Infrared lamp, is it safe?
- Thread starter MantisMan
- Start date
Ozymandias
Seventh Instar
ya should be fine to use as long as it doen't melt the bin there in
I run a few infrared lamps on some tanks. I've currently got one atop my B. dubia tank. It doesn't work as well as the heat pad "stickers" for several reasons. The main reason is that the bulb screws into a hood/fixture and this rests on top of a large, metal screened lid. This requires me to need to wet down the tank more often than if I were a different lid/heating combination. I almost have to wet it down twice each day. It helps in these situations to have a substrate and some "hides" for the roaches to take cover beneath. It also dries the food out if the roaches don't eat it quickly enough. Keeps mite populations down though!
wodesorel
Seventh Instar
As long as it's not too close to the plastic it should be fine. I've been running infrared bulbs on my hermit crab tanks for well over two years and have never had a fire or other problem with them. I normally set the lamps on top of a metal screen lid that was lined with plastic freezer bags underneath to hold in humidity and as long as the bulb isn't super hot there was never any melting. If you're spraying water be cautious as any droplets that hit a hot bulb will cause it to explode, but that can be prevented by moving the light or unplugging it and letting it cool down first. I've also found that plug-in lamp dimmers from the hardware store run about $11 and are perfect for controlling temperatures so that it doesn't get too hot. 