flood lights

[Dunner]

wondering if flood lights you buy at the hardware store are ok to use to heat large enclosures instead of the reptile specific lights, and if so, what wattages would be good for a safe basking spot
thanks

[Matt]

it all depends on how large the enclosure is and what species you are keeping....floodlights can be ok <b>sometimes</b>, but they get exteamly hot, so dont allow your herp direct access to the light and make sure you stick a thermometer in there to see what the temp is under the light.

they heat up much more than regular light bulbs, and i would only recommend them for larger enclosure.

just experiment with wattages to obtain the right temp, but usually 40W is enough for a larger enclosure......but be careful, and dont use them in small enclosures!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Matt's right man.


But if this is for your Savanna, flood lights are the ONLY way to heat your cage. (sort of).

[Dunner]

nope, this is for the burms, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me what type of lighting i use wether it be floods, or the reptile basking lights, i was just curious if they were suitable or not, the enclosure is 6X3X2

[Jeff_Favelle]

I wouldn't use lights to heat a Burm. I'd use heat tape.

[Edwin]

Flood lights generate a lot of heat, and that can be dangerous, especially in an enclosed area like a terrarium. If you do use them, make sure you take necessary precautions to prevent fires and overheating.

Just my 2 cents.

[Dunner]

yeah that was my next question about the heat tape on a 6 foot long enclosure, how much tape would i put on the back or bottom? this will be my first use of heat tape, so just trying to figure everything out, would i go with 2 feet, or 3 feet, and one or 2 strips? thanks

[Jeff_Favelle]

Impossible to say my man. A ton of factors come in to play like cage ventilation, cage construction, wood thickness, substrate, location in the house, room ambient temperature, bla bla bla...


So, here's what you do. You experiment until you have an ambient in the cage of 75F, a cold end that sits at 75F, and a big enough warm spot for your entire Burm at 90F. Your snake will do the rest and choose whatever temperature it wants/needs. All you have to do is provide the right range of choices, and your snake will thrive.

[Kurzix]

this is what i plan on doing with my burms cage in the future. I plan on using 2 seperate pieces of heat tape one that is 2/3 the size of the cage, and the other that is 1/3. each will be wired and controlled seperatly, the 2/3 will be set to control the ambient, and the 1/3 for the hot spot