Ceramic Heat Emmiters vs Infrared heat lights (for nighttime use)

[bechsgaard]

This is my experiment and my results for ceramic vs infrared heat night lights

December 2010: I have
Pair 1 -2, 5 month old male nosy be panther chams (directly related)

Pair 2 -2, 4 month old female Veiled chams (directly related)

Pair 3 -2, 6 month old female Veiled (directly related)

I have wondered how the infrared heat lamps differs from ceramic heat emitters of the same temperature.
warm spot heat temps:
ceramic heat emitter: 76.5 degrees
infrared heat light: 75.1 degrees
both of these temps are when room temp is 67

the couples were all fed the exact same food with supplementing as their pair.

a stop motion camera takes a photo every 10 seconds, every 24 hours i would check to see how long it takes for them to fall asleep and monitor their behaviors. On most occasions the 2 members of the pair would sleep in the same part of their cages, the warm spot, the months of July and august 2011 varied the most, only 40% of their nights did they sleep in the warm spot.

My findings;

-chameleon with infrared heat lamp would fall asleep on average 19 minutes later than the chameleons with the heat emitters

Pair 1:
High: 28 mins later
Low: 2 mins earlier

Pair 2:
High:35 mins later
Low: 4 mins later

Pair 3:
High: 33 mins later
Low: 1 min later

-Growth was effected in slight amounts
Pair 1 (most drastic variation)
the one with the heat emitter weighed 34 grams more than the one with the infrared heater and was 2" Longer from snout to vent

Pair 2
the one with the heat emitter weighed 5 grams more than the one with the infrared heater and was 1/2" Longer from snout to vent

Pair 3
the one with the heat emitter weighed 10 grams more than the one with the infrared heater and was 7/8" Longer from snout to vent

-Coloration and Activity seemed slightly higher on the ones with the ceramic heat emitter. This was not the case with pair 2


Conclusion: It seems that Especially with panther chameleons, It is better to use a completely invisible form of heat for your chameleons. Infrared heat emitters light is apparently invisible to the chameleons, but there must be something that differs it from the ceramic heat emitters, it seems the veiled chameleons are effected the least by this difference. My findings suggest that there isn't a huge difference between them, but its probably better to use a ceramic heat emitter.

I hope this helped, please discuss

Note: The emmiters i used were very low wattage

 

[Kitro]

If room temp. Is at 71 why would you need night heat? I can understand if they were outdoors or ambient temp is below 65 any other use is a waste of money.

 

[Elizadolots]

While I think you could have left them at 71 for the night, I admire your study and it does seem to prove what people here have said: let them have a dark night.

 

[bechsgaard]

actually thank you for catching that error, night temp is 67 not 71
this was how hot the spot was when recorded, in winter especially my house temp can go down to 65

 

[bechsgaard]

a downside to the ceramic heaters is they cost more, but for the same ammount of heat, you can use a lower and cheaper max wattage fixture

 

[Elizadolots]

It's just a really well done study. Did you do this for a class? It sort of deserves some kind of recognition. You met just about any objection that could be made to a small scale study.

Did you present this with the video? It would be interesting to see the video.

It's just really nice to see someone take the time to prove (or disprove) what is considered standard board advice. Most of us have probably written "they need darkness at night" but you've given us something to point to as evidence that it's true.

I'm so impressed.

 

[chameleoman]

i bought a red heat infared one for my bros cresty gecko cause its cold

 

[bechsgaard]

It's just a really well done study. Did you do this for a class? It sort of deserves some kind of recognition. You met just about any objection that could be made to a small scale study.

Did you present this with the video? It would be interesting to see the video.

It's just really nice to see someone take the time to prove (or disprove) what is considered standard board advice. Most of us have probably written "they need darkness at night" but you've given us something to point to as evidence that it's true.

I'm so impressed.

no this wasn't for a class. I Noticed My beardy hating the infrared heat lights extremely, and when i changed it to a ceramic he didnt hate it, so i was curious, the cameras were already set up, and a local reptile store, Earth Echoes, Provided everything else i needed for the study. I freakishly hate things that dont seem natural, at one point i had a National geographic "the sounds of madigascar track running. Thank you for the compliments, im in the middle of afew studies and the results of free range vs cage will be up in 2 months

 

[bechsgaard]

i bought a red heat infared one for my bros cresty gecko cause its cold

I did this experiment with cresties, the results were even more startling simple as this
INfra-red: moved very little, ate little
Ceramic: active and eating well.

Although i did this with the cresties for only a week, I think under no circumstances would it be good for a nocturnal creature

 

[chameleoman]

do u suggest a cermic for a crestie?
i only bought it quick cause his temps all of a suden went down to like 65 i freaked out and bought it for my brothers crestie he did get up still but i got it cause the temps in la have BEEN VERY VERY cold and i might need to get cermamics for my veileds as well

 

[bechsgaard]

indeed but definitely ceramics

 

[Elizadolots]

no this wasn't for a class. I Noticed My beardy hating the infrared heat lights extremely, and when i changed it to a ceramic he didnt hate it, so i was curious, the cameras were already set up, and a local reptile store, Earth Echoes, Provided everything else i needed for the study. I freakishly hate things that dont seem natural, at one point i had a National geographic "the sounds of madigascar track running. Thank you for the compliments, im in the middle of afew studies and the results of free range vs cage will be up in 2 months

I look forward to reading it. Maybe, if you put it all together with supporting pictures or video, it could be posted somewhere on the board here where we could easily point to it to support our advice to just let the animal sleep in the dark!

 

[bechsgaard]

well i generally start my new studies every spring, so in the future when i start i will show photos

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

At night temps can comfortably drop down to 60-65.

 

[drcrossfire]

To be fair-- this study is to small to conclude anything, but it does have some interesting observations that when applied to a larger test group may be proved conclusively.

Have you tried looking at the standard deviations? Could be interesting-- statistical significance could also be run.

Just sayin

good work! Very interesting!!!!!

PS-- You gettin rep pts for this one!!!!

 

[bechsgaard]

this was my first study after i came to canada, at the time i had a quite small breeding group, and i couldnt afford to raise a large group to adult hood. This spring im open to new ideas, and im going to start some large scale studies

 

[bechsgaard]

To be fair-- this study is to small to conclude anything, but it does have some interesting observations that when applied to a larger test group may be proved conclusively.

Have you tried looking at the standard deviations? Could be interesting-- statistical significance could also be run.

Just sayin

good work! Very interesting!!!!!

PS-- You gettin rep pts for this one!!!!

This study was done on multiple species, i did it mainly with a group of bearded dragons, but i included savana monitors and Red eyed tree frogs, the bearded dragon group was the largest (26). Since this is a chameleon forum im not sure if i should post the other results, if you want to see them, just tell me.

 

[bechsgaard]

At night temps can comfortably drop down to 60-65.

Indeed, but i find my chameleons like higher temperatures, with the heat emmiters i give them a choice. In my cages there is areas that vary in temp from 76-65 (at night). they generally stay in the hottest area.

 

[hinoco1225]

I feel like the people who are commenting that nighttime heat is unnecessary are missing the point.

This is a great study, and I would love to share the results with some of my pet store coworkers who are still recommending red bulbs. Do you mind? Also, I would love to see your results with other species, if you want to PM me.

 

[bechsgaard]

sure yea, you can use it. Thats the point of the study, lol