Vision Cage Lighting...help

[Rush]

Hi everyone, I'm having some trouble keeping my 4'x28''x14'' vision cage well lit throughout the day. The model that I have only has a vent for 2 small 5 1/2'' lamps fixtures and a 24'' UVB fixture. Has anyone on here encountered the same issue with Vision? The heating seems to be o.k...I just don't like Rush to be in a dark tank all day. However, he remains to still be very active and his high maintenance self. I suppose I could try cutting a hole in the top and screwing some mesh on there to fit either a 8 1/2 or 10'' lamp. Would I use stainless steel mesh so it doesn't rust? What kind of screw should I use? Maybe something like a little self tapping screw?? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I want Rush to have all the light he needs to be healthy and live a long life. Thank You

[Jeff]

I have seen people attach a ceramic light fixture inside Vision cages without cutting a hole. They usually just require two small screws. I would use bolts with washers and nuts instead, but they would be really easy to attach. You would just need to drill a very small hole for the cord to pass through. one CFL would probably light up the whole enclosure pretty well.

[Rush]

Thanks for the advice Jeff! When you say CFL, is that a ceramic fixture light? Do you think a light without a dome to it would provide more light? Also, is something like that available at Home Depot? I suppose if one was, I could buy some brackets and use the nuts and bolts like you talked about Sorry for all the questions! I'm a bit upset with this new investment.

[Rush]

Maybe something like this: It's a 5 1/2 with gaurd. Not sure how to install...

[Jeff]

CFL = compact fluorescent light. Just a very bright bulb that is very energy efficient. The ceramic fixture is something you can find at Home Depot or Lowe's for $2-$3. I can take a picture tomorrow if you still don't know what I'm talking about.

[Bird_Brain]

CFL=Compact Fluorescent Lamp. Is the curly style light bulbs. High effecent, low energy, and depending on the kelvin scale, can put out A LOT of light (look for Daylight or a rating around 6500K on the kelvin scale).

I believe this is the fixture Jeff is talking about:


Typically these fixtures already come with an 8-32 machine screw that you would just need to purchase washers and nuts to fit (depending on if you get the correct length machine screw, Id recommend an acorn nut).

EDIT: These type of fixtures are meant to be hardwired/direct wired into your breakerbox/fuse box. However, they can be very easily wired to be plugged in. Even though the helpful people at Lowes are not electricians (Home Depot people are just ignorant and dont know what they are doing ), If you need help with wiring, most will be able to give advice and show you how to do it.

[Rush]

Awesome! Thanks Jeff and reptileking for the info! I'll head into HD or lowes in the next couple of days. I'm so horrible with mechanical/electrical...I really Appreciate the info and help.

[Fatal_S]

I managed to wire one of those ceramic holder things recently. It works, and I didn't kill myself, so I consider it a miraculous success.

[Bird_Brain]

Awesome! Thanks Jeff and reptileking for the info! I'll head into HD or lowes in the next couple of days. I'm so horrible with mechanical/electrical...I really Appreciate the info and help.

Not a problem. Very easy to wire. Just remember Black on Brass (Black wire gets attached to the brass colored screw). The White wire to the silver and the ground to the green screw. Not really much to it. You can get an extension cord and get off the female end and wire it to the fixture, or purchase what they call a "pig tail", which is the same thing.

[Coomassie]

To both Fatal and Rush: Can you post pictures when you get it wired in? I'm getting Coomassie a new tank this weekend that I'm going to have to wire a light into. I'm curious to see how you go about doing it. My husband and my best friend (both more tool savy than me) will be doing the real work but a model would be nice to have.

[Rush]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've now decided to ditch the vision and go back to the 65 gallon. I can't heat or light it properly, and Rush is always cold to the touch...I live in the NW. I never had this problem with my other cage. I should have thought of this before I purchased a cage with a vent for only 2 5 1/2 lamp fixtures. Even a hole in the top that I cut to fit a 8 1/2 lamp still doesn't provide enough warm gradient for my guy. I cant even use a bulb higher than 40 watt to light his basking area. The vents are too low to the ground and the new hole I cut is only about 13'' from his tile. I'm really *ticked off and I think I blew a lot of money here. Might be looking into a 4'x20-24''x17'' glass in the coming weeks.

[JustinHarvey]

Hi everyone, I'm having some trouble keeping my 4'x28''x14'' vision cage well lit throughout the day. The model that I have only has a vent for 2 small 5 1/2'' lamps fixtures and a 24'' UVB fixture. Has anyone on here encountered the same issue with Vision? The heating seems to be o.k...I just don't like Rush to be in a dark tank all day. However, he remains to still be very active and his high maintenance self. I suppose I could try cutting a hole in the top and screwing some mesh on there to fit either a 8 1/2 or 10'' lamp. Would I use stainless steel mesh so it doesn't rust? What kind of screw should I use? Maybe something like a little self tapping screw?? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I want Rush to have all the led lights he needs to be healthy and live a long life. Thank You

Which lights are you using? For me led lights are best choice as they are bright, affordable and less energy consumption