Help with fluorescent light fixture?

[heterochromia]

Hi everyone! *first post*
I am in the process of setting up my lights for what will be my first chameleon cage, and I have purchased the Retisun 5.0 UVB after seeing the high reviews. Unfortunately, I didn't realize there was a specialized hood that goes with it, and ended up getting a basic fixture not specialized for reptiles. I could be wrong, but it came with a plastic hood for the light and that is a no-no with UVB? So I think as long as I keep it off, I could make it work. However, the entire fixture's made out of plastic- no reflectors whatsoever. Is this okay? If not, could I possibly make a solution with some aluminum foil? Or would it be better to not risk it and end up buying a completely different fixture? On the instructions, it does say do not use in wet locations, and with the extreme humidity I am afraid of creating a hazard, however, I have seen many people claim they use normal fixtures too and diy it a bit and it is fine. Opinions would be much appreciated!

 

[Lathis]

First off, welcome to the Forum!

Secondly, I'm having a bit of trouble picturing what you are describing. Can you post a photo?

Fluorescent bulbs, whether the long tube kind or the coiled kind, generally produce very little heat so if the fixture is rated for more than the volts or amps produced by the bulb, you should be fine. You don't want clear plastic over the bulb because this will block the UV, but my fixture is almost entirely plastic.

 

[heterochromia]

Thank you for the response! Here is the fixture: (there's no picture without the hood)

I am worried more about creating some sort of hazard without the hood, knowing it says do not use in wet areas & having that fixture exposed to a super moist cage. I was thinking of tucking a sheet of aluminum foil until where the light is placed, although I'm not sure if that will even do anything, lol.
edit: I didn't know if you wanted to know, but the max wattage is 15w

 

[Lathis]

Ah! I understand. It's designed to be a contained fixture, not like pet lights which are designed to be open. The humidity shouldn't be a concern - it's higher than usual, but not sauna levels. If you keep the fixture away from any water spray it should be okay for now. For the long term, you probably want to invest in a reptile fixture. Over time, the fixture is not the expensive part of the lighting - the bulb needs to be replaced about every 6 months.

The Reptisun 5.0 is 14W and the fixture is rated for max 15W, so that should be okay.

I wouldn't tuck any foil into this one, just in case.

 

[Decadancin]

I personally would replace it with one with a good reflector. The UVB will be more intense and you will likely want that. I also would worry about overspray from misting rather than from humidity. Just my thoughts .

 

[JoCarp]

I agree, the water won't be an issue for you as long as your mister isn't hitting it directly and saturating it. When I spoke with Todd with Light Your Reptiles as to the differences in fixtures he explained a few things that stood out to me. The first is that having/not having the reflective piece is fine either way, you may just need to compensate (with which bulbs you use) for not having it if your enclosure is very big. Of course with that said, the fixture from light your reptiles has a nice reflector, so it's probably best to have it since we don't have the lighting knowledge of the light your reptiles people.

The biggest thing is the ballasts used in the fixture that make "good" ones "good" for our application. The ballasts in reptile lights are much better than, say, the one you buy from home depot or the like. So what that means is, you can have, say, an arcadia 12% bulb that should put out great UVb, but if it's in a poor quality fixture, it may not have enough power to get the full benefits from the great bulb you have.

Long story short, tell the folks at light your reptiles what you have your cham in now, what kind of cham, what (if anything diff.) it will be put in down the road and they can make sure to get the perfect light for your set up. They cost a good amount, but I have a 36" four bulb fixture with 12% arcadia, plant bulb and two 6500K I think they are. I love my lighting, it shows his colors well and was well worth the money for the help and knowledge I gained from working with Todd. Truly can't say enough good things about those folk!