BUILT IN FIXTURES VS DOMES.

THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO EACH.

I am switching all my enclosure over to built in light fixtures and getting rid of the domes. The only two enclosure that have domes are Molly's enclosure and my savannah monitor Louie. However once the basement is done then they will both have new enclosure and they will both have the built in lights.
You DO NOT need to have any electrical experience to hook these up, its very simple.

Things you will need.
Metal mounting bracket
Porcelain lampholder
Lamp replacement cord
2 screws (size depends on the thickness of your enclosure)
Screwdriver or drill
All these things can be found at any local home renovation store like Home Depot, RONA or Lowes

 The following picture is material for two heat bulbs

 At the top of the picture you can see two metal mounting brackets, these will be screwed to the ceiling of the enclosure where you wish to put the eat light. The circle shapes on the top of the bracket can be pushed pot easily to feed the wire through. If your domes are mounted inside the enclosure hanging on a hook you most likely have a hole already that the wire is exiting the enclosure from your dome. If its in the ceiling you can mount this bracket over the hole and feed the wire right through the top of the bracket and through the hole. If the existing wire hole is in a spot where you can't mount the bracket (ie. The side/back of the enclosure) ou can feed the wire through the side of the bracket where the mounting screw is then feed it out of the hole.

The next piece in this photo is porcelain lampholder. This is the piece you will be attaching your wires to as well as your heat bulb, you can purchase these with a pull chain to turn on and off ( I don't recommend those)

At the bottom of this pic you see the two lamp replacement cords. Its a simple cord with a on and off switch on it.  In total for one light it is less than $10 to have this full set up, which is cheaper than a dome. And takes up a lot less space.

The following picture is a close up of what the porcelain lampholder looks like.

 

NOTE

Before attaching the wires to the lampholder, feed the cord through the mounting bracket in the spot you need. If you don't do this you won't be able to feed it through after. FEED IT THROUGH THE MOUNTING BRACKET FIRST. (feed a lot of cord through to give yourself lots of room when it comes to hanging it up)

 

The following picture is demonstrating how to hook the wires up. On this side of the lampholder there are 4 screws, 2 on each side. DO NOT attach both wires to the same side. You will plug it in after and blow a fuse. So simple attach one wire to one side and another wire to the other side, both sides have different colour screws it doesn't matter what wire goes to what side. Just make sure they are not on the same side.  Place the exposed end of the wire under the screw and tighten the screw down so it pinches and holds the wire there.

 



 

So at this point you should have your cord fed through the mounting bracket (side or top depending where you're putting it) and attached to the porcelain lampholder. Take everything to the enclosure and if the cord is fed though the top of the bracket, feed the cord through the hole in the enclosure and mount the bracket to the ceiling with two screws. (bought separately) then slide the porcelain lampholder over the two screws on the bracket and tighten them as described above to hold everything in place. 

Now all you have to do is put your bulb in and plug the cord in and you have light and heat for your reptile.

 

 

 

Pros.

 

Takes up less space

Looks cleaner

Allows light to travel out more than a dome does

Easy to install only tools is a screwdriver or drill

Keeps the bulb from moving around which makes the bulb last longer (vs if you pick your domes up and move them) 

 

Cons.

If you have a large hole cut in the top of the enclosure covered in mesh where your dome sits you cannot month this there.

You can with a bit of work and filling the hole in but it make its a lot more work.

 

 This following photo shows the difference flight in Billy's enclosure when I switched his stuff over. He had the combination UV and heat bulb (I don't use these anymore) but his enclosure is so much brighter now.

 

 

 

This may be hard to understand however I will be making a YouTube video to better describe and actually show you how to put this together and mount it in an enclosure.

 

 

Robin Small

Ontario Iguanas.