Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand

Let me preface this with - I got this stand almost a year ago. I am extremely pleased with it for my needs so far.I got this stand a year ago when we found a Mediterranean House Gecko on our horses' hay delivery. We live in the rural Southwest desert and we don't know how the little guy was on that hay bale but we knew he wasn't local and he probably wasn't suited to our climate. We put him in our old 30x12 fish tank and got some fixings to keep him safe and comfy. He lived about a year before he very suddenly went from 100 to 0 in a week. Since he was a tiny, shy nocturnal thing who ate crickets like crazy to the day he died we could only assume it was age, but we were glad to give him a place since we read that most of his kind are feeder animals for fancier, bigger critters.For the gecko we used this with a daytime light and a nighttime blue "moon" heat lamp. He would wander out of his gecko cave and we could see him perch on succulents, waiting to pounce on his crickets. This fixture held these two bulbs in double dome lamp:  Zoo Med Mini Combo Deep Dome Lamp Fixture, Black . We often adjusted it to get in and out of the cage and get the light on the different plants during the day. The adjustment capabilities and the ability to swing the arm back and forth is really handy and we have used this constantly for the past near year of use.After the passing of the gecko, and my loss of my long-time canine buddy last summer, I wanted a special friend and decided on the dog of the lizard family: a Bearded Dragon. We couldn't be more pleased with our fun, friendly new pet and the set-up we have - while not our dream set up yet! - is working great and this lamp stand is part of that equation.Here are the basics:What you get is a a flat metal plate with a hollow welded tubing set perpendicular to the plate. The plate is thin but very, very sturdy and it has about 6-7" that can slip under the side of your tank/enclosure. In two places on the height of the stand there are knobs that allow you to loosen or tighten in order to raise and lower the upper metal tubing, and then pin it in place. On the top is an arm, parallel to the metal plate and perpendicular the tube that runs from the plate. This arm has a knob to adjust the length of the arm out to make room for more lamps or to move your lamp to the place you need it to be. At the end of the arm is a sturdy metal hook to hang things from, but you can really hang your lamps from the arm, too.Pros:Cost: This is a good price for the quality and functionality. I got mine for an even better deal at Amazon Warehouse deals, but I would pay the price of ~$25-30 I typically see it at here because it is worth it.Sturdiness: Like I said, I've used this for a year. We have adjusted and countless times with the knobs and we swing it back and forth multiple times a day to clean, feed and care for our critters. We do so even more with the Dragon who actually craves interaction as opposed to the shy nocturnal gecko (RIP, Rancor!). It may seem a little wobbly when the knobs are loose, but once you tighten them up everything stays in place. Ours holds up to all the movement and holds our aforementioned double dome with its two bulbs and a new Flukers Super Dome with a 160 Watt Mercury Vapor Basking + UVB bulb. (Links if that helps you!:  Exo Terra Solar-Glo High Intensity Self-Ballasted Uv/Heat Mercury Vapor Lamp, 160-Watt  and  Fluker's Sun Dome Reptile Lamp - Large Deep Dome Fixture ) Again, with all this - the stand doesn't feel rickety at all - and it's been moved, adjusted, used - daily - and held stuff up for a year with no fuss. Nuff' said!Flexibility: You can remove some of the tubing in the main stand for this to be shorter - it looks like - though I don't imagine most folks will with such a big and sturdy stand. And it can extend to 38". We have ours at about 30" and again it feels sturdy at this height for sure. We have the arm extended out to about 15". I think it can go more, though not a ton more if I recall. I don't want to double-check now as our beardie is napping after his first leashed walk + dinner + sunbath. Long day! Again, this is sturdy at this length and we move it around a TON. We swing the arm from over the tank to the other direction many times a day so we can flip up the lid of our cover to care for Walter - i.e. Walter Bishop from Fringe ;-)Looks: It's not diamond studded, or gold-plated, or fancy wrought iron scrollwork. It *is* however decent looking in a utilitarian way and it goes with a basic tank look, and most lamp shades, with the shiny black (powder-coated?) painted metal finish.Quality: If it's ability to stand up to constant daily use doesn't convince you I don't know what will. Maybe for me to say my big, clumsy (wonderful!), bull-in-china-shop boyfriend uses it daily and