I am looking at clamp lamps. It seems if it is labeled as "reptile clamp lamp' Oh look we can charge more! I am not going to need a high wattage bulb so I can I use something else?

Hello,

If you intend on using a normal , low wattage household bulb, you could get away with a plastic socket and purchase the lamp at Home Depot or some other hardware store.

For safety reasons, even with low wattage lighting that will be on regularly, it is best to use a porcelain socket. (Which is what is used for the "reptile" domes.)

Those too can be purchased at hardware stores and are normally uch cheaper than the ones found in petstores.

If you are asking which you should purchase, I am going to voice my opinion as the porcelain sockets, except purchase them at a hardware store and save a few bucks!

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.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

I agree. Hit your local Home Depot or Lowes (whatever is in your area). They'll have a porcelain socket light with a metal shield for a few bucks. It's exactly what you need for a basking bulb and is MUCH cheaper than you're local pet shop will be. I would NOT go with the plastic sockets.

On another note, if you're just going for good light instead of a basking light. while at the hardware store, you can pick up a flourescent bulb ballast in the size you need (I think my 4 foot ones were $5 when I got them). You can buy full spectrum bulbs to emulate sunlight that will be MUCH better for your animal than a normal lightbulb (I dont remember how much, but I think the 4 foot full spectrum bulbs were just a few bucks too). They're easily suspended over your animals to provide healthy light. I use a combination of the two. I just set the flourescents right on top of their tank (and use it on a 12 hour on/12 hour off cycle). The ceramic/metal light with the basking lamp I mount to the side and leave on 24/7. Although I do put a blanket between the tank and basking light during the "OFF CYCLE". It still gives off heat and they love their nighttime basking. Here are a few pics of my setup. Oh, the 2X4s you see sticking out keep the flourescent light off my screen top and also give me something to clamp their basking light to. Hope this helps.

**Mod note: SHining a heat lamp over a blanket is a fire hazard and not safe to do...Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter or red or black bulb for night basking....**


Night time view inside the tank

Same interior view, but with the flash on, shows night basking

You can purchase light hoods that are sold for chickens cheaper. Just look in a farm supply store. They are usually rated up to 250 watts.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

I agree with the chicken lamps...our grain store in town sells them pretty cheap and they have porcelain sockets, but in my case where I use Large light bulbs, they are too shallow to support the length of the bulb....regular light bulbs are fine, just the larger Mercury Vapors dont fit properly...been there tried it LOL....



James I was looking at your setup with the lamp shining 'through the blanket"...that is a fire hazard....I would never suggest to shine a heat lamp through material.....get a Ceramic Heat Emitter or a red light bulb for night basking.....the way you do it is not safe at all.....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

I don't think any of our lamp socket are actually for reptiles. I went out and got just ceramic sockets with domes. One of my big concerns is with the heat that is transmitted from the transformers that are hooked to the florescent hoods. They get really hot and I'm afraid of them causing a fire. I will use the regular bulb part of the hood but not the florescent bulb part. Both hoods I have came with animal adoptions.

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Colleen

I think that most of us "old hands" will tell you that we purchase as much of our supplies, if not more of them, at hardware stores than we do at pet stores. As we quickly figured out and as you noticed the same peice of equipment that you can buy at a hardware store costs considerably more at a pet shop!
I too would NEVER shine a light through a blanket or other fabric. This is trouble waiting to happen! The bulb doesn't need to be in contact with the material for it to start a fire. If you need supplemental heat go with a Ceramic Heat Emitter or a heating pad.
those bulbs are fine if all you are looking for is light. The term "full spectrum" only refers to the visible color of the light produced. While fine for most snakes, these bulbs do not supply the UVB radiation needed by many diurnal reptiles

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I think the picture is deceiving. They took the pic down but there is about a foot of clearance between the light and the blanket itself (suggested clearance distance on the bulb). I've checked it hundreds of times and the blanket has never been warm to the touch (it's also a fire retardant matrerial). The picture of it darkened inside should show that the light isn't being shined through the blanket.... but on the blanket. With that said I understand perfectly what the mods are saying and not done carefully it is definitly a fire risk. My comments were definitly too general and I would never suggest putting any heat emitting source against or near cloth. Most herpers do go with a red bulb for nighttime viewing and in retrospect, that'll be the safest method to go with. I used this setup to give them some nighttime privacy.

On the bulbs, for needed UVB light, the light spectrum should include the (280 - 315 nm) range. Most plant bulbs cut off just prior to this because they cause a plant's color to fade. But they are out there.

Ok now I am confused! You are using the light bulb to produce heat in the tank. The cloth is between the bulb and the tank to shield the tank from the visible light but the cloth doesn't even feel warm? How then is this heating the tank that the cloth is covering?
I disagree. What few common flourescent bulbs that produce any UVB at all do not produce it in sufficient quantity to be useful in a reptile enclosure for calcium metabolizing. At one time it was thought that certain plant bulbs such as vita lites and Chroma 50's would provide what was needed. In fact that was all that was readily available to us. It has since been discovered that they are woefully inadequate for that purpose. If they were, considering the number of us who use UVB detecting/measureing light meters, there would be no market for the more expense UVB specific bulbs.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Good Question Merlin. To be honest, I'm not totally sure how. Perhaps the blanket isn't heating up because it's flame retardant so a bad conductor of heat. Maybe the weave blocks most of the visible spectrum but allows other light through to heat their perch and that general corner of the glass. I do know that with a foot of clearance, the blanket isn't warm, but their perch will stay warm to the touch. In the inside pic, it's dark, but Bella is still there basking.


I appreciate the info on the bulbs. I found them in WV and bought a stack of them about 7 or 8 years ago. I've never used a UVB detector on them, it just had on the packaging that it was full spectrum including the UVB needed for reptiles. Now I'm doubly glad that I included the basking bulb with UVB to give them a good temp gradient. I'm on my last fluorescents now (in fact, I only had one left to change them last time so one side is woefully overused). What would you suggest as the most cost efficient replacement? Or do you think it's needed with the UVB basking bulb?