any ole light do with a MVB for basking on the other side?

BTW, the average temp in my house here in the PNW is right about 60 degrees on most days. His enclosure is not insulated either. I had planned on putting him in my back office, to help manage ambient room temp, but the darn thing was too big to maneuver around the door! So he is currently in my living room - but I live alone so its not what I would call a "high-traffic" area. I will be planning and constructing an adult enclosure to go in the back room (1 of 2 bedrooms in my 700 sq ft house!). I want it to be more - portable? - so that when/if I move I will be able to disassemble it and then set it back up within a matter of hours, rather than having to build a new one. I guess I have about 9 months to figure it all out and get it built if I want it ready to roll next spring!!!

OH! Upon further observation, Mikki seems curious about the general movements of the dog and cat, until the dog chases the cat (or the cat has a hairball up her bum) and there is racing-action. THAT really DOES cause Mikki concern!! I will have to resolve that issue somehow.

Mikki was NOT pleased about being held this morning! lol I went in 30 mins before his light came on and picked him up off his branch. He squirmed around a little bit, and turned VERY DARK BROWN!!! No biting or whipping - just ****ed in general though. I put him back in his enclosure and I swear he glared sternly at me!!!

I'll check in tomorrow and report on tank temps.

Jeannie

PS - what does it mean when you guys put "0.1.0 Red Tailed Boa" or somesuch animal after your sigs? M.F.Unknown??

just be careful on how quickly you put him back in his enclosure after he gets mad. if you put him back right away, he is training YOU to put him away when HE wants to be put back. he'll figure out that every time he gets mad and squirms or acts mean, you will put him away. don't give in to that. you want to end on a good note all the time and put him back after he is behaving himself.

good luck.

yes thats what the 1.0.1 such stuff means.

__________________
Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
http://niksscalesandtails.com/



yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot (RIP) and Bear

you got it right!

M.F.Unknown

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

here's an article to on that.

Herp Sexing Matrix - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

__________________
Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
http://niksscalesandtails.com/



yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot (RIP) and Bear

Yup. Classic iguana "I'm putting up with you but I don't like it and I'm letting you know it" glare. He's already training you!

Don't stress him out if you don't need to, but don't let him boss you around too much either. Once he feels he is the dominant creature, he'll really take advantage. The best thing you can do is establish a routine and stick to it. If you set aside 15 mins every day in the afternoon to hold him, don't let him intimidate you into only holding him 1 or 2 minutes. He'll feel much more comfortable knowing what to expect when you walk in the room.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

I just wanted to say welcome Also great to see some research BEFORE getting the reptile, that's a wonderful thing to see! Good luck and you are getting great advice from some wonderful peeps.

__________________
Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

oh, and I wanted to say, wonderful enclosure. It would make a nice Chinese water dragon home when you make the new ig enclosure, or you could put in a whole lot of Giant Waxy Monkey tree frogs.... but I'm not biased on the frogs or anything.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Liz = LMAO!! I got a kick out of your waxy frog post!! Love it!

As for handling, Mikki ate a small piece of moist bread out of my hand!!! THAT was the first time he took anything from ME directly! I was so happy!!

As for enclosure temp readings...uhhhh...how about: OMG!!!!!!!!!!

I went to Lowes and picked up a digital therm/hum reader for $13.00 Other than the meat thermometer, it was the only kind with a moveable sensor. It is by AcuTemp; has a 10 foot wire that is attached to a little sensor about the size of a large vitamin. It took about 30 minutes to get readings in 8 locations last night.

A few questions first off: Does it normally take this long? Are the digital themometers accurate? What do you guys think about the infrared temp gun on reptileuv? The ReptileUV Mini Temperature Gun - ReptileUV Anyone use it? Is it fast? Is it worth $25?

Here are the temp readings I took in Fahrenheit last night at the very end of the day, going from top to bottom (KEY= F=Flukers; D=Digital)

TOP
Front L: F:92 D:95 (AM Digital: 85.1)
Front R: F: - D:94.5 (AM Digital: 83.5)

BASKING
Front: F:108 D:116.6!!!
Back: F:100 D:106

Middle: F:88 D:92.3
Sleeping F:- D:85.8 (AM Digital: 82)
Lower: F:80 D:83.1
Bottom: F:73 D:75 (AM Digital: 71.8)

Needless to say, I removed the 100W basking bulb, and replaced it with the 75W basking bulb!!! I was SUPER shocked at the temps!!! And I know that sometimes the Flukers thermometers read a bit higher, which would put the temp closer to 100 deg on top!!! I am just baffled. Again, I pose the question: Are the digital thermometers acurate?

I didn't hurt my ig, did I? He's in the middle of his first shed right now, and hasn't been eating as much as usual. He seemed to have smaller, stringier stools, too. Is this because his little oven-tummy was on super-process and just churning through his food like crazy???

So, heres what I am wondering: Should I get the 100W SB MVB, and turn down the temp on my Ceramic Heat Emitter with a slide dimmer to help keep the overall temp down? The main basking branch is about 20 inches away from the bulb-face right now, but at 116 degress, I now know why Mikki doesn't spend a lot of time there!!! His favorite spot is the back basking branch at 106 deg. I did read that baby igs like it a little warmer.

I welcome your feedback so that I can order the correct MVB and get my enclosure in order!!

Jeannie - feeling like I inadvertantly tried to cook my ig!!!

I don't know enough about the mega-rays to tell you exactly which one would be good for you, but I did want to make the suggestion that you could put your Ceramic Heat Emitter on a thermostat so that it turns on and off to maintain a certain temp.

I would also suggest bumping up the humidity or letting the ig have a warm bath each night to help with the shed. If you really wanted to you could start working on potty training him with the baths. It would make cleaning your intricate cage much easier!

__________________

Thats the one.
Yes
Absolutely. I use mine all the time. And they read instantaneously. No waiting for the probe to warm up or cool down.

Doubtful. He had a lower temp area to retreat to to get away from the excessive heat.
Your temps definitely need to come down! The warmest spot in the tank should be 90-95 degrees! Best thing to do would be to talk to the people at reptileUV and they can tell you the best setup for what you need.
And I would suggest a good thermostat over the dimmer. With the dimmer you will constantly have to be fidgeting with it as the temps in the room fluctuate. The thermostat will turn your heating element on and off as needed.
Thats still a little warm. I would set it for 95F, and no higher than 100F

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!