Fire Hazard: Heat Lamp & Hay

[timee_c]

This may be a silly question or I am being paranoid.

I understand that Timothy Hay can catch fire easily so I was wondering if it is a possible fire hazard when placed under the heat lamp inside the tortoise enclosure.

Your thoughts much appreciated.

 

[Yvonne G]

Most of us here realize that tortoises need more humidity, so we don't use hay because it molds when you get it wet.

Also, the clamps on those clamp lights sometimes fail, so we tell everyone it's safer to hang the lights rather than use the clamp.

 

[timee_c]

Thanks Yvonne.

But I'm getting mixed messages here. In one of the threads written for newcomers suggest strongly that grass should be the staple food for tortoises and Timothy Hay has been listed as one of the grass hays suitable. I do understand leaving the hay in the enclosure for long period of time risk molding and damp hay poses higher fire hazard risk due to "spontaneous hay combustion".

That being said, I just wanted to ensure safety for everyone at home.

BTW, the ceramic heat lamp is hung above the enclosure.

 

[Yvonne G]

I thought you meant using hay as bedding. Yes, when a tortoise gets older, he may eat grass hay. But in that instance, you would put a little pile of hay at the feeding station. You can keep the feeding station out and away from the light. Baby tortoises usually won't eat hay.

 

[Tom]

In addition to all the points Yvonne made, the temperature under your lamps and heating elements should be somewhere around 100 F. So even if some hay somehow did end up directly below your heat lamp or CHE, there should be no risk of ignition.

To recap:
Babies don't eat plain dry hay.
Food should not be under a heat lamp.
Heat lamps should be set at the correct height or wattage so that it doesn't get too hot underneath them.

It is good that you are thinking about these things and using some caution. Heat lamps can be a hazard if used incorrectly.

 

[dmmj]

the flash point for hay is 185 degrees so overall I guess you would be safe but me being paranoid I still wouldn't leave it under the lamp for long.

 

[Tom]

the flash point for hay is 185 degrees so overall I guess you would be safe but me being paranoid I still wouldn't leave it under the lamp for long.

Where did you get that info?

I'll bet it gets 185 on the black top in Phoenix at 2pm in summer. Or Vegas in August. Ambient was 122 when I was there once. I don't think that is enough to start a fire on dry weeds or hay.

 

[dmmj]

Where did you get that info?

I'll bet it gets 185 on the black top in Phoenix at 2pm in summer. Or Vegas in August. Ambient was 122 when I was there once. I don't think that is enough to start a fire on dry weeds or hay.

science teacher long time ago we did experiments on flash points on various objects. that was back when science class was fun

 

[jaizei]

Where did you get that info?

I'll bet it gets 185 on the black top in Phoenix at 2pm in summer. Or Vegas in August. Ambient was 122 when I was there once. I don't think that is enough to start a fire on dry weeds or hay.

I'll do you one further, you don't even need an external heat source. Wet hay can be dangerous because of the possibility of spontaneous combustion. Like when a compost pile gets hot, except the low ignition temperature of hay means it can burst into flame if disturbed.

 

[Tom]

science teacher long time ago we did experiments on flash points on various objects. that was back when science class was fun

That would be fun.

 

[Tom]

I'll do you one further, you don't even need an external heat source. Wet hay can be dangerous because of the possibility of spontaneous combustion. Like when a compost pile gets hot, except the low ignition temperature of hay means it can burst into flame if disturbed.

I've had compost piles start smoldering. Never had one actually catch fire though.

 

[timee_c]

Thank you all for your reply. Truly appreciate it. I am in the tropical/temperate location and it is 79.8 degrees on the average throughout the year. Humidity is quite high here as well. I guess I must make adjustments to the norm suggested throughout this forum since most information is meant for locations with very different climate compared to where I am.