it hasn't broken will mean something to some folks - do you know someone like that? Or are *you* someone like that. If so I am pretty sure this should stand up to anything most reasonable or even fairly normal accidental use could throw at it.Cons:I don't have a single one.Bottom line: This thing works GREAT. If I had to buy another one, or if I get more reptile buddies in the future - I will hands down get more of these stands. They work, they hold up to heavy use, they are flexible and they are a good price. I hope this review helps and I've added some pictures that I hope help, too.Note #1: The photos show some velcro cord keepers I HIGHLY recommend (something like them at least) which I set up to wrangle the cords up and away from the hot hot HOT lamp shades. Just something to keep in mind in particular if you are going to extend the arm out a bit and/or use multiple lamps as I have. Last thing you want is a cord to melt and a wire to short and who knows what. Be safe as you can by keeping things neat and tidy. Good luck!Note #2: This is to do with lamps, the stand and thermometers - be careful to test how high you need your lamp to be to make your pet's fav basking spot is an ideal temperature. Our thermometer on the hot side looks coolerish for a basking spot for a beardie but we can't put the thermometer ON the log as it wouldn't stick properly and would be in the way of "the best spot!". So we put it on the side of the tank after repeatedly checking three meters against known meters and on the log and surrounding areas. The top-center of the log gets to about 100-105 range right under the middle of the UVB Basking lamp we have set up It is less hot outside the middle of the beam on the two ends of the logs. We initially had a smaller basking lamp and the difference wasn't so large - it really depends on the bulb, so just be sure to check and double-check the thermometers the spot in the middle of the bulb's beam at the closest spot (even if the meter cannot ideally sit there) and such - for safety! Walter LOVES to sit in the hot spot. Then opens his mouth. Then shuffles to the edge of the log. Then creeps back to the hot spot and flattens like a lizardy cat pancake. Then runs around the tank. Then comes back to the hot spot. Then goes and takes a nap under the log. He seems very happy and comfy, and we are very pleased with this set up so far. :-) Again, hope this helps and good luck!UPDATE 03/11/2018: Liked this so much that I got a second one to suspend a second UVB which doesn't create heat like the mercury vapor bulb we are using for our beardie's basking spot. I had another fluorescent light but think it won't hurt to have more UVB for him as he romps around and lays on his rocks and branches throughout the tank as he has begun to do more now that he is comfortable in his environment. Definitely recommended as a helpful tool for lighting and warming a pet enclosure with little fuss.UPDATE 12/18/2018: We have two of these now with an array of 4 lamps suspended from the arms and hooks across the top of a nice Exo Terra 36 X 18 tank with lovely front-opening doors. The lamp stands let us place lights and heating devices across the tank to keep things really well lit, with UVB and a nice heat gradient. I love them! And Walter has grown to 19" and is now filling out more than growing longer. He loves his big tank, his heated basking spot, and the other lighted areas for when he wants light but not so much heat. He loves some of his veggies - like squash - along with blueberries and dubia, but if we want him to eat greens we often have to stick them to his squash or his berries since he seems to be a picky little fella. He will try many things but won't eat after the first taste most of the time. Oh well. We keep trying. Highly recommend these lamp stands as they work great, are so sturdy and haven't given us a lick of trouble since day one. 5+ stars on these guys and I would buy these again if we were to ever get more reptiles in the future.UPDATE 02/18/2019: Added a pic of the new enclosure now that Walter has grown. We have since gotten more lamps attached to the lamp stand and now there are UVB lights across the entire enclosure. Though he spends much of his time in the warm side, or the basking spot, as it is right next to my bed desk where I work or watch movies on my laptop. Walter LOVES to watch movies! He will sit in "the movie spot" up at the front of his warm side, and if we aren't playing him something he will catch our eye and then look at my laptop until we get the idea. And he can watch in rapture for hours on end. He tends to gravitate towards animal movies, landscape documentaries, cartoons and oddly enough he likes Ugly Betty... which is really colorful and has lots of movement. After a Jurassic Park marathon I did have to warn him not to get any crazy ideas, though. ;-)

