Anyone ever had a (fire) accident because of their lightning setup?

[Geng]

The major reason why my dad doesn't want this tortoise in our house is because he fears for fire hazard that my MVB can cause. And I totally agree with him, because I can barely leave my house without triple checking if the lightning setup is steady. My 80W MVB (brand is Reptech) can get reaaally hot, and I'm planning to get a 100W one soon because my tortoise will be moving to a bigger enclosure. But my fear for higer chance of fire hazard is stopping me from getting this 100W MVB, knowing the fact how hot this 80W already can be, so how hot can this 100W one get?

My dad and I may be paranoid, but is anyone else having fear for fire that is caused by their lightning? It would really help me if you can give me tips for a 100% safe setup and perhaps post some pics of how to do it. Also, feel free to post your (hopefully not) experience with fire accident that is caused by your lightning.

Also, one little question: to keep the heat in my open enclosure I closed it of with carton that is wrapped in plastic foil. The carton wrapped in plastic foil doesn't get in contact with the bulb ofcourse, but can the plastic foil already catch fire if it's placed to close to the bulb, or should there really be contact to set it on fire?

 

[wellington]

I haven't but a few members have. Great precaution should always be taken. Don't use the clamps that come with some of the fixtures, they fail and slip. Don't use drying substrate like hay or straw under heat lamps or Che's. Have smoke detectors in the torts room. Plastic would most likely melt first, but not to say it couldn't still start a fire. I would wrap in tin foil/aluminum foil

 

[Geng]

I haven't but a few members have. Great precaution should always be taken. Don't use the clamps that come with some of the fixtures, they fail and slip. Don't use drying substrate like hay or straw under heat lamps or Che's. Have smoke detectors in the torts room. Plastic would most likely melt first, but not to say it couldn't still start a fire. I would wrap in tin foil/aluminum foil

Thanks for the fast reply and tips!

About tin foil/aluminum foil, wouldn't my tortoise get baked when I wrap his enclosure in this foil? The heat might get too intense, right?

 

[wellington]

I don't know. I misunderstood. I used tin foil to rim the hole I would put in the plastic tote. Then I could lay the fixture on the plastic tote, with the mvb of Che over the hole. You could still use the foil, but might have to make adjustments to the height of the bulbs. Or if your using a Che or regular bulb, not a mvb, you could put it on a thermostat and then it wouldn't go past the temp you pic no matter what you use.

Post a pic of your enclosure, and it will be easier for us to give ideas of what you could do to make it safer.

 

[Tom]

Mount your light fixtures so that they hang securely from over head and hang freely without touching anything. If you do this correctly, it is no more dangerous than any other household bulb.

And yes, many house fires have been started from people making basic mistakes with their light fixtures. Some mistakes:
1. Leaving it loosely sitting on top of a cage. A cat or visiting kid or a tossed shoe, or something is always going to pull the light astray. Mount it where you want it with metal bailing wire if you need to use it this way.
2. Moving the lamp temporarily and setting it somewhere else. Like when you when are changing the water or putting the food in. Often this happens in the morning before the timer kicks on. People set the lamp, bulb down, on a wooden dresser or something, put the food in, and forget to put the bulb back on the enclosure before leaving for work and school.
3. Using the stupid clamps that come with the fixtures. Those things always fail eventually.

Hanging the fixture from over head prevents all of these.

 

[Tom]

This was posted a few days ago:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...rtoise-from-burning-habitat-in-garage.128622/

 

[Carol S]

I use the LARGE ZooMed light stand. I bought mine on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255OUO/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20