ashleymiller28

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Hello, I was wondering which way I should go about temperatures during the night for my young sulcata. I recently just purchased a 100W CHE to use during the night to keep temperatures warm, however under the CHE my thermometer is reading 92-95 degrees while it is 82-84 degrees on the opposite side of the enclosure. I was wondering if this is too hot during the night? I was previously using a 60W CHE and temperatures were only 82-84 directly under the CHE and approximately 75-78 degrees on the other side and thought it was getting too cold in the enclosure at night. When I would turn her heat light on in the morning she seemed slow to wake up and start moving around. Humidity is also 80-85% and my sulcata weighs 65 grams. I am just afraid of drying out my tortoise with the higher temps, but then if I switch back to the 60W CHE I am afraid of keeping her enclosure too cold.
 

Tom

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Hello, I was wondering which way I should go about temperatures during the night for my young sulcata. I recently just purchased a 100W CHE to use during the night to keep temperatures warm, however under the CHE my thermometer is reading 92-95 degrees while it is 82-84 degrees on the opposite side of the enclosure. I was wondering if this is too hot during the night? I was previously using a 60W CHE and temperatures were only 82-84 directly under the CHE and approximately 75-78 degrees on the other side and thought it was getting too cold in the enclosure at night. When I would turn her heat light on in the morning she seemed slow to wake up and start moving around. Humidity is also 80-85% and my sulcata weighs 65 grams. I am just afraid of drying out my tortoise with the higher temps, but then if I switch back to the 60W CHE I am afraid of keeping her enclosure too cold.
What size is the enclosure? Might be best to use two 60 watt, or the 60 on one side and the 100 on the other, and use a thermostat to keep the enclosure from over heating. Best to spread the heat out more. This is why a RHP in a closed chamber works better than a CHE with an open top.
 

ashleymiller28

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Joined
May 18, 2020
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
NJ, USA
What size is the enclosure? Might be best to use two 60 watt, or the 60 on one side and the 100 on the other, and use a thermostat to keep the enclosure from over heating. Best to spread the heat out more. This is why a RHP in a closed chamber works better than a CHE with an open top.

Hi Tom,
Thanks for getting back to me! I actually played around with the height of the bulb before going to bed and got it to temperatures that I wanted. 90 degrees directly under the CHE and 81 degrees on the opposite (coldest) side. These temperatures stayed like this over the course of the night. The tank is 50 gallon exo terra tank. I’ve put multiple layers of tin foil on the top to keep heat and humidity in, and will even lay a towel over top sometimes, too. I’m going to keep a close eye on temperatures within the next few days and adjust if needed, but most likely I’m just going to end up buying a thermostat just to give me some more peace of mind when I’m not home and able to monitor the temperatures.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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...but most likely I’m just going to end up buying a thermostat just to give me some more peace of mind when I’m not home and able to monitor the temperatures.
You'll be glad you did. There is no better way to go. I'd still recommend running both CHEs once you get the thermostat. Much better to spread out the heat, and this gives you some redundancy should one fail.
 

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