Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I'm currently "recycling" a cage of mine, the dimensions are 3x2x2ish, made out of wood. Now, I know the long fluro. bulbs work best at a distance no more than aprox. 12". Thats where I run into the problem. I was wondering if fluro. bulbs could be mounted on the side of the enclosure rather than the ceiling. this cage is for a blue tongue skink. It houses my python right now so UV wasn't an issue. They display fluro. lights at home depot mounted this way, but I don't know if its bad in the long run.

If they can't be I'll just have to suspend it.

Sorry for rambling =)

dont see why they couldnt .. the bulbs dont care, they are round anyway .. and the fixture wouldnt matter either .. id say mount them HORIZONTAL at the top of the cage because im assuming you for some reason cant attach them to the top. if you really wanted to mount them vertical i would just be worried about the animal being able to come into contact with them easily.

Ah okay, sorry if my first message wasn't so clear - I was at class and in a rush. I CAN mount them to the top of the cage, the only problem is the heigh - 2 feet above the surface. I would be worried that the bulb would be ineffective at that height, since optimum distance for UV is like 12" or so. If I were to mount from the top of the cage I would have to use chains to suspend it so its lower than the 2ft"

If I were to mount it to the side of the cage, the distance wouldn't be a factor - but I do not know how it would affect the bulbs UV output or any other problems. Of course, I'd have a bulb guard so the BTS wouldnt come into contact.

Maybe I'll just suspend it LOL =)

now i understand .. i see nothing wrong with mounting them to the sides of the cage as long as you can be sure the animal can not come into bad contact with them .. i would only really be worried about it being wet and climbing on the lights or climbing on the lights and knocking it out or something .. other then those concerns i dont think you will have any problems with mounting them on the side of the cage, they are mounted in many different ways in kitchens and cabinets and such

Were you able to find or make a wire or mesh bulb gaurd? I am thinking of mounting my light inside the tank but don't want my collard to be able to burn herself on it by sitting directly onto it.