Humidity and Lighting

[Linds]

OK... my little tortie desperately needs a larger enclosure, since he's outgrown his tank. I would prefer it to be a stackable enclosure (hehehe...so I have a place to put it ;)) Now since I want to be able to put another cage on top of it, and also for safety reason (my cat like to destroy everything so I like to keep lights out of his way to avoid burning the house down), I was hoping to put the light inside the enclosure - but I was wondering about the safety of doing that since the enclosure would have a humidity level of around 80%, and I'm worried about condensation finding its way into the light socket, etc. Any thoughts?

Also, if someone could show me how to install one of those interior socket things into a cage it would be greatly appreciated! I have never built a thing in my life and I have nobody to help me over here :eek:

[Edwin]

Hi Linds,

First, buy a porcelain light fixture with presoldered ends. It will make your life easier. These fixtures support up to 660w and wont melt like their plastic counterparts. Next, get a pancake box to house the wiring etc. and a power cord. You will also need a couple of end caps to connect the power cord to the light fixture. All this can be bought at Home Depot.

The rest is simple, just screw it inside the cage where you want it, and make sure that it has some ventilation.

Hope this helps.

[reverendsterlin]

an outdoor type light socket is usually water resistant.

[Linds]

Thanks Edwin and Rev! That was alot of good info, but I am still a little unclear on how to attach it. Do I have to drill holes in the cage? Do I have to cut out a section? Does the cord run out through the top? For the most part I keep nocturnal animals, so I have never had any caging with lighting to base ideas off of :confused:

[sSNAKESs.com]

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/1lampsetup-med.jpg

Ok... Screw the pancake box where you want it to be in the cage, then you put the cord through a hole on the side of the pancake box, and then attach the 2 wire ends of the cord with the 2 wires that are on your porcelin socket with plastic connectors that are made for this. Wrap electrical tape around the connectors so that no moisture gets in, push everything up inside and then put the socket on tighten the screws and your finished..

[Big Mike]

If it's just for light and not the main heat source you could get a small outdoor flood light fixture that screws right on. More expensive, probably...but an Idea.

[Linds]

Thanks Jeff! That's exactly what I needed :D

Mike,
Yeah these lights are going to be the main heat source for my little guy :)