# Fire safety



## stellarawesome (Feb 22, 2011)

Hey guys! Stlll combing through these forums.

I haven't owned an animal that has had to have any additional heat other than belly (in which I used heat tape) and the idea of a bulb that runs at 100-110 degrees in a tank makes me consider fire-precaution.

Are there any timers or ... gauges that will shut the power off to the lamp if the temps go over 110 degrees? I know I had a thermostat to control the heat of my heat tapes- are there any like that for heat lamps?

Also, I'm drafting out a cage enclosure, and I want to have a hole cut into the top of the tank an a little drop in 'cage' for the lamp. So it can't just be flipped over or off from on top of the tank, but is also caged in to protect the tegu. Would that be safe, or is it potentially dangerous to have metal bars near the light to get heated up? I'm pretty sure I've seen that done before.

Sorry, I've just never had to deal with this before, and I want to make sure I do everything right! Or at least try to 

Thanks for any response or help, you guys were wonderful with my last questions! And I promise, I have been using the search function (and just going back and manually looking at each page to try and find some of these answers)


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2011)

You shouldn`t need to worry to much once you get set up ... 

Many things will become self evident ... 

The tegu to some extent regulates himself by moving closer or farther away from the lamp ..

The rock he basks on should be like 110 degrees the cool end like 80 degrees ..

Keep up the high humidity and see that your lights are well secured ... 

Put a smoke detector in the enclosure [if applicable ] or near by if you want piece of mind ..


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## stellarawesome (Feb 22, 2011)

I figured his basking rock should be the thing to hit around 110. I figured I'd set the lamp for just under 110 to allow room for fluctuation in house temps/etc.

Thank you, the smoke detector is a good reminder.


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## james.w (Feb 22, 2011)

Yes you can use a thermostat the same way on a lamp as you would heat tape, just put the probe near the basking site and set the temp you want. As far as having metal (screen mesh) near the heat, it will be fine. Or you could always put a light fixture inside the cage, just make it tall enough to have it be far enough away to get the temps right.


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## stellarawesome (Feb 22, 2011)

james.w said:


> Yes you can use a thermostat the same way on a lamp as you would heat tape, just put the probe near the basking site and set the temp you want. As far as having metal (screen mesh) near the heat, it will be fine. Or you could always put a light fixture inside the cage, just make it tall enough to have it be far enough away to get the temps right.



Thank you James, I really need to visit my parent's storage and find my old thermostat and see if it still works and if it would work on a lamp.

I think putting a light fixture in the cage would look more nice, wouldn't it still need some sort of 'cage' around it to keep the tegu from some how hitting it and breaking the bulb?


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## james.w (Feb 22, 2011)

Only negative I can see with using a thermostat is if you are using a MVB, I believe most if not all have a delay (15 minutes) to come back on after being shut off to prevent overheating. So when the thermostat shuts it off, the basking spot would drop fairly low before the light comes back on. Now if you are just using a basking bulb with some other form of UVB, I don't know if they have this delay.

If I think about it, I will try and get a pic of how my lights are set up in my Tegu enclosure tomorrow.


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 23, 2011)

I really like the idea of the smoke alarm in the enclosure. My other half does as well. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend :-D


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## Hokurai (Feb 23, 2011)

I was thinking a plastic fluorescent bulb cover but then I realized that it stops UV rays... Which is bad.


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## james.w (Feb 23, 2011)

Here is a pic of my lighting setup, the big bulb is a 160W MVB and the small one is a 75 basking bulb.


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## Max713 (Feb 23, 2011)

110F is nothing, rocks in the sun on a cool 70F fall day will have a surface temp of 110F. The bulbs that you will be placing in your cage will have a surface temp of over 300F, and are most definitely a fire hazard. That is why it is so important to make sure nothing can touch the bulb, that they are properly secured, have no loose wiring, and the animal in the cage can't reach it.
I would not put it on a thermostat, you need to find an appropriate bulb that will heat your enclosure to the correct temps, with a satisfactory basking temp, that can stay on all the time. Have you ever seen the sun just turn off for 15 minutes because the earth was warm enough? No. The Tegu will like it much more with a constant light source.

Like I said, 110F is actually quite cool as far as surface temps go, my setup has a basking gradient of 100F to 130F, I regularly find Kimo at the 130F portion of his basking area (130F at the top of the rock, ~110F at substrate level, 100F at substrate level not directly under the bulb)!





Like others said, lizards thermoregulate and will move closer or further away from the bulb according to how warm they are. It's best to offer the Tegu a choice of multiple basking positions with multiple temps, this was HE can choose.


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## stellarawesome (Feb 24, 2011)

My worry isn't that the tegu won't be able to get away from the heat source, it is that the heat source will catch the rest of the tank or substrate on fire.

No, the sun doesn't turn off if it gets too hot here, but brush fires do happen. And I know that the tank is also humid, but humid hay can, and still will combust. I'm concerned for that to happen on any substrate.


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## Max713 (Feb 24, 2011)

stellarawesome said:


> My worry isn't that the tegu won't be able to get away from the heat source, it is that the heat source will catch the rest of the tank or substrate on fire.
> 
> No, the sun doesn't turn off if it gets too hot here, but brush fires do happen. And I know that the tank is also humid, but humid hay can, and still will combust. I'm concerned for that to happen on any substrate.



Brush fires do not start from the sun.

I know you weren't concerned with the Tegu getting near/away from the heat, I was just trying to cover multiple bases. What I was getting at is a 110F surface temp has little no risk of combustion, I think you be VERY hard pressed to light your enclosure on fire with any bulb. I would say there's only 2 ways possible for your enclosure to catch fire:

1- Faulty wiring allows a spark
2- Something comes in direct contact with the bulb, either from the bulb falling, or something in the enclosure shifting/falling on the bulb


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Feb 24, 2011)

Max713 said:


> Brush fires do not start from the sun.



_I have to disagree,.. Brush fires are a natural occurrence that can be and are started by the Sun. A fire can start any where and by any means as long as there's a heat source, fuel and air.

To the Op,.. for the fake plants,.. get the ones that are made with flame retardant. As long as you keep the substrate moist,.. you shouldn't have to worry about it burning. But fires are always a possibility when you're dealing with high heat sources. _


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