Raining hot plastic

[Mastersmom]

Help!!!
When ever we open the cage to feed our beardie the light melts the plastic on the cage!!
When we close it hot plastic falls into the cage!
We are afraid it is going to land on our beardie.
Please help!!!

 

[Beardys Rock]

what "cage" are you using? pics will be helpful and take your beardy out :shock:

 

[GoFast]

move the light before opening or shut the light off? :help:

 

[Mastersmom]

Only problem with turning lights off is that we have a timer to switch the lights off...

We have a plastic 40 gallon tank, i dont know what brand though.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[GoFast]

whether there is a timer or not, there should still be an alternative way to shut the light off. just shut it off for a while to let the bulb cool down and then open. you should be able to do this with out disturbing the timer

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

unplug it from the timer.

 

[beardie1434]

are you able to use a screen? Sorry I am not fond of plastic, they harbor alot of nasty germs and they well melt. Do you have a hot plate you could set the light on when you are putting the food in?

 

[Mastersmom]

the cage is an aquarium, it just has plastic around the top edges. We have been sliding the screen open to feed him (the lamp sliding along on top of the screen). the lamp is melting the edges (when we forget to move it-this has just started happening-I think it is b/c of a new bulb). then when we slide it back the plastic has dripped into the cage (twice).

a very conscientious older child is taking care of him, we would like to see what solutions others have to keep this from happening. Obviously now that she knows it is very unlikely to happen again. but if someone has a simialr situation we would love to know what they do. I like the idea of putting the light on a plate.

In fact she is the one who started the post (without telling mom by the way).

We are also going to go back to the old kind of bulb.

 

[h2simms]

its a tank then

 

[Doonagoowin]

Is there a way you can put a strip of wood behind the tank and clamp it on?

That's simple clamp solution that I saw somebody use. No need to worry about it moving with the lid then.

 

[beardie1434]

I dropped a light dome one time the same way, it slid right off the top. Lucky it only blew the bulb and it didn't bust even though it hit the floor b/c I would never want my babies to get cut.

I did away with my plastic ring screen a while ago. They do make some with a feeding hole that doesn't require you to move lights unless you are removing your beardie or cleaning the viv.

 

[Mastersmom]

Thanks guys!
You helped so much!

 

[diamc]

Just curious, what wattage bulb are you using in the 40 gallon tank?

 

[kmc5]

My tank is old and the plastic around the top is cracked. I understood what was meant right away. Sometime when I have a few spare bucks, I am planning on making the top framed in wood.

 

[beardie1434]

Sometime when I have a few spare bucks, I am planning on making the top framed in wood.

check you local hardware store for any broker or marked down 1x2's or anybody you know may do some sort of trim work for scrap pieces. Alot of builders and framers throw away 1x2's and 2x4's up to 4' long. maybe that might be a cheaper option.