About Enclosure Setup
Care sheets tell you the temperatures. They do not tell you which bulb, how high the stone, or how many quarts of soil for the enclosure you actually bought.
How a plan is made
Each plan starts from your species' care targets (basking and cool-side temperatures, the night floor, humidity, its UV zone) and your enclosure (length, depth, height, the top and your room). The UVB tube is chosen for the UV zone and sized to the length; the basking platform is set so your animal's back sits in the tube's starting range, through the mesh or not; the halogens are sized for your room and put on a thermostat; the substrate, drainage, plants, hides and cleanup crew are counted from your floor. Then it is written as a build, in order.
Where the numbers come from
Current keeper consensus for each species, the Ferguson UV zones (Baines and colleagues, 2016), and the lamp makers' distance guidance for T5 HO tubes. Distances and wattages are starting points: the plan tells you what to measure in the first week and how to adjust.
What it is not
It is not veterinary advice. If your animal is not eating, shedding or behaving normally, see a reptile veterinarian.
How it is paid for
Plans are $9 each. Some pages link to supplies on Amazon; as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Enclosure Setup is run by GTMFM.NO.