Hobby Terrarium Clamp Lamp - 21cm

Hobby Terrarium Clamp Lamp - 21cm is a 21cm clamp lamp for terraria - the fitting, not the bulb. The parts that matter are a heat-resistant ceramic E27 socket, which plastic fittings cannot match under a basking lamp, and a reflective aluminium shade that puts the light down into the enclosure instead of out into the room.

Key Features

• Heat-Resistant Ceramic E27 Socket: takes standard incandescent, basking, infrared, ceramic and UV lamps. A plastic socket will soften under a hot bulb.
• Reflective Aluminium Shade: internally coated, so more of the output goes where you want it.
• 360-Degree Ball Joint plus a mounting clip, so you can aim the beam at a specific basking spot rather than straight down.
• Wider Shade: the 21cm reflector spreads light and heat over a larger basking area than the 14cm, which suits a bigger enclosure or a bigger animal.
• Protector Available: the matching 21cm guard is article 37067, listed separately. Fit one.

Using A Hot Lamp Safely

• Fit a guard. A basking lamp reaches a temperature that will burn an animal that climbs onto it, and reptiles do climb onto them. Hobby's Clamp Lamp Protector grids are listed separately and are not an optional extra in our view.
• Mount it so it cannot fall. Check the clamp or bracket every time you work in the enclosure. A lamp that drops into a terrarium is a fire as well as a burn.
• Run it on a thermostat, and measure what you get. Wattage is not temperature - the same bulb at 20cm and at 40cm gives completely different basking temperatures. Use a thermometer at the basking surface and adjust the distance.
• Leave a cool end. Heat one end of the enclosure only, so your animal can choose. A uniformly hot enclosure is the commonest husbandry mistake.
• Keep water off a hot bulb. Misting a lamp that is already up to temperature can shatter it. Switch off and let it cool first.

Good To Know

• This listing is the 21cm lamp fitting only - bulbs are separate.
• UAE mains suits this. Hobby build to 230V 50Hz, which is what comes out of the wall here, so there is no voltage problem. The plug is the European two-pin type, so you will want an adapter or a UK plug fitted - and it is worth running tank and terrarium equipment through an RCD-protected socket.
• Clamp it to something that will hold. Check the clip grips properly and, better, secure the lamp with a second fixing so a knock cannot drop it into the enclosure.
• Check the maximum wattage marked on the fitting before you buy a bulb for it.
• Aluminium shades get hot. Let it cool before you adjust the angle.