Habitat - Indoor :: lighting enclosure starting to rust and other issues

[Monte]

Hello, I am using a metal lighting enclosure that I was given to me by a friend that used to raise chameleons. I noticed that it started to rust so I switched to a higher wattage light and increase the distance from the tank in hopes that it would prevent any evaporation from collecting in the hood but it has not prevented the rust from spreading. I thought of perhaps covering it with a piece of lexan but I believe that it would block the UVB light.

Is there anything I can do to continue using the current enclosure? I could clean the rust off with some steel wool but with my current set up the rust will just continue to return.

I noticed a lot of people use those clamp on lamp or regular looking desk lamp set ups. Are those special lamps or could I use the clamp on/desk lamps that are in target/walmart? Also if I have to go with the clamp on/desk lamp set up is there an all in one light that provides both heating and the UVB rays? I'm on a very tight budget and the UVB lights that I was given by my friend ran out today and I can't afford the hefty price tag of a heat light, a UVB light and 2 new lamps. thank you.

[adam85491]

You can get clamp lamps at Home Depot or Lowe's for cheap, just make sure they're rated high enough for your incandescent bulb.

MVB bulbs provide both heat and UVB, but it would be cheaper to get a $15 Repti-Glo by Exo Terra and a 50 cent 75W light bulb and two $8 clamp lamps. UVB should be replaced every 6 to 12 month as their UVB output greatly diminishes after six months.

For the record, even my clamp lamps have a little rust.

[Monte]

thank you for the reply. after searching i did see that you can use the ones carried by hardware stores so I went out to the pet store and bought a UVB light however when I got home I noticed the one the people at the pet store recommended me was a reptisun 5.0 UVB tropical. is this light fine for a red ear slider or will it cause it harm? also if it is fine do i still need another light bulb for heat? on the side of the box it says something about the reptisun 26w bulb is equivalent to a 130w house hold light bulb. Thank you so much for the help.

[adam85491]

That is a perfect UVB bulb. Now you just need a heat bulb otherwise the turtle won't bask and if it does it might get sick since it will be wet and cold.

[Monte]

thank you so much for your help adam. these were probably noob questions but seeing my friend's nice enclosure get messed up and having a UVB-less turtle kinda caused me to freak out and not do as thorough of a job searching as I would normally.

[adam85491]

No problem..take a look at the photo gallery to see my two clamp lamps and how I have them set up if you want to see an example. I use a larger fixture for the UVB bulb, but it isn't necessary.