Bulbs Breaking?

I think I'm buying a new heat bulb about once a month right now, and that can't be right.

I buy a 100 watt heat bulb from Petco (our only pet store), put it in his ceramic light fixture (which is rated for over 100watts), which is on a lamp dimmer, and then plugged into a timer.

This morning I woke up to another blown bulb, when I just got this one last month.

They aren't breaking, just burning out.

Any ideas as to why this keeps happening? His lamp and bulb are zoo med.

Thank you!
Sara

I'd try buying them from online higher rated reptile stores, like RBI or Pro Exotics or the sorts. I don't trust Petco or a majority of their products.

They break on the way here :(

I will look into RBI and PRO Exotics though, I've gotten bulbs shipped in the past and they always break, which is why I had to turn to Petco, :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AkHerps

They break on the way here :(

I will look into RBI and PRO Exotics though, I've gotten bulbs shipped in the past and they always break, which is why I had to turn to Petco, :(

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Interesting. I've never had to order bulbs (for reptiles anyways) but I just assumed the reptile based ones that have a good rep would be very careful with shipping. May be worth a shot anyways, at least if you're dealing with Rich with RBI you know you won't get screwed, even if it does break on the way.

I e-mailed Pro Exotics, because I don't see any other bulbs on Rich's site other than the ceramic heat emitters.

I'm looking into Pro Exotics halogen bulbs which may be a little hardier than thin glass bulbs.

i've had problems with household bulbs on a dimmer not lasting long so i wonder is the dimmer the problem. Mine were not dimmer bulbs and i would assume those aren't either. good luck hope it helps

I was thinking the dimmer might be the issue as well. I don't know the physics of light bulbs, but always being on a dimmer might cause more wear on them than normal use. If you have to always dim a 100w bulb, try going down to a 75w bulb without a dimmer and see if that lasts longer. (Or whichever wattage it takes to maintain the temp you're aiming for)

As far as where you buy it from.....a Zoomed bulb from Petco and a Zoomed bulb from RBI are still both the exact same bulb. I really don't think the source makes a difference.

Switching to halogen might help...but make sure you're getting the kind of heat output you need for a beardie.

See, I thought it was because I wasn't using the lamp dimmer, so I got the lamp dimmer a couple weeks ago when I got a new bulb, and it happened again! :rolleyes:

I will ditch the dimmer and go get a new bulb, since I wouldn't be able to get a new one until it gets shipped, etc.

Do you think it could be the lamp fixture too?

Petco sells halogen but, I'd rather not go through them.

It could be the fixture you never know if the ground is loose or if there is a bare spot on the wire. Heck it could be the outlet there are a lot of variables. Try using a different light in the same fixture and work your way through the wire and so on and so on. Good luck

My guess and it is a guess is the bulb is not venting properly and is over heating and causing the filament to stretch and break. If there are not many vents and this could be a possibility try leaving a little extra space and vent the top of the reflector.