We used this lamp stand over a large plastic brooder box for our chicks with a ceramic-based heating lamp. Because the brooder lamp needs to be on, round the clock, for several weeks, I wanted something that would be up for the challenge without being a fire hazard. (Eg: something meant to hold up a hot lamp for long periods of time)I will say that the stand is only about 2 ft tall, fully extended, which is way too close for chicks. (Especially when they get older and start moving around, and using their wings more) And it is clearly meant to be supported or held down by an aquarium or similar weight to prevent tipping. This is obviously not a design flaw, as that is how it would be used for a reptile cage. But I did have to alter how I used it to make it safe for our home and the chicks.I placed ours on a flat chair (on our tile floor), to raise the lamp to the necessary 3-ish feet above the chicks & bedding. I also placed a full gallon jug of paint that we had in our basement on the base, as a weight, to prevent tipping. This set-up allowed for me to extend/raise the lamp height each week, as the chicks required less warmth. Once the height was maxed out, I replaced the 250 bulb with a 125 and lowered it, repeating the process til the chicks were ready to be in the coop. I also reversed the direction of the lamp hook, so that the weight was behind the lamp instead of directly under it, allowing me to place the chair right up next to the brooder, and allowing better heating.One side note - I would very much suggest using a wire or screen cover over the brooder box when using this lamp stand. Active older chicks who jump up/out could bump this and tip it over if not adequately weighed down or secure. But this is really common sense, as no one wants chicks running around their home!Great product overall; I'll be able to reuse it numerous time; Worked exactly how I needed it to!

Review date: Jan 30, 2014Let me preface this review with an explanation of why only 4 stars. I do not believe in a perfect man-made product. Humans aren't that good. With that said, I would give this a 4.5 out of 5. Should anything change, I will post an update as usual.I ordered this item for a bearded dragon enclosure on Jan 27. As usual Amazon's shipping has been exceptionally timely. Received it on Jan 30.The item is solidly built and the welds on the joints are clean. I have no doubt this will stand up to time.Some reviewers have made slightly negative comments regarding the bolt holes for the three knurled bolts used to secure the vertical post and the overhanging hook. Some reviewers have stated that the bolt holes were too small and they had to re-drill/re-tap new bolt holes. I did not have any such difficulty.While I can understand how someone may have difficulty lining up the threads, I experienced no such difficulty.The bolts aligned easily and are very secure.The only "negative" aspects of this item are: that the knurled handles on the bolts are made from plastic. I can see how over-tightening the bolt could allow the plastic to break loose. If that should happen then a wrench could just be used to tighten the bolts down. I do not foresee this being a problem unless constant adjusting of the height or overhang takes place. andZoo Med should have included a small felt pad or some other such cushion to place between the vertical post support and the side of the tank to prevent banging/scratching.

This product is great quality and good value for money. It is easy to adjust and use but it does tip up once a heavy lamp is attached to it. I'd recommend putting the base of it under the animal enclosure so it doesnt tip. Also, once you've adjusted it a couple of times the black paint starts to chip and is unattractive. Would still recommend it though. Had no problems with it other than tipping. Great for securing wires.

Just what I wanted for our tortoise-easy to construct and does what it says on the box! Easy to adjust to attain the correct temperature in the tortoise table, and he loves it.

Great stand - very sturdy and much better size than the smaller one, as can be used all seasons and will last longer. Easy to assemble.

Picture say it all great for my turtle light

Did exactly what it said on the tin. Recommended