At a dead end...............

I am in need of an idea PLEASE???????
I have my enclosures designed and all the electrical figured out.
I have even looked at a lot of the "custom" ones available on line.
The problem I see (or should I say dont see) is that nobody seems to cover their lighting inside the enclosure.
I know mine will only be using 25w bulbs just for my viewing pleasures but I still dont want any of my snakes to be able to get to the ceramic fixture.

What do any of ya'll do to cover the lighting?
I thought about florecent (sp) but I have a bunch of ceramics laying around that I need to use on something before the wife gets mad:oops:
I have an idea for screen but to me it seems like I am really starting to over think this project and the screen will take up A LOT of time to build the way I see it in my head.:rolleye2:

Hey,
I have fluorescent fixtures inside some out side on others and I just used 'lightsticks' one bulb with a built in diffuser and such. I have been thinking of a design that would use ceramic with incandescent light fixtures but have not experimented with it yet.

I had thought to use a frosted tube personally I was looking at dust collector clear lengths and just sanding the inside to 'frost' it.

Ok lets see if I can make sense.

Run the tube from one side to the other completely through the enclosure. Leaving the ends open so you have a tube that is open to the outside but NOT to the inside. I had thought silicone and perhaps a glue (I tend to use hot melt as a I have a very good gun for it and b it cools very quickly and is non toxic.) To hold it in place. I had planned on mounting a light fixture with open bracket. Fixtures often have the screw down flange for a shade I was going to use that to hold it in place. Then use the tube would light up and be a gentle glow in the interior. I had thought that it would be a great way to lift the ambient temps. How much it would do so I guess would depend on the bulb wattage (I had thought something like 15w) but a CFL would work too if the heat was too much. I have not experimented at all so you will have to check that the light doesn't melt the tube, over heat the enclosure and the 50 other things I have not thought about yet. I think it would look good and give access for cables if needed and could also be a ventilation aid if the tube was perforated. All just thoughts I have yet to try it myself. If you do try it I'd love to see some photos!
Alex

Well, I really wanted to use 2 ceramics in one enclosure just in case they needed more heat at night. Could wire with a 2 way single gang switch to have exterior controls on both a day and night light.
My only problem is trying to figure out snake safety that would look great and not kill to much of the 12" of head space.:taz::taz::taz::taz:
Plus it has to be easily removable so you can replace bulbs when needed.

I do like the floro-through idea too;)

For my first enclosure I will probably just mount the 14" mini floro that I just bought because I was bored and walking around home depot.:mad: