Fires!!
- Thread starter Torty
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No not mine I hope yours did not start one
No. I hope this remains the case 
RE: Has a fire from your heat lamp?
Hi Timmy:
Are you asking if anyone on the forum has ever had a fire started because of the heat lamp over their tortoise habitat?
I think the main culprit here is the clamp part of the fixture. It sometimes fails, causing the light to drop. I've had this happen. Lucky for me it dropped straight down so that the bell portion effectively cut out the oxygen and the cypress mulch didn't burst into flame, however, it did smolder, and when I lifted the fixture, it started to flame.
If you're worried that the substrate might burst into flame directly under the light, if you have the light mounted so its about 12" or more above the substrate, then it should be around 100F degrees. Substrate won't ignite at 100F degrees.
Hi Timmy:
Are you asking if anyone on the forum has ever had a fire started because of the heat lamp over their tortoise habitat?
I think the main culprit here is the clamp part of the fixture. It sometimes fails, causing the light to drop. I've had this happen. Lucky for me it dropped straight down so that the bell portion effectively cut out the oxygen and the cypress mulch didn't burst into flame, however, it did smolder, and when I lifted the fixture, it started to flame.
If you're worried that the substrate might burst into flame directly under the light, if you have the light mounted so its about 12" or more above the substrate, then it should be around 100F degrees. Substrate won't ignite at 100F degrees.
No
No and I hope to keep it that way.
I haven't had any fires, but I have had some smoldering a couple of times. I do know of people whose houses burned top the ground...
Caution with heat lamps cannot be over emphasized...
Caution with heat lamps cannot be over emphasized...
One time a clamp failed, and the other time I found the bulb sitting on the wood. Don't know how it got there or how long it was sitting there, but I could smell it when I entered the room.
Haven't had any fires, thank goodness. Hopefully it stays that way!
Clamps can have a habit of slipping (and, in that sense, "failing"), so at this point I make it a habit to secure heat lamps with extra clamps, in addition to the one attached to the lamp. I try to keep a supply of 1-2" C-clamps on hand for this purpose. (Currently, all my C-clamps are either MIA or in use, and it really bugs me--they're so useful! Time to make another trip to the home improvement store!)
Clamps can have a habit of slipping (and, in that sense, "failing"), so at this point I make it a habit to secure heat lamps with extra clamps, in addition to the one attached to the lamp. I try to keep a supply of 1-2" C-clamps on hand for this purpose. (Currently, all my C-clamps are either MIA or in use, and it really bugs me--they're so useful! Time to make another trip to the home improvement store!)
This is one of my biggest worries. My mvb bulbs are wired to the hardware screen on top, no clamps. I also have regular bulbs shining in for extra light, these are clamped to the frame of enclosure. My husband attached the clamps to the frames with screws ( ok maybe they're not screws, I don't know what they're called ), but the clamps do not come off the frame, I can actually grab them and shake them. I cannot pull them off.
), but the clamps do not come off the frame, I can actually grab them and shake them. I cannot pull them off.
No fires for me...
For reptile enclosures with screen tops I fasten the fixtures with bailing wire to the hardware cloth tops too. I have also used the screw and c-clamp methods too. Nowadays I prefer to hang the fixtures over my open topped enclosures. It makes it really easy to adjust the fixtures up or down to get the temps just right.
Tom said:
I would love to have open top enclosures, so would my cats
Laurie said:Tom said:
I would love to have open top enclosures, so would my cats
Mine too! The closest I came to a fire, would be a long haired cat, who got her fur next to the bulb and her fur started to burn. Luckily I was there and smelled it, before any real damage was done. She never realized anything was happening.
I hang mine. Some of them hang from a hook in the ceiling. Some hang from the Zoo Med lamp stand. Some of them drape over the cupboard door (my least favorite).
The Zoo Med adjustable lamp stand:
The Zoo Med adjustable lamp stand:
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