Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i always see pics of cages with a wire net protection around the spotlight or CHE. these are usually stackable cages. the wire is useally just an inch away from the heat emitter.

doesn't it get too hot too? or does it just get hot that would deter to snake from the very hot heat emitter inside?

i am having a porblem desiding the size of the wire protection without making it too big that looks ugly or takes too much space. any advice?

This is a good question, and I have some experience with this scenario.

If your cage height is not great and you use temperature control that limits the output from the bulb (i.e. proportional controller or a dimmer) then chances are the bulb won't be on high enough where 1" away will burn flesh or do damage within the reaction time of the snake to move away.

If you crank a high-wattage bulb on full, then 1" away can be a little close.

In any case, it is the surface of the bulb that does damage, where you or the snake can get burned before your brain tells you to pull away from the bulb. As long as you shield the bulb surface you are pretty much preventing injury. Personally, for ceramic bulbs I try to have a minimum of 1 1/2" clearance. If you already have wire cages that only have 1" of clearance, you can simply make a square from 3/4" pine molding around the ceramic socket, and attach the wire cage to the molding, thus giving you an extra 3/4" of space away from the surface of the bulb on top of the space you already have.