[AeroWRX]

• Exo Terra compact fluorescent (max 26W) or incandescent (max 40W) light bulbs
• Zoo Med Naturalistic Terrarium Hood, 18-Inch (60W) fluorescent / incandescent

Isn't the Zoo Med the superior of the two? The Exo Terra has much lower wattage support and it's more expensive. Am I missing something here? Why is the Compact Top so much more popular?

[PassPort]

The Exo-Terra unit is the older of the 2 and as such, more people have purchased them. I can't give a personal opinion on the Zoo Med unit, as I don't own any, but I do have about 20 of the Exo-Terra ones and am quite pleased with their performance. Mine have all been used for CFL's, but a few do have 25-40W "torpedo" bulbs in them.

A few things you have to take into consideration:
1.) the Exo-Terra units are made in Europe and then imported here, hence the higher price
2.) each one was designed to work with each company's own style tank. The Exo ones fit perfectly on an Exo-Terra tank, but on a Zoo Med tank they tend to slide around and vise versa

[Riverside Reptiles]

For the enclosures that I have light on, I don't use the light fixtures from either company. I use cheap brooder hoods from Home Depot that cost like $5. Not as attractive, but just as useful. Most of my enclosures don't have lighting though since most of my geckos are nocturnal.

[PassPort]

Originally Posted by Riverside Reptiles

I use cheap brooder hoods from Home Depot that cost like $5. Not as attractive, but just as useful.

I use plenty of the brooder domes as well for my agamids and lacertids. I must say though, for low wattage usage these things can't be beat as they knock about 3-4" off the total height when compared to a traditional dome so they work pretty decent in a shelf type set up.

What's also nice is that they're designed to "lock" into place on the tanks they're designed for - meaning it's harder for a cat or other pet to knock over and cause fires or other issues.