Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi,
it seems my basking lights are not getting to their average 2000 hour lifespan. it is on a timer, i've removed the doom to make sure it's not getting to hot. it's the zoomed type repti basking spot light 75w. i've tried the other brand(extraterrest something)and got less life out of it. the pet store suggested not using a timer and leaving it on. how do you leave the light on and turn off the lights for the night? is there a canopy that covers the light automatically during the night? i've heard of the ceramic ones but my plants like the basking light type.
ivanhoe

Buy regular incandescent bulbs. 4 for a dollar. The UVA they get from those basking lights in more than made up by using two different types of flourescent bulbs, one UVB, the other full-spectrum.

Expensive basking bulbs are nice, in that they provide nice colors, but they're too expensive for what you get.

All basking lights provide is heat and not much else.
Save your $$$ for a good UVB light. If the basking light does not last long just pitch it it was only a quarter anyway.

One thing I've noticed about the cheap bulbs is that they're ALL soft-white bulbs; made to produce a soft 'white' light. This light is good for illumination, but it doesn't emit a whole lot of warmth.
I guess I got caught up in this because of my kid's easy bake oven. It calls for a standard bulb, but you can't use 'soft-white' because they simply don't get warm enough to bake the goods.
My line of thinking here is that if the bulb isn't getting warm enough to bake a kid's toy, how much warmth are they really providing?
I do use these bulbs as replacement bulbs when I get a burn out and its a ways off before I can get restocked. I figure they're a heck of a lot better than nothing, my house stays pretty warm to begin with, and the chams don't need a LOT of additional warmth anyways. Besides, I'm not about to spend $10 at PetCo for a bulb that costs me about $2.50 online!
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com