Habitat - Indoor :: basking temp problems

[Daniel3507]

this morning as i was feeding cujo i noticed that the basking temp was lower than normal. the water is at 78 and the basking temp is only at about 84. i have a t-rex MVB bulb and im afraid to move it any closer. what do you think i should do?

[marisa]

I'd first double check the temp, even with another thermometer, if you haven't already.

How far away is the bulb from the basking area?

Is the ambient temp in the room cooler (change of seasons)? If so, it can affect how warm the bulb is making the basking area.

How long have you had the bulb? It's possible it could be getting ready to go.

[Daniel3507]

ive had the bulb a few months.

the bulb is a foot away

the temp is the same on two thermometers

[marisa]

Aside from my other question about the ambient room temp (sorry, I didn't include it in my original post), has the color of the light changed at all? I'm asking because recently one of my bulbs started producing a bit of a different color for a day or two. Then the bulb went.

[Daniel3507]

we had a cold front move in last night but i switched on the heater so the room temp is the same. i havent really noticed the bulb being a different color. ive thought about getting a ceramic heat emitter but i just got a new supercharger for my truck so i have no money.

[marisa]

If you want to boost the temp a bit but don't want to change the distance of the MVB bulb (I wouldn't, especially since it's fairly new), you could always clamp a regular light bulb over the basking area to make it a bit warmer (but please really check the temp to make sure it isn't too warm).