!!!!!!damn Heat Bulbs!!!!!!!1

ok i have gon through 2 of these "year lasting bulbs " that emit heat for my snake.
in 2 months!
i know its the grade of the bulb because:
1: i only have it on 8 hours a day
2: it hasnt ben dropped or banged aginst the floor

douse any one have any problems like this...
i need answers cause these bulbs are exspencive.

Some of these bulbs come with a limited warranty and so you can send them back and get credit for the months you didn't get to use. Read the box carefully to see if this is the case with the ones you are buying. I use T-Rex UV Heat bulbs for a lot of lizards and have generally found them to last fairly well. However, UV heat bulbs are expensive and are not required for corn snakes. If you are just using the bulb as a heat source for your cornsnake then just buy an ordinary bulb from the grocery store of what ever wattage you need it. You may need to use different wattages during different times of the year to get the temperature right.
If you need UV Heat bulbs or some special bulb then I would suggest you try buying them from somewhere else because if you are not dropping and damaging them, the shop might be.

It could be a fault in the lamp itself. Are you turning the bulb on and off a lot?

Are these ESU bulbs?? I have had the same problem with their "red" night bulbs. I've been through 4 in the last 3 months!!! I change them daily with "blue" bulbs because my house is really cool and keeping the lights on keeps the temps on the hot side at about 83. I don't bang them or anything, just unscrewing them for the first week tends to blow them!

If the bulb is used for heat alone, I don't buy bulbs made for pets. IMO, they are far more expensive for no significant reason. (at least I haven't heard one. If anyone has any good reason to use a "pet" bulb, please let me know!) I just select the wattage and style I want. I use 25w on my 20L's and 75w spot in my tortoise enclosure. I haven't replaced the spot in over a year, and all of mine are on varying cycles from 10-14 hours per day.
IMO, if you don't need the UV, just use a cheapo bulb that maintains the right temps!

Because it gets chilly here at night, I use a UTH and a Ceramic Heat Bulb myself. You might want to look into them, they are a lot easier to use, and they last even longer then regular bulbs.

I never use lights made specificallly for pets, why bother when an ordinary red spot light bulb works just fine? These usually last at least a month for me but they are no bother to replace because they are not expensive. JTgoff69 here is a link to a thread on this forum about different colour bulbs, it says blue bulbs cause problems. Have you experienced any?

You have recieved some good thoughts regarding "reptile" bulbs in general, I would like to add with the change in weather in my house (not snake related) I have lost 12 light bulbs (mostly halogen) in the last 6 weeks- this seems to happen when we have a switch from hot weather to cool (in the house, from cool sl humid to heat less humidity) just a thought- interestingly enough (knock on wood) the blue & red lights for the snakes have been ok
Also... using regular bulbs is ok as long as you turn them off at night and use an alternative heat source!

:cheers:

Why does it need to be turned off at night if it is red? I turn the temp down so it doesn't come on much through the night, (works off a thermostat) that way the temp is down and it stays dark, imitating night time.

Itsnowingcorns said:

Why does it need to be turned off at night if it is red? I turn the temp down so it doesn't come on much through the night, (works off a thermostat) that way the temp is down and it stays dark, imitating night time.

Click to expand...

Sorry should have been more specific... red & blue do not have to be turned off. just regular "white" light
red light is beyond the spectrum that snakes are able to see & blue light is thought to mimic moon light.
however as suggested you can always use a ceramic emmiter those typically do not "burn out" but they do not supply a light source.

:cheers:

Alrighty then!