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Incandescent blacklight...harmful?

sbogill

sbogill

New member
Dear Group,

Hi. Does anybody here have a problem with incandescent blacklight bulbs? I know the florescent type are considered taboo, but I have always considered the incandescent type to be totally safe. It seems to me that one of the 60 watt GE blacklight bulbs, when screwed into a domelamp and resting on top of my snake box, gives the perfect ammount of heat to keep the temp in the low 80s on the warm side. Of course, I like the blacklight because I can leave it on 24/7 and it doen't interfere with the photo period of the snake (or the keeper hah hah!).

Best,

S.B. O'Gill
 
I don't know if they are safe or not because I haven't come across them myself or read about them. However, they are unnecessary beccause, in my opinion, a heat mat will do a better job, last years longer and is a fraction of the cost to run.
 
Heating options..

Neil,

Hi. Are you speaking of the kind of heat pads that are used by humans (for sore muscles etc.)? I have heard that people use those for herpetoculture, but I wouldn't feel safe keeping one of those running 24/7 since they are not intended for continuous use. I use UTHs (designed for herpetoculture) for my aquariums backed up by dome lamps up top---but for the 9 through 15 quart boxes a dome lamp and 60-watt blacklight works perfect. I can even regulate the heat by letting part of the lamp hang off the edge. I've learned a couple other tricks too, such as: I can heat two boxes with one lamp by straddling one dome lamp across two boxes which are positioned side-by-side, and I can create a thermal gradient by placing the lamp toward one side. It works great! The reason I posted the question was that I was following a message thread on another board where some people said not to use blacklights whatsoever (even including incandescent). I feel that they are getting florescent blacklights (which are harmful) mixed up with incandescent blacklights. I still stand by my guns; incandescent blacklights are not harmful. I just wanted to know if anybody agreed (or disagreed) with me.

Best,

S.B. O'Gill
 
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