Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi

I have 2 lizards, 1 juvenile iguana and 1 bearded dragon.I turn their lights on in the AM and turn them off at night.I am in Atlanta and it stays nice and war at night.
My bulbs keep poping on me.I will buy 4 and before you know it they are gone.I turn them on and here comes a loud ..."POP" and here goes another heat bulb.I am sick of it!
My fixtures are the basic domes and i don't feel like investing in the more expensive stuff.
I did a search on this forum and found out that a lot of breaders or experienced lizard keepers use regular incandescent bulb from the local hardware store.
I want to go this route and would like recommendations on wattage and brands and any tips related to their use opposed to petstores heat bulbs.

Thanks a lot

Patrick
CC:rec.pets.herp

Wattage will depend on how large your enclosure is, how far away the basking spot is, and how large the lizard is. If you have a temperature probe (about $15 from a pet store), you can work on it with differnt wattages, since the regular household bulbs are so cheap.

For my ig and dragon, I use ceramic heat emitters for 24/7 heat, and a Reptisun bulb for day lighting. Haven't had to replace the CHEs in four years. Expensive to start with, but costs less in the long run, and very reliable.

Katrina

Thanks a lot for your kind answer.

Patrick

I use a mercury vapour bulb. If you already have a flouresent this isn't really necessary. Some bulbs out there have a 1 year warranty like zoomeds repti halogen. you pay a bit more but they'll replace it if it breaks within a year. more heat too than your standard heat bulb.