Is Exo Terra decorative foam backing safe in my terrarium?

[BenjiTheCham]

I bought my terrarium recently and it came with this foam backing. I ran my heat lamp for about a half hour to make sure all the temps were good, and I could smell a faint burning/melting. I know this could be a lot of things, like the plastic end on the lid, a wire etc., but I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t the foam. I moved the heat lamp to the front of the tank and I ran it for a couple of hours and I didn’t notice any smell. But id rather be safe, so if I hear that it is a fire hazard, I will take it out. I only found a couple of different reviews on the foam and one says it’s fine and another says never to use it.
Does anybody know anything about this or use the foam?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Redman]

If your heat lamp is hot enough to burn ANYTHING in or on your cage, it's got to be too hot for your cham!

Not making assumptions though, so I have to ask: "Is your basking lamp sitting right on top of your screen enclosure? What type and wattage is the bulb? What are you using to measure temps?"

If so, you should find a way to elevate it so that it's safe and not going to inflict burns on your cham. They can, and will, find a way to climb right underneath it and they can get burned without sensing it until the damage is done.

If you already have it up at a safe distance, then I would be very concerned about what was making the burning smell. Faulty wiring is no joke, and can lead to fire, injury, and death. I would do whatever you have to do to ensure that all of your wiring is good to go.

 

[BenjiTheCham]

to answer you questions, yes the lamp is sitting directly on top of the tank, I’m using a 100 watt bulb I’m pretty sure it is zoo med, and I am using an infrared thermometer. The wiring in the lamp should be fine, I just bought it, it is a dome. But I will definitely not buy my Cham or run the heat lamp until I find the source of the issue.
I attached an image of the tank, don’t mind the mess, I have not set up any of it the vines and plants, I have also not bought my live plants yet. The top of the plant on the left is where I am predicting the basking spot to be, and the temp measures around 92 degrees. This picture was taken before I noticed the smell. That’s how close the lamp was to the foam, if you think it could cause a smell like that from that distance.