# Heat lamps



## beginner entomologist (Dec 23, 2009)

I'm planning on buying a heat lamp for some violin mantids that I'm getting after the holidays. What kind would you recommend? Does the color of the bulb matter? I'm going to be keeping them in ten gallon aquariums.

I hope I put this in the right place. Thanks


----------



## sbugir (Dec 23, 2009)

I'm using a 75 watt basking bulb. It's VERY easy to achieve 100 degrees a foot away from the cage. Color, I don't think matters, and you don't really need to buy one of those expensive UVA/UVB reptile bulbs. A simple halogen works very well.


----------



## batsofchaos (Dec 23, 2009)

lemmiwinks said:


> I'm using a 75 watt basking bulb. It's VERY easy to achieve 100 degrees a foot away from the cage. Color, I don't think matters, and you don't really need to buy one of those expensive UVA/UVB reptile bulbs. A simple halogen works very well.


+1


----------



## mantisfart2 (Dec 23, 2009)

I use a normal desk top lamp with either a 40w or 60w bulb, it works fine for me and have had great success with mine this year.


----------



## beginner entomologist (Dec 23, 2009)

What species do you use this for?


----------



## Rick (Dec 23, 2009)

I think a regular light bulb would achieve correct temps for those in an aquarium. Be careful it doesnt get too hot which is not hard to do in something that size.


----------



## mantisfart2 (Dec 23, 2009)

beginner entomologist said:


> What species do you use this for?


Gongylus gongylodes, Blepheropsis mendica, Idolomantis diabolica and Idolomorpha lateralis


----------



## bassist (Dec 23, 2009)

If you're going to have them in an aquarium make sure you have a lot of sticks or some netting on the sides so they can climb _Gongylus gongylodes_ cannot climb glass or plastic very well (this is the case with all Empusids).


----------



## PhilinYuma (Dec 23, 2009)

An addition to lemmiwinks's post, if you are really new to tropical mantids. Note that he says that his lamp achieves a _basking_ temp of 100F. When you are using high temps like this, it is good to have areas of the tank where the temp is lower, so that the mantids can choose a spot that is most comfortable for them.

Also, restricting the area of maximum heat will help avoid the kind of problem that Rick mentions. I doubt that in practice, the Inverse Square Law applies (in fact, though it applies to heat, it can't apply to temperature, right? Anyone?) but the change in temp by moving the bulb from an optimal position to even a little closer can be dramatic. Though this is not the practice of some experienced mantis keepers, I would always keep a temp probe in the area of maximum heat.

Good luck with this project. How many _Gongylus gongylodes_ nymphs do you plan on raising in the 10 gallon tank?


----------



## sbugir (Dec 23, 2009)

Your right about the basking Phil.

As for the inverse square law, why couldn't it pertain to temperature? Is not temperature heat as well as anti-heat  ? I'm pretty sure its applicable to most "waves" for that matter: sound, heat, light etc.


----------



## PhilinYuma (Dec 23, 2009)

lemmiwinks said:


> Your right about the basking Phil. As for the inverse square law, why couldn't it pertain to temperature? Is not temperature heat as well as anti-heat  ? I'm pretty sure its applicable to most "waves" for that matter: sound, heat, light etc.


Oh, dear, lemmiwinnks, your question comes at a bad time for me! My birthday is over two weeks away, and I am down to my last few GB of brain storage until then, so this will be very inexact. On the bright side, I shall omit discussion (thank you Mantis Goddess) of the first two laws of thermodynamics and stuff about specific heat and just give bread and butter examples.

You are right, of course, about any form of radiation obeying the law in theory. The problem is in choosing an apropriate unit by which the sound is measured. Sound obeys the same law, but when you measure the sound in decibels at a given point from a source, you will get a drop of 6 decibels every time you double the distance. Also, there are practical ways, like introducing reverbration in a concert hall, to mitigate the law's effect.

Certainly (and yes, this a cop out!) you cannot apply it to temp in degrees Fahrenheit. If you heat an object with a source 1ft away (when will we have the sense to convert to the decimal system like everyone else?) to 100C and then double the distance between object and source,you should end up with a heat of 10C (for water, anyway). But in Fahrenheit, the same strategy would reduce 212F to 14,56F, which is below freezing!

Perhaps, if we are lucky, lemmiwinks, my answer will get some one so irritated that they will post the Straight Dope. If so, I shall study their answer next month.


----------



## sbugir (Dec 23, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> Oh, dear, lemmiwinnks, your question comes at a bad time for me! My birthday is over two weeks away, and I am down to my last few GB of brain storage until then, so this will be very inexact. On the bright side, I shall omit discussion (thank you Mantis Goddess) of the first two laws of thermodynamics and stuff about specific heat and just give bread and butter examples.You are right, of course, about any form of radiation obeying the law in theory. The problem is in choosing an apropriate unit by which the sound is measured. Sound obeys the same law, but when you measure the sound in decibels at a given point from a source, you will get a drop of 6 decibels every time you double the distance. Also, there are practical ways, like introducing reverbration in a concert hall, to mitigate the law's effect.
> 
> Certainly (and yes, this a cop out!) you cannot apply it to temp in degrees Fahrenheit. If you heat an object with a source 1ft away (when will we have the sense to convert to the decimal system like everyone else?) to 100C and then double the distance between object and source,you should end up with a heat of 10C (for water, anyway). But in Fahrenheit, the same strategy would reduce 212F to 14,56F, which is below freezing!
> 
> Perhaps, if we are lucky, lemmiwinks, my answer will get some one so irritated that they will post the Straight Dope. If so, I shall study their answer next month.


I'll just say that made sense... :lol:


----------



## beginner entomologist (Dec 23, 2009)

I'm planning on getting two subadults. One of each gender.


----------



## revmdn (Dec 23, 2009)

bassist said:


> If you're going to have them in an aquarium make sure you have a lot of sticks or some netting on the sides so they can climb _Gongylus gongylodes_ cannot climb glass or plastic very well (this is the case with all Empusids).


I just recently found this out. I had no idea when I first got them, but we're all happy now.


----------

