Is this ok for the light?

[PMQ]

The cord is wrapped around a soccer ball holder that is screwed into the wall(it can freely hang) then I used the clamp on the stool to keep it stable. Is it alright to hand it by the cord? Would this be ok to use?

 

[Yvonne G]

It is much better to hang the light than to use the clamp. Those clamp fixtures sometimes fail and the light falls into the substrate. It has been known to cause fires. But hanging by the cord isn't really a safe way either. You should attach a cord, chain or whatever, to the light fixture and hang it by the chain/cord/whatever.

 

[PMQ]

It is much better to hang the light than to use the clamp. Those clamp fixtures sometimes fail and the light falls into the substrate. It has been known to cause fires. But hanging by the cord isn't really a safe way either. You should attach a cord, chain or whatever, to the light fixture and hang it by the chain/cord/whatever.

The clamp is basically doing nothing besides stability. If it did detach the light would still be hanging, but by the cord. How do I attach a different cord? Just tie it around the ceramic fixture?

 

[Yvonne G]

No, usually there are some holes in the dome. And speaking of the dome...it's up to you and what you prefer, but I like to use the 10" or 12" domes. They don't get so hot inside as the smaller ones.

 

[PMQ]

No, usually there are some holes in the dome. And speaking of the dome...it's up to you and what you prefer, but I like to use the 10" or 12" domes. They don't get so hot inside as the smaller ones.

those holes? Wouldn't it be hot in there?

And the dome in the picture is a 9 inch

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Yes those holes If they got covered up, it would get very toasty inside the fixture... resulting in a exploded bulb... Also, I wouldn't wrap the cord around the ceramic top, that piece get very hot when the light is on, and might damage the cord.

 

[PMQ]

Yes those holes If they got covered up, it would get very toasty inside the fixture... resulting in a exploded bulb... Also, I wouldn't wrap the cord around the ceramic top, that piece get very hot when the light is on, and might damage the cord.

How do you hang your lights

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I don't, but I probably should! I have a tortoise with a bunny fence top, that's 16'' away from the top of my russians shell at all times... so I could hang if I wanted too, but it wouldn't be necessary.

 

[PMQ]

I don't, but I probably should! I have a tortoise with a bunny fence top, that's 16'' away from the top of my russians shell at all times... so I could hang if I wanted too, but it wouldn't be necessary.

Oh so you just set it on the fence?

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Yep. It's metal, so no worries... also far enough away so that he won't get burned!
Do you have an MVB? I belive I heard those need to be slightly closer because the UVB dissipates after a certain height.. like 14''... yours looms close enough though.

 

[PMQ]

Yep. It's metal, so no worries... also far enough away so that he won't get burned!
Do you have an MVB? I belive I heard those need to be slightly closer because the UVB dissipates after a certain height.. like 14''... yours looms close enough though.

Yea it's a solar glo but I think I need a new one. It's only 75W and after a couple tests it only got the basking rock to about 90° which isn't enough. I might just get a heat light for now and take my tort outside for an hour every day.

 

[Tom]

We have had several electricians on our site over the years and they've unanimously recommended against hanging the fixture by the cord. I'd rather let an electrician explain why they don't recommend this.

I'm not teling you what to do here, or what is safe. I'm just telling you that I have been hanging mine by the cord for decades, and nothing bad has happened yet.

So, you can't sue me if your house burns down.

 

[PMQ]

We have had several electricians on our site over the years and they've unanimously recommended against hanging the fixture by the cord. I'd rather let an electrician explain why they don't recommend this.

I'm not teling you what to do here, or what is safe. I'm just telling you that I have been hanging mine by the cord for decades, and nothing bad has happened yet.

So, you can't sue me if your house burns down.

It seems stable by the cord, and I've seen plenty of others do it. I'll probably try it out for now and see how it does.

 

[jaizei]

The problem with the clamps is the clamp part. So if you can better secure that to whatever it's attached to, you can use the clamp. I imagine you wouldn't want to put hole in the stool but if it was attached to something else, you could use bailing wire to secure the clamp to that. The holes you saw are what Yvonne was talking about; there are hangers meant to fit them, or you could use something like a wire coat hanger or 12 ga steel wire and make your own. Picture showing the hangers:

The reason you shouldn't hang by the cord is the same reason you shouldn't unplug an electrical cord by yanking on it: over time it can damage the conductors in the cord. They might completely break in the cord and it will stop working, or if only some of the strands of the conductor break and it will create a hot spot.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

That could work, tortoises only NEED a few hours of UVB a week but more is always (always??) better.

 

[PMQ]

That could work, tortoises only NEED a few hours of UVB a week but more is always (always??) better.

Yea I've been told by a couple others that an hour outside every day of every week would be a good amount of UVB the sustain the tort. I think I'll do this until I can afford an expensive MVB bulb