Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. Talk about the scare of my life since having Forest...

I'd fallen asleep on the couch tonight & my son was heading off to bed. As he always does, he went to say good-night to Forest. I don't know what happened exactly...but I awoke to a huge "pop" & my son staring horrified at Forest.

Trey said he'd taken the misting bottle & misted Forest (he's shedding) as he'd seen me do & Forest's night-heat bulb exploded. Forest was sitting there with eyes closed, glass all around him & Trey about in tears. He swears all he did was mist Forest.

I THINK it was a zoo-med bulb, although I'm not positive. I bought it for Forest when we got him & it was one of those "moonbulbs" that put out very little light. I use that for his basking light and his UVB light is right behind him. I decided on the moon-bulb so he'd have it dark at night.

Have any of you ever had this happen? Any idea WHAT happened?

Forest is fine, acts like nothing happened. Trey was STRESSED! Thought he'd hurt Forest. Good grief.....I'm stressed!

I don't understand. I don't know how the mist could have hit the light (the light is in a dome)....do you guys think if it did, it would have caused the bulb explosion?

Hmmmmm. Do you guys prefer CHE's to night or "moon" bulbs? They don't produce light, right? (Never used a CHE).

Help please...and thanks.

Terri

yes bulbs explode nice and easy wihta little bit of water lol, very easy to do on accident, and from what i've read che are the best, something about the moon-bulbs can cause damage to their eyes, yea so someone else might want to confirm this....
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my animals
1.0.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
0.1 white's dumpy treefrog (un-named)
0.0.1 red eared slider (carl)
0.0.1 fire belly toad (escaped..)
1.0 lop eared wabbit (oreo)
0.0.2 pink toed tarantula (mambo mambo, and un-named)
0.0.1 green iguana (iguanadonatello)
the rest of the animals in the hizouse
1.0 westie puppy (gabriel)
1.0 plain ol' outdoor alley cat (joey)
0.1 indoor rag doll kitty (tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs

What happens is that the glass of the bulb heats up after use. When the bulb is hit with water, it cools of for a short time, but also IN a short time. It heats back up very quickly and causes the glass to crack, and eventually shatter. CHE's are not IMMUNE to this, but they are much less prone to being damaged permanently.

From my past experience, I have something to warn you about. Pieces of hot glass may have landed on his back, causing burns. Keep an eye on his skin for a few days.

My ig received a third degree burn in the fold between his right hind leg and his body from being showered with hot glass. He's ok now.

Roger

i have had this happen to me.. IMHO those bulbs suck.. ill never use them again.. i get all of my heating bulbs from Home Depot.. i just get an outdoor colored flood light.. they work great and they can stand the humidity..
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

YOU DONT OWN YOUR IGUANA, YOUR IGUANA OWNS YOU

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

Mike, the outdoor light from Home Depot...are they colored so I can use them at night?

I'd never thought of that. Duh...I was out hunting pet stores near me today looking for a CHE. Nothing. (Not too much in way of pets shops in big ole Spring Hill, FL) Two of the shops said they were getting the CHE's in with a week or so. I ended up getting an infared nightlight.

I don't like it. Seems bright. Forest hasn't been up on his bed all day since I put the light in. He went & hid under my son's bed. It is just a lot brighter than I thought it'd be.

Short of ordering a CHE on-line or waiting for a week while Forest doesn't sleep, are the outdoor lights a dark color??? That would be great if they are, there's a HD right down the road!!!

Thanks, Terri

So Terri, what part of Florida is Spring Hill in? I am moving to the Navarre/Fort Walton Beach area in less than a week, and since I've never been further east than Nevada, I'm totally overwhelmed with curiousity!

Are you in Nevada now? OMG, your iggy is gonna LOVE Florida!

How exciting!!! I'd wanted a pet for a long time but I (and my boyfriend Mike) have both always thought it was cruel to have a dog or cat for a pet here in FL. NOT trying to start anything it's just that we live very near the Gulf Coast & get a TON of salt knats, & sand fleas are everywhere in FL. There's just no way around them. The salt knats are BAD when we get a seabreeze blowing in off the Gulf. A reptile just made a much better choice.

Spring Hill is about 30 miles north of Tampa Bay. We absolutely love it here.

My entire family lives in MI. I'm 38 & Mike's 49 but WE are the snowbirds of the family! LOL. Our family stayed north & we moved south.

Just can't tell you how much you're gonna love it & your iggy will just be lovin life here! Tell the green baby to imagine ALL the hibicus' he'd ever want to eat.....

I'm going to the map to look for your area now! See ya & BEST of luck.

Terri

We're actually in Southern California right now, and I think the weather's pretty close to where we're headed in NW Florida. Slightly more humid, and yes lots of nice hibiscus for the ig!

Roger, thanks for the heads up!

I looked Forest over head to toes last night & I found 2 shards about half as big as a pencil lead on him. Other than that all the glass landed beside him. He must have been off to the side of the light when it exploded.

Scared the chit out of me. My son was almost in tears thinking he'd hurt Forest.

I looked him over again today & I don't see anything but I'll keep looking.

I'll never buy a moon-light again & I hate the infared one I got today. I wanted a CHE but the pet shops were out of them today. Should get more in next week. I'm going to also look into the outdoor light that Mike D suggested.

Thanks for the info!
Terri