Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,
We have been going through bulbs like water, We are using some Halogen(100w) bulbs that were supposed to last a year and some of them blew the first week. Its getting expensive to replace the bulbs every other week. What is everybody using?
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Joey And His Bro. , Beardie Br0thaz

I was using regular household bulbs 150-200 watts to get the heat I needed. They were ok, but my energy bills were outrageous! I recently switched to GE halogen indoor/outdoor flood bulbs. I've been getting better heat for much less wattage that way, and so far neither have burnt out. I don't know what brand halogen you are using, but I think the indoor/outdoor types are really made to last.
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1.0.1 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

We are using Zoo-Med Halogen.
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Joey And His Bro. , Beardie Br0thaz

Ooooh, yeah.

If we're just talking about regular heat bulbs to put with a UVB flourecent light, I wouldn't recommend buying heat bulbs that are made for lizards like you see in pet stores.

I had the same problem when I started with snakes. I was paying $12-15 for a pet store heat bulb, and they would burn out w/in a month or two. Through lots of research and asking around, I learned that heat is heat, and I started buying household bulbs. I think all that "full-specturm" stuff is kinda BS. As long as you have a good UVB light with it, and all you have to worry about is heat, you don't have to buy those expensive "full-spectrum" bulbs. They are overpriced, burn out easily, and don't do anything a regular bulb from walmart won't do.

I would go to Walmart or Home Depot and get some Halogen floodlight bulbs, about $5-10 a piece depending on wattage. They are sturdy, provide good heat, and great light. They are still a little pricey, but I think they'll last a lot longer. You may have to play around a bit to figure out what wattage to use, I just kept my reciepts, would buy a few different ones at a time, and return the ones that were too hot/cold.

Of course there's lots of different opinions and methods on lighting, but this is what worked for me.
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1.0.1 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

We just tried these 75w household bulbs in one of our baby bins and it got up in the high 90's and was still getting hotter. Best thing about these bulbs are they were only $1.99! I will see if i can get 100w but i dont think they come in 100w.
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Joey And His Bro. , Beardie Br0thaz