Surface Temperature?

[croc_hunter_penny]

I just bought a bunch of new 6ft melamine enclosures for my snakes, that are heated using a light wired to a thermostat. I was previously using heat cord, so I am used to the floor of the warm side of the enclosures being warm to the touch. I have noticed in my new enclosures, the floor stays quite cool, even directly under the lamp. the only exception is the enclosures that are stacked, as they get some heat from the one below them.

So my question is, do surface temperatures matter?

Also, I am using 150w purple lamps, which i like because the light output is so low. Would I be better off using a lower wattage (60w-100w) lamp, which will probably be on for more hours a day to keep the same temp?

cheers,
-Penny

 

[wokka]

I think you are better to have a lower wattage heat source which is in more ofter so the animal has a longer period of choice of getting warm more often. In a 6 foot cage you could have a baffle wall which will increase the temp difference between the hot and cold. The required wattage will depend upon the amount of heat escaping to waste and the amount which is "trapped' in the cage. To increase the amount of heat trapped you can reduce the ventilation in the hot end and use heatbanks which absorb and store the heat for later release, such as rocks or ceramic tiles. As an example I use 15 watt globes in my 6 foot cages.