Will heat dome work through glass?

[ConFamChameleon]

I have an exo terra 18x36x36 for a veiled chameleon. The canopy hood stretches across the width of the tank and is around 9 inches deep so the light is only directly over the back half of the terrarium. My question is this - if I get another of thee canopy hoods for the front section of the tank I will have no mesh available to locate the basking lamp dome. Has anyone every heated a basking spot through the side glass of a terrarium? Would this be dangerous because it would super heat the glass?

 

[ConFamChameleon]

Also, I am looking to get the second canopy for additional lighting for plants, not really needed for additional uvb for the chameleon cause he basks and generally stays in the back half of the terrarium which is well lighted currently.

 

[redsfandrew]

Definitely not a good idea to heat through the glass. Your cham will try to get to the warmest place possible for his heat source. The glass will be hot and the air around the glass wont be. He could burn if he brushes up against it. JMO

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Trying to heat through the glass will basically make the cage like an oven. Over mesh there is still ventilation and air flow, but through the glass it will heat over a larger area and you do not want an oven effect.

 

[ConFamChameleon]

yea that's what I was thinking, thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[ConFamChameleon]

What about cutting (or having someone professional) cut a hole, roughly the same diameter as the dome light in the side glass, at the height of the basking spot. I could then cover the hole with wire mesh from the outside and attach the spot lamp to that. Has anyone ever ran into this situation where they needed to cover the entire top mesh area with lighting because of the plant needs in the terrarium? I saw one post recently with someone who had this setup and he abandoned using the basking dome completely. I think he was using Exo Terra Sun-Glo Neodymium Lamp - 25 Watts bulbs on one side of the canopy and this was enough to get his basking spot to the needed temp. Any thoughts?

 

[Carlton]

You will need to replace some of the air venting if you cover the mesh opening with a lamp dome. I don't have any of the Exo Terra cages so don't know how many other vent panels they have. The more closed in the cage, the more careful you need to be with heating or you'll create a uniformly hot tank. Is there any way to cut or remove part of the hood instead?