green anole still not happy

[beckdg]

frogg what about 2-40 watt bulbs. it will cut down on direct heat and still provide the approximate 75 deg. for the cool side. beth did mention 30 gal. if this is a breeder there will be ample room to set 2 lamps at 1 end. it will also effectively spread the heat across the hot end also. this should result in a couple degrees lower directly under the bulb yet still provide a good ambient temp. lil guy may be more inclined to visit then, especially if light is too bright for him now. just a thought.

[froggsong]

Oh yeah, that is definitely a good idea. If that is still hotter than necessary, a 40 and a 25 could be used. Or, putting a 25 watt over the cool side to boost that temp a bit (seems just a tad on the low side), and then a 60 watt over the warm side. Boosting the cool temp will reduce the difference that the temp on the warm side needs to heat. In my current CWD setup, I have a 60W bulb on the cool side (over the water), then a 25W CFL (equal to 100W of 6500K light), and then a separate clamp lamp with a 75W bulb over the warm side (the hood has fixtures for a UV tube and two screw in bulbs. it sits on the left 2/3s of the tank, which is the cooler side). At night, I switch the incandescent bulbs for 75W black light bulbs (yes, it's more wattage, but the temp drops appropriately because the black glass doesn't put out heat the same way that the white bulbs do). Sometimes when it is hotter in the room, I put a 60W white bulb in place of the 75W. He is much happier with the bulbs set up this way, and he basks all the time.

Beth, is he isn't basking at all, it's really important to try to find the temp he prefers. If they don't keep their body temperature at an appropriate level, they can't digest their food. If that happens, it can cause the food to rot in the stomach and poison the animal (less likely), it can also cause impaction (more likely). I realize that may read like a scare tactic, but I promise it isn't. I don't know your level of knowledge, so I want to make sure you know the reason they need to bask.

[beth2]

yah, thanks for all the help...we traded the 75 bulb back in again and got a 50 watt bulb.....he still isnt happy....he hangs from the screen under the strip light or hangs out on a branch under the strip lights instead of basking near the basking light. Never see him green. The temps are about 73 cool side and 89 hot side of tank...slightly hotter directly under the heat lamp. I dont know what to do.....I do have a 40 watt basking bulb as well that we arent using. It was the original basking bulb we used but we were told it was too cool so we have been trying to warm the tank up.....I guess I could try replacing the strip lights with the 40 watt basking light and keep the 50 watt at the other end and see how he does?
We arent in the tank messing with it except to mist the plants twice a day and to put crickets in every other day or so. The tank is sitting in a built in wall shelf and so its protected.
I dont know what else to do.
Will the two daylight basking lights be good enough lighting for the plants?
thanks for all your help!
I thought I understood the basics of keeping an anole. I did a lot of reading...didnt think it would be this difficult to make him happy and content. I feel so bad!

[froggsong]

At this point, maybe he just likes being brown? I've seen it from time to time. I've even seen some that were almost black in the wild... I think you should leave the strip lights, and add the 40W on the same side if there is room and you have a lamp you can put it in, just to boost that cool temp a bit, then just don't worry about it. As long as the temps are good and he is eating, he is probably ok, and will likely get more comfortable in time.