As already mentioned, desert animals associate heat with light, so that they automatically seek light spots to warm up. At the same time, a terrarium must also offer cool spots, where the animals can retreat after they have warmed up sufficiently.
This is easier to do in a larger-sized terrarium than in a small one, which heats up completely within a relatively short period of time. Here is a suggestion for arranging heating means in a desert terrarium: Half of the floor can be covered with a JBL TerraTemp HeatMat . The heating mat should never be placed in the middle. This is so the animals can retreat to the other half of the floor to find cooler temperatures. On the other hand, sun worshippers who like to burrow have the option of retreating from the heat by burrowing.
A spot light (halogen light with a reflector) is installed on the side with the heating mat to provide both heat and the necessary light. Again, it should not be installed in the middle, but instead, facing the side panel. As an added benefit, spotlights with colour-corrected glass also provide very natural appearing light with good colour rendering properties. This arrangement creates different temperature zones from hot to temperate and also unheated ground. These in turn allow the animals to seek different temperature zones at will, similarly to their natural surroundings.
The ceramic heat lamp JBL ReptilHeat is suitable as source for radiant heat according to the chosen wattage, when safely installed with JBL TempSet basic (heat-resistant socket made of space shuttle material) or directly with socket and protective mesh ( JBL TempSet Heat ). Red light bulbs or weak LEDs serve as moderate lighting for observ- ing the animals at night.
