Ball python heat lamp caught on fire. Looking for advice on what may have occurred and how to avoid in the future.
My setup: Herpstat 2 spyderweb with 2 outputs. Output 1 is an on/off on a timer and connected to a led that is on in morning, off at night. 2nd outlet is connected to a 75 watt heat bulb and it has a probe running into the enclosure.
I heard the sounds of electricity sparking loudly. When I ran into the room and opened the sliding door on the top of the enclosure that hides the lamps and wires there was a flame burning around the area where the cable connects into the heat fixture. There was no other wires or debris near the fixture when it ignited. There were no warnings from the herpstat before or during the fire.
Before I go and purchase a new heating fixture I’d like to understand what happened. I am also wondering if I should run 2 heat fixtures to split the thermal load out a bit to be safer. Move the on/off to a holiday timer and then run another heat fixture + probe so ones not being overworked.