Night-time Temp

[Scotts1au]

I use 60Watt CHE in 3ft and 100Watt in 4ft enclosures seems to do the job - the only time they really switch off by themselves is on hot days because I use small focused spot lights for basking which don't really do a lot to heat the enclosure but provide plenty of temp gradient. I set the probe thermostats at the half way point in the enclosure, rather than one end or the other, largely because my larger air vents are at the opposite end to the heating. Having them above the heating would be silly and wasteful.

[alichamp]

To maintain correct temps you need to go by temps within the enclosure not the room temp (unless of course you are one with a dedicated reptile room full of enclosures).

[Scotts1au]

The thermostat does the job of maintaining the temps. If the blueys tend to camp where they prefer the temp which is often sleeping directly under the CHE - day temp is combo of CHE and light, night is just CHE - providing cooler night temps but the bluey chooses how cool within reason.

I've read many times that CHE's aren't compatible with simple on/off thermostats but I've been using them for 7 years straight without issue. These assertions fall into the fairytale category. :-)

[NickBrahz]

I was going to look into getting a on/off thermostat or a dimmer thing for my enclosures, but my question is wouldn't the constant flicking on and off cause the CHE to have a shorter lifespan? kind of like if you flip a bulb on and off you risk it burning out, also where do you get yours from Scott if i may ask.

[Scotts1au]

I thought so but it doesn't seem to work like that, probably because of the relatively low temp compared to a light globe, also in my experience they rarely cool right down before coming on again because they retain some residual heat in the ceramics. I don't think I've actually had to replace one for about 4 years.

[Snowysmom]

After reading some of these posts, I am wondering if I should have heat at night because I don't have a gradient at night at all. I just maintain temps in the 70s in the whole tank. I know that she would choose to sleep where it's the hottest at night. So, how should my heat set up be? Set a night bulb or something in the hot end basking are that goes to the 80s and then goes down to 70 or so in the cool end or am I fine as long as the tank is 70 , 73, or 75 without extra heat? I don't want her to get sick. Thanks.

[TPceebee]

So I've gone for a 160W MV and 100W CHE for my tank. I imagine that one of them will be too hot, but my viv is 40cm high so perhaps that will affect it.

[Susann]

Snowysmom, don't you have a CHE? How about putting a dimmer on it and just turning it down to almost off before you go to bed at night? That way there would be some heat there should Snowy be too cold. I'm inclined to say that, if she would pick a warmer spot at night, let her. I would trust my skink to show me what is best for her with regard to temps.

[Snowysmom]

Snowysmom, don't you have a CHE? How about putting a dimmer on it and just turning it down to almost off before you go to bed at night? That way there would be some heat there should Snowy be too cold. I'm inclined to say that, if she would pick a warmer spot at night, let her. I would trust my skink to show me what is best for her with regard to temps.

Thanks Susann. I do not have a CHE, but do have a spare night 60 watt red bulb on hand. Please tell me what the low and a high temp on each end and I will change this tonight for her. During the day now that it is summer my cool temp is 76 and 85 is warm side with a 100 basking spot.


Thanks :-)

[Susann]

If you haven't been having any problems running it the way it is, I really wouldn't worry too much about changing it now that summer is heating things up. If you still prefer to add some warmth I would look for the lowest wattage red bulb, or moonlight bulb (can be expensive though), get a dimmer on it unless you can find a 25W or lower.... Just to add a tiny bit of warmth as an option for Snowy. Since yours is a Merauke and it's summertime, I would make sure that that spot stays at about 75 through the night (and if you're already there then REALLY don't worry about it), you don't need to worry about the rest of the tank. Do you have a place to put it though? What all do you have in the well?

[NickBrahz]

So I've gone for a 160W MV and 100W CHE for my tank. I imagine that one of them will be too hot, but my viv is 40cm high so perhaps that will affect it.

I use a 150W CHE for my top enclosure, it is 35CM from the bottom of the CHE to the top of the basking spot, the temp on the basking spot is currently 36 degrees, i generally aim for 38 degrees but 36 is still fine, but it is also winter here (15-20C outside during day) and 7am so the sun is yet to come out, will check temperatures during the day(My infrared temp gun arrived yesterday after waiting so long, i can not stress how awesome it is to be able to check 3 enclosures hot and cool ends in about 20 seconds instead of hours, cost $10-15 of ebay).

[Snowysmom]

If you haven't been having any problems running it the way it is, I really wouldn't worry too much about changing it now that summer is heating things up. If you still prefer to add some warmth I would look for the lowest wattage red bulb, or moonlight bulb (can be expensive though), get a dimmer on it unless you can find a 25W or lower.... Just to add a tiny bit of warmth as an option for Snowy. Since yours is a Merauke and it's summertime, I would make sure that that spot stays at about 75 through the night (and if you're already there then REALLY don't worry about it), you don't need to worry about the rest of the tank. Do you have a place to put it though? What all do you have in the well?

Thanks Susann-

The tank is just at 74, 75 right now and as the temps get hotter in the day time, her tank will heat up to 80 I'm sure. Thanks for putting me at ease once again. I have a 150 watt day bulb on a dimmer for day. I have changed the lamp to a night red in the past. I own a 2nd lamp with a red light in it from the winter time.

[sacs4010]

Man, I need to get a replacement bulb for Toad's enclosure. I keep my apartment too cold. Dammit! I believe he is doing just fine with not having his night bulb on (it burnt out last month), but I do not wish to risk anything to him. I will go out tomorrow and purchase one.

[alichamp]

CHE's are great - I find they work perfectly well either kept on full time, or a larger one eg. 100W used with a simple and cheap probe on/off thermostat.

I have changed my setup a bit but it has taken some fiddling. I now have a CHE (150w) and have set it up on a new cheap probe on/off thermostat to maintain night temp. Ideally, I wanted to set it to 18 C overnight but turns out the thermostat lowest temp is 22 C and then a 'low' setting - whatever that is. (I am hoping to test this tonight)

So what is the ideal overnight temp setting? Should I replace this thermostat thingy with one that has a lower range? (remember I have a 6 mo blotchie keeping him warm for first winter)

[alichamp]

So the 'low setting' seems to keep overnight temps between 15-19 C (I still get a bit of gradient in the tank overnight). So does that sound about right, or is that a little cold?

The tank warms up pretty quick in the morning and he still seems to get up fairly early. So I guess ok and I will just keep an eye on him.

[NickBrahz]

That seems like a good gradient to me, looking to replace my night globes with some CHE's but for the melamine ones 100 is to cold, 150 is to hot, 125 would be perfect but can't find any online might have to get a thermostat thing for those 2.

[Scincoides]

Another fantastic option is a radiant heat panel. They aren't particularly cost effective but very reliable.

[Snowysmom]

What about a dimmer on the 150?