I am completely frustrated. The long awaited mega-ray light has finally arrived but up here in "Backwards Town" I cannot find a reflective dome fixture or anything that I can adapt to make my existing one work. I have been to every pet store and no one has ever heard of the light and the only fixtures I can find are the "swag lamp" type that can't be hard mounted to the top of the cage.
(One store owner wanted to know if I wanted to send the light back and choose from his fine selection of Reptiglo 5.0 tubes. He also asked "according to who are they not good enough for an iguana and how did I know even a Zoo-Med Iguana light would be better?" Basically he was just rude - I don't think he even likes pets.)
O.K. enough ranting (I do feel better though). I need to know how to mount this light into the cage so, please, can someone steer me in the right direction?
Thank you in advance!

Well he was wrong,, tube lights are hideous for iguanas. Do not send that back,, I swear by that bulb,, my Grizzly is living proof. As far as mounting them,, I do not know what your cage looks like or how it is set up, In my newer cages, mu hubby has a porcelain light fixture wired into the top.. are your light systems built into your cage? If not do you use the clamp lamps? I have some huge ones that the mega ray will work with,, just make sure they are ceramic inside and can hold the wattage that bulb puts out. Basically you want the ones that state they are safe for ceramic heat emitters.
If my hubby was here he could be of more help, lol,, he runs around checking all my fixtures as to make sure I dont burn the place down

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Go to a hardware shop (Home Depot, etc), and ask for a "brooder lamp" these have ceramic bases and can accommodate a Mega Ray. If you're in an ag-heavy area, a local feed store will probably carry them as well.

Good luck and keep us posted!

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck

I am surprised you couldn't grab a dome with a porcelain socket at any of the petstores. All of the petstores around here carry them. I hope they aren't selling the hagen basking lamps or ceramic heat emiters at those petstores seeing as the domes are required for those to function safely. lol

As mentioned, home depot or just about any other hardware store will be able to help. All you need is a porcelain socket and a dome.

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OK, give me the"Low Down" on Iguana lights since I just paid $25.00 for a 5 amp fleurescent "Iguana" bulb!

what he said!!

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Thanks for the help everybody.

The cage has a hood (basically a box) that sits on top of the cage and the light fixtures are wired into the ceiling of it. There are 2 ceramic fixtures that the bulbs screw into so I'm Ok that way but I'm not sure I can attach a dome to the ones that are there but I found one today that will. However I cannot find a dome that is without a socket or "reflective" The pet store here does have a dome with a porcelain socket but it hangs from the cord (like a swag lamp) and it's not reflective.
I found a brooder light at the local feed store but it's on a cord as well. The instructions for the bulb say it has to be hard wired to the cage.

Does the dome have to be reflective to allow the rays from the bulb to emit properly or is it for fire safety? Also the heat bulb is in it's socket without a dome (has been for years) so I'm not sure if it needs a dome also?

I have no intention of sending the Mega ray back. I was just trying to convey how ignorant the pet store guy was cause I was mad!

It's just so frustrating not to be able to buy the equipment I need to keep my "Critter" healthy.

I have my heating element in one exactly like this. Its a 5.5" dome. It sits on top of my enclosure on top of wire mesh. Now, mine isn't a UVB megaray since frogs don't need it, but I don't see why setting it on top wouldnt be OK. Is the bulb shaped like a flood light? (I think thats what the mega rays look like) If so you don't have to have a reflective dome, the inside of the bulb does all the reflecting. The dome protects the bulb.

someone correct me if i'm wrong.

Does it look like the light fixture in the middle?

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

We do not have any of the type of lights that you are showing in the photo's in this town in any pet stores. No big shiny domes and no deep domes like the middle one in the photo (the mega ray bulb is shaped like a floodlight but more round on the end). (I did say this was "Backwards town" lol). Also the instructions for the Mega ray say it has to be hard wired to a solid surface so those kind that you are showing with the cord coming out of the top wouldn't work. Thanks for sending the photos though! it's cool to see how other people do things.

Which Mega Ray did you buy? I ask because I have an EB kit as well as a couple SB lights here and they all use what Liz posted. (I did have to modify one of my domes because it wasn't deep enough. The light was longer. lol)

Those dome fixtures at the petstore also come with a clamp you know. The clamp gets attached around the porcelain socket and can be attached anywhere the clamp can be clasped.

Image attached to show what I mean.

Attached Images

clamp.jpg (5.7 KB, 1 views)

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