Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, i bought a zoo-med nocturnal heat lamp for nigh time , b-cuse it's getting in the 40's outside, well i put the bulb in, and probably less than 5 minutes later it went out, when i went to unscrew it, it came apart, mind , this is a "new" bulb. I also bought a zoomed basking lamp. it is the same wattage as the exo-terra that i was running b4, (100)watts, the night bulb was 75 watts. to my shock this morning only the flourescent light was on, i had to use a 100 wat white light bulb, cus i had no spare.I will get another spare probably an exo-terra this time, but i am returning the night bulbe 4 sure.Any reccomendations , on how many watts i should get for the night bulb?

By all means, return these defective products to the store!
It may have been simply mis-handling - or rough shipping - but bulbs should not fall apart!

What are you using the "night heat bulb" for? Chameleons? I hope you know that they don't need light at night - and shouldn't be subjected to it - they need their sleep, and most lights will interfere with that.

We use the ceramic heat emitters (bulbs) for any added warmth at night. Yes, they are spendy... but the alternative is keeping the ambient temperature higher with a heater of some kind.

Be sure to check out the recommendations for night-time temps for your chameleon species - they vary greatly.

We don't buy "basking" lamps for our chameleons. We use regular household lightbulbs - they put out a lot of heat. A 40-watt bulb will register over 100 degrees F when the digital thermometer is place 3" away. For most, we use 60 watt - and make sure the chams can't get too close (to avoid thermal burns). We are still experimenting with some Mercury Vapor bulbs... but at this time, the jury is still out.

For other herps (those that require a lot of heat, such as uromastyx), we use the hotter spotlight bulbs.

Truthfully, we think many of these "special bulbs" are just another way to empty our wallets. Just our $.02
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I agree! I never use those reptile spot bulbs, they are the same as the "normal" bulbs that you can get at any home improvement store for like $.30 each. I would also use the heat emmitter if you need extra warmth at night. I got mine(eco therm) for about $35 or $40 retail for 100 watt (I use it for a monitor) I'm sure you can get one online or at a show for less than that, I think I've seen them in the $25 range online. I've had it for almost 2 years and it still works. I don't use it much in the summer, but that still adds out to at least a year worth of heating. Keep in mind though, these are very hot because they convert energy strait into heat and don't waste any in the form of light, so even a 60 watt heat emmiter will be very hot, just some advice so that you don't let it get too close. Hope this helps, good luck!

I use them for my geckos and will be getting one for Luna and the anoles once winter sets in. Reptile Direct has them for about $20. I got a 60W ZooMed at a show for $20.

lele
heat emmiter

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles (Jaida, no name)
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - (still no names)

We just bought some 100 watt Zoo Meds... thought we did okay at $35 ea. Just hope they last for 5 years like it says on the packaging. I plan to keep the packs and receipt - just to be safe.

Thank goodness our warehouse has gas heat!
*LOL*
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Hi there,

Where exactly do you get your bulbs for $0.30 each? The cheapest I've seen them is $2/each and that's for regular bulbs... and I've seen reflector bulbs (a.k.a. spot lights) go for $3 or more depending on wattage. If I could get them for less than that, it would be great!

Thanks!!
Julie

I get them in boxes of four from like homedepot or meijers or someplace like that for about 1.50. These are just normal lamp lights, not the lights marketed for reptiles, but they do the exact same thing as far as light and heat are concerned. These aren't uv lights, but just normal heat lights. The ones I got are Pilips soft white, but any name brand will do, these were just the cheapest at the time. For heating purposes(not UV), I think that getting reptile lights is rediculous when you can get normal lights that do the exact same thing for a lot less. Hope this helps!

i get them at Wal-Mart, $0.77 for a pack of 4........
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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
1.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Diego Suarez)
1 Chameleo Melleri

I went to unscrew 2 of mine from their dome, and both of them came right apart, leaving the threaded metal section in the dome and I can't get it out. So it ruined both the light and the dome.

Did you return them to the store?
The metal base can be removed from the dome fixture (unplug fixture; use needle-nose pliers to get a grip on the metal screw-in light base; twist out of dome fixture carefully).

Sounds like a design flaw in those bulbs....
Hmmm.
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That's how I was trying to remove it, but I wasn't able to get it out. It's like fused in there or something. I bought it at a reptile show and don't remember who the vendor was. I was mistaken on it being a ZooMed though. It's actually a T-Rex Active UV Heat bulb, and it this happened on two different domes that I tried to remove the bulbs from.

Dang....
Doesn't sound good for the T-Rex bulbs, however, I have noticed that they will get way too hot if you are not using a ceramic base dome fixture.

Were your fixtures the plastic based ones?
We have to be careful to use the more expensive fixtures (rated for 250 watts and up) for the mercury vapor bulbs and the like.

We did find some decent dome fixtures at the hardware store... less $$ than the "reptile suppliers" usually ask. To be honest, getting the light fixtures for over 200 cages put us in shock.. but it is a "must have", so what can ya do? Fact is, we herpers are at the mercy of the suppliers.

Hope you have better luck in the future,
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I have become a "Bold Consumer" in the past several years b/c I got tired of getting screwed on that kind of thing. 99% of the time the company is all apologetic and makes good on it. It's minimal cost to them and worth keeping a customer. I had a flashlight set go on me within about a month. I called Rayovac about it and also mentioned that I had bought a 16-pak of batteries from a store that had gone out of business (not really expecting anything, it was just in conversation). WELL....she sent me a set of heavy duty flashlight set (worth much more than what I originally got) with batteries. AND 5 4-packs of AA batteries!!!!

So go for it...you have nothing to lose. Definitely mention the base it messed up, too! Be a BOLD CONSUMER!! LOL!

lele

>>That's how I was trying to remove it, but I wasn't able to get it out. It's like fused in there or something. I bought it at a reptile show and don't remember who the vendor was. I was mistaken on it being a ZooMed though. It's actually a T-Rex Active UV Heat bulb, and it this happened on two different domes that I tried to remove the bulbs from.
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles (Jaida, no name)
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - (still no names)

I filled out their customer feedback form regarding the broken bulbs and they sent me an email saying they would replace them for me!
Paul

I've had that happen in the past.
I use that old remedy of sticking a potato inside and twisting.