URGENT HELP

[DraconaKeitorin]

Are UVB Lights supposed to suddenly burst and smoke after a week after the 6 month mark or....

BECAUSE MINE JUST DID AND IT REALLY SCARED ME. I got my little girl out (turns out she's female after all! Renamed her holly but more pressing matters...) And I've let my room and the tank air out but I'm not sure I want to put her back in just yet. I've got both the lights unplugged for now. I definitely will not plug the UV light back in but her basking bulb is alright (it better be at least) because I just got it yesterday. Her old one had burned out and yadda yadda, you understand. This is terrifying though... The man at the store said if I don't change it at the 6 month mark it should still work but only give off less vitamin D over time... he didn't say anything about explosions! ...Well.. more like literally burning out but.. still.

:shock: Help!!

 

[PeppersGirl]

No that doesn't generally happen... They can still last for years (with diminished UV output) and not explode even when they're dead. There always seems to be a risk of this type of thing happening with globes though. If you're worried about them shattering in the future, you may want to invest in some light cages to reduce the possibility of injury

I'm not sure about the smoke, just keep a close eye on her for any ill effects. Hope all is well.

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

Globes? Light cages?

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

Heh.. it just now hit me what light cages are, bit of a brain fart there! Luckily it didn't shatter and I keep the lights behind the vent top of her tank so I think that may work. She looks like she's doing just fine, still has a good appetite, wide awake alert, standing up tall and lazing in her hammock when she basks. I think though for globes... bit of a language barrier there, if I'm right about what it is.. I believe we call them bulbs here in the US. I can't really switch to the tubes though because of how her tanks is set up. I may be able to though once we move her up to a larger tank though but for now I have to stick with the bulbs. Shouldn't be long though..

Is there anything you could think of that would have caused this? I'd like to prevent it from happening again in the meantime.

 

[PeppersGirl]

Yes bulbs = globes hehehe!
Speaking of which, what type of bulb are you using?

And I'm glad she's doing fine

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

The reptisun 10.0 It came in a package deal that included a double dome light fixture and the heat and UVB bulbs.

 

[PeppersGirl]

So it's the compact bulb? I have actually known one of those (different brand, same bulb type) to malfunction in a similar way; after only weeks of use it fell apart. The only thing I can suggest is to try and get a tube as soon as possible... they are also better on dragons' eyes than the compact versions.

EDIT: Just saw Holly's photo... She's so cute!! :love5:

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

Yes but it's not the corkscrew one, I know better! Hm.. I'll have to see what I can do. It's summertime now though so as long as the weather's nice I could just take her outside for a bit. Much better for her anyway.

And if you're talking about the one in my signature then it's reeallly outdated :'D She's grown a LOT since then.

 

[BabySkales]

I know what your talking about!! My basking light did that! But it didnt shatter.. it just sounded like it exploded and the light went out.. I think its a wiring defect with the zoo med dome fixture.. because i went out and bought a new bulb.. and 5 minutes later *BOOM* i replaced the entire fixture after that.

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

Oh wow. Maybe I should get a different fixture then...

 

[PeppersGirl]

Yes but it's not the corkscrew one, I know better! Hm.. I'll have to see what I can do. It's summertime now though so as long as the weather's nice I could just take her outside for a bit. Much better for her anyway.

And if you're talking about the one in my signature then it's reeallly outdated :'D She's grown a LOT since then.

Yes sun would be great

And... is that an updated picture now? Hehehe! (She's still cute).

 

[DraconaKeitorin]

It is! She's gotten so big.. She was so tiny when we first got her but now she's 15-16 inches long!

 

[PeppersGirl]

I have to admit that my signature also needs updating lol... Charlie is an adult now, and I have a fourth dragon that won't fit on because of size limitations

It's scary how fast they can grow sometimes (and how much food it takes!!)