Bulb shattering!

[NF95]

Hello everyone! I'm a fairly new BP owner and things have gone mostly smoothly for the nearly 5 months I've had him. However, I woke up this morning to find the bulb in his night lamp had shattered (I'm a heavy sleeper and didn't hear, and don't worry, he has a UTH so he wasn't without heat) and after checking him over for cuts, had to deep-clean everything and miss classes. I'm sure it likely had something to do with the lamp, but has anyone had a ball just straight-up strike at a light? I mean, he's seperated from it by the screen top, obviously, but if he had struck the screen, he could've shaken the lamp a good bit. It's the oddest thing. Can anyone suggest a kind of cover for a regular heat lamp or a barrier that wouldn't affect the temps too much to put between the lamp and screen lid to prevent pieces from falling in if this somehow happened again?
Thanks!

[JodanOrNoDan]

The light should not be in the enclosure, stuff happens. If you have a regulated UTH there is probably not a need for a heat lamp. Ball Pythons do not bask. They are nocturnal.

[Bogertophis]

Not sure that your snake striking the screen was the cause...but if he managed to splash some water on the very hot bulb that may have done it, & water can
go thru the screen easily enough.

I've used lights (often red or black, reduced light that's more for heat) for many years with all kinds of snakes including BPs, and I've never had a snake strike
at & break a bulb thru wire mesh cage tops...nor have any splashed water that make the bulbs break either. It could also have been a defective bulb, or maybe
even a power surge??? Just throwing out ideas...I think it's pretty much a freak accident.

[JodanOrNoDan]

The light should not be in the enclosure, stuff happens. If you have a regulated UTH there is probably not a need for a heat lamp. Ball Pythons do not bask. They are nocturnal.

Please ignore the part about the light being inside the enclosure. I misread the post.

[Jellybeans]

I recently purchased a red heat light 100w for my BP enclosure because I upgraded him to a 40 and wanted to make sure the ambient temperature stays good.
The ambient temperature has been fine but I have it just in case....
ANYWAY, all that just to say that at first I had it sitting directly on the screen top but I didn't like how hot it got the screen so in my opinion it's best to use a heat lamp without it touching the screen. I have mine clamped to something that is sitting beside the tank to where it doesn't touch the screen at all but still works great if extra heat is ever needed.

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

None of my bulbs ever touch the screen tops either: they're in dome light fixtures with the metal 'shade' resting on the screen, & I've never had a bulb shatter.

[Craiga 01453]

I've used bulbs for years, with the dome resting on the screen lid. I've never seen any of my snakes strike at them. It would definitely be very odd behavior, but isnt impissible.
The only time I had one shatter was because it got wet. And it popped like a balloon.


Are your heat sources regulated by a thermostat?

[Jellybeans]

None of my bulbs ever touch the screen tops either: they're in dome light fixtures with the metal 'shade' resting on the screen, & I've never had a bulb shatter.

I don't even let the shade rest on the screen top because with mine the bulb is just less than half an inch away from the screen and it gets so hot you can't even touch the screen so I didn't feel good about that so I have it clamped above the screen to where the shade doesn't even touch it

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[bcr229]

Replace the bulb with a ceramic heat emitter. While they're pricier, they're a lot more durable and efficient so they last longer and cost less to run.

[Cheesenugget]

I only use bulbs for my beardie and BTS, with the beardie at one point using a 100w bulb. It is hot to the touch but never once shattered. Even with bad bulbs they usually just burn out quickly or stop working. You probably had a defective bulb or wiring inside the dome. I would change both out just in case if you need the ambient heat.