loljelloclowdz
Juvie Member
So I did a lot of research before buying my bearded dragon, Mari, but I still made a mistake in buying the Zilla 18” slimline fixture and using the bulb that came with it. It hasn’t caused any visible health issues (though I’m sure it caused minor ones to start, I just can’t see them yet) but I still replaced the bulb with the Reptisun 10.0 T8 18” uvb bulb yesterday (I ordered it on Chewy.com many weeks ago!) and there’s been a slight problem with keeping the light on. Oh, and before we continue, the day I bought the fixture, I took the plastic covering off and threw it in the recycling bin because like I said, I did my research and learned that UVB cannot pass through the plastic. (Though I’m wondering if the plastic covering was there for a reason.)
Because the slimline contains a magnetic ballast, it is incompatible with the Reptisun T8 series - my guess is that it’s Zilla’s way of competing with ZooMed. It’s like a little balancing act, where I have to keep going over to Marijke’s viv to kinda push the little bulb back in line, such that the prongs are in contact with the cathode and anode, because the light would shut off entirely. This is with the light rotated back into the safety lock position. I had to take her Reptisun tube out and put the piece of junk Zilla tube back in just because I’m worried the Reptisun tube will cause a fire or a blown fuse. Also the blackouts caused Mari to get visibly upset, as would anyone else if the sun suddenly started flickering before turning off entirely. (I definitely do not want hot mercury to explode all over my lizard!)
I have several questions now:
1. Can I use electrical tape on the bulb just to keep it pushed into position? (As I’ve said, the bulb has to be rotated a few degrees to activate the safety lock, but there are still a few mm of movement inside the cavity where the prongs can become misaligned with the cathode and anode)
2. Is it a fire hazard to force an incompatible light tube into the wrong fixture?
And 3, because this would be the best route of action:
What is the best fixture to use with the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 UVB 15 Watts T8 18” bulb? I don’t want to go to Petco because they only carry those dual domes (yuck, yuck, yuck!) and the Zilla slimline fixtures. (And don’t get me started on how they literally only have red heat bulbs - I had to order online, which is why it took me a month to prepare before finally ordering Mari from Kids And Dragons.)
Thanks
Because the slimline contains a magnetic ballast, it is incompatible with the Reptisun T8 series - my guess is that it’s Zilla’s way of competing with ZooMed. It’s like a little balancing act, where I have to keep going over to Marijke’s viv to kinda push the little bulb back in line, such that the prongs are in contact with the cathode and anode, because the light would shut off entirely. This is with the light rotated back into the safety lock position. I had to take her Reptisun tube out and put the piece of junk Zilla tube back in just because I’m worried the Reptisun tube will cause a fire or a blown fuse. Also the blackouts caused Mari to get visibly upset, as would anyone else if the sun suddenly started flickering before turning off entirely. (I definitely do not want hot mercury to explode all over my lizard!)
I have several questions now:
1. Can I use electrical tape on the bulb just to keep it pushed into position? (As I’ve said, the bulb has to be rotated a few degrees to activate the safety lock, but there are still a few mm of movement inside the cavity where the prongs can become misaligned with the cathode and anode)
2. Is it a fire hazard to force an incompatible light tube into the wrong fixture?
And 3, because this would be the best route of action:
What is the best fixture to use with the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 UVB 15 Watts T8 18” bulb? I don’t want to go to Petco because they only carry those dual domes (yuck, yuck, yuck!) and the Zilla slimline fixtures. (And don’t get me started on how they literally only have red heat bulbs - I had to order online, which is why it took me a month to prepare before finally ordering Mari from Kids And Dragons.)
Thanks