Best bulbs

Just got my first BP. 5 month old male Albino named Ebeneezer Squeezer. He's in an Exo Terra 36x18x18 terrarium. We are currently adding new plants and bark hollows as well as an additional hide to try and fill some of the space. He has a climbing log now but with such a large habitat it just looks so empty. I've also heard it helps them to feel more secure. I'm using heat tape on hot side and currently have thermostat set at 98 to achieve between 85-90 in hot hide. Substrate is eco earth. For lighting/heat from the top I have a day/night lamp as well as a separate che. All bulbs are 100w and with slightly cooler temps I'm struggling to reach 90 ambient on hot side. So my question is what are the most efficient and long lasting lights. Don't mind spending a little coin if the bulbs will last a good while. I have heard that some bulbs have a nasty habit of crapping out after just a short time. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum Dj.

I've had five tanks running at one time. In the spring/summer I was using 60 watt bulbs, and 100 watt in the winter. Some bulbs barely made it a month, some 6 months. On average I'd say I got 3 months out of them.

When I went to a 150 watt bulb and used a table hop dimmer switch (on Amazon or Loews for $10-12) I never replaced a bulb. Four of those tanks went 1.5 years before I switched to whole different enclosures without bulbs.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b06ddebab7.jpg

I have one tank running still while waiting for a new enclosure being built. This tank has gone 2 years without replacing the bulb.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cb374ea365.jpgThis red bulb has gone 2 yrs and still running.


The whole key key is to go high on wattage and dim down. Also the heat bulbs are Never turned off. This way the filament doesn't get too hot or stressed from on off.

I would highly recommend using a dimmer switch on the CHE as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reinz

Welcome to the forum Dj.

I've had five tanks running at one time. In the spring/summer I was using 60 watt bulbs, and 100 watt in the winter. Some bulbs barely made it a month, some 6 months. On average I'd say I got 3 months out of them.

When I went to a 150 watt bulb and used a table hop dimmer switch (on Amazon or Loews for $10-12) I never replaced a bulb. Four of those tanks went 1.5 years before I switched to whole different enclosures without bulbs.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...b06ddebab7.jpg

I have one tank running still while waiting for a new enclosure being built. This tank has gone 2 years without replacing the bulb.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...cb374ea365.jpgThis red bulb has gone 2 yrs and still running.


The whole key key is to go high on wattage and dim down. Also the heat bulbs are Never turned off. This way the filament doesn't get too hot or stressed from on off.

I would highly recommend using a dimmer switch on the CHE as well.

---

Not sure why it appears as though I duplicated your message. Thanks for the info. I have a dimmer on che but will look into a dimmer for the others and the higher wattage thing makes sense. I'm learning(obsessed at the moment) because I'd hate to do something that harms or stresses this little guy too much. Already looking forward to the next addition.

Hey, I hear ya on the obsession! :gj:

Of course the anticipation of the next one is cool too. :cool: