CHE distance and dome

[Buzz]

I got a 60w CHE but it doesn't seem to get very hot at all. I can touch the fixture with my fingers. (no way I could do that with my Power Sun) Is this normal, and how close do you get it to the bedding of your enclosure?

Also, the CHE said not to use it with a dome because it would overheat. I can't see that ever happening the way its operating now. With the cage fixture I bought all the heat is just rising and not helping my tort.

thanks

 

[S2G]

I used a 100w che in a lowes 300w dome ceramic. Hooked up to a thermostat to maintain ambient temps. It's like 18" up .

I gave up on tortoise table & building a true enclosure so I can maintain everything

 

[G-stars]

I got a 60w CHE but it doesn't seem to get very hot at all. I can touch the fixture with my fingers. (no way I could do that with my Power Sun) Is this normal, and how close do you get it to the bedding of your enclosure?

Also, the CHE said not to use it with a dome because it would overheat. I can't see that ever happening the way its operating now. With the cage fixture I bought all the heat is just rising and not helping my tort.

thanks

I use my CHE’s on a thermostat and within a dome with no problems. Heat rises, that’s just simply what it does. What you need to do is find a way to contain the heat to the enclosure. That’s why so many of us use closed enclosures, also to keep in the humidity.

 

[Lyn W]

I've always used a wide dome and a thermostat to keep temps even with my che - never had a problem.
I also use wide domes with my basking bulbs too - apparently the deep domes can cause bulbs to overheat.

 

[Buzz]

Can you touch your CHE's with your fingers? I wonder if I got a dud.

Also, how far away from your substrate do you have it?

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Yvonne G]

If your CHE is new take it back and exchange it for another one. They get too hot to touch, even the low wattage ones. I've accidentally brushed my arm past one and gotten burned.

 

[Tom]

Can you touch your CHE's with your fingers? I wonder if I got a dud.

Also, how far away from your substrate do you have it?

Thanks for your replies.

No. They heat up to over 600 degrees. The slightest touch will literally fry your skin. Never touch the bulb. Just carefully put your hand near it to feel the heat and see that its working.

Only your thermometer can tell you how high to mount it. Remember that a CHE needs to run on a thermostat, and they are for maintaining ambient temps. You don't set the height like a basking light.

 

[Buzz]

I'm not touching the bulb, I'm touching the ceramic light fixture it is in. I think this bulb may be defective. I went and bought a 100w today and I'll test tonight.

Yes, it is on a thermostat.

 

[Buzz]

Well... I the 100w I just bough does not work at all. I tested it in two different fixtures. My tort is sick and I'm so fustrated.

 

[ZenHerper]

Electrons. Always being here and somewhere else simultaneously.

*test the che without the thermostat between the lamp and the wall socket - will either bulb heat?
*is there a switch on the lamp cord? (many have them now - make sure that is "on")
*review the thermostat set up - some are more straightforward, some are less (when in doubt reset)
*I set one up on a thermostat today and it did take several hours to sync up and heat - how long have you waited for each bulb to cycle their initial heat up?

In the meantime, find some alternate way to provide heat. Even if you have to use an incandescent bulb that shines light. Use the Powersun as an emergency source if you need to.

 

[Buzz]

So right now I have the 60w in a dome. It can barely keep up but when I checked this early this morning it was 70F in the cage. The bulb itself got up to 500 some degrees, but the socket was still cool enough to touch.

The 100w simply does not work in any configuration.

My guy still isn't eating. If you're the praying type please say one for him.

 

[ZenHerper]

So right now I have the 60w in a dome. It can barely keep up but when I checked this early this morning it was 70F in the cage. The bulb itself got up to 500 some degrees, but the socket was still cool enough to touch.
...

The socket should not overheat, so that's fine. The dome will get very hot. Something seems incompatible about the units you are trying to use together...photos help.

Have you enclosed the habitat to retain heat and humidity? In order to "charge" the immune system, a minimum of 80*F is what you need. Tortoise metabolism does not generate any usable body heat, so it is 100% imperative to provide environmental heat. The bulb seems functional, but heat is not staying where you need it. Photos help guide useful advice.

 

[Buzz]

Pic of the cage here. https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...ions-for-russian-tortoise.190067/post-1923575

I added the CHE next to the sun lamp.

The top of my cage is open because i read long ago it was good to have circulation. Maybe I could cover it with tin foil for the time being?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Can you touch your CHE's with your fingers? I wonder if I got a dud.

Also, how far away from your substrate do you have it?

Thanks for your replies.

Is your che white or black? Mine is black and I can touch it also. Not the white ones tho

 

[Buzz]

White

 

[ZenHerper]

Pic of the cage here. https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...ions-for-russian-tortoise.190067/post-1923575

I added the CHE next to the sun lamp.

The top of my cage is open because i read long ago it was good to have circulation. Maybe I could cover it with tin foil for the time being?

Air circulation is good, but you have to retain heat and humidity. Reptile keeping is a rollicking adventure in engineering. lol

Yes, I'd cover those wire tops...even folded towels will help reduce loss of atmosphere that you want to keep while letting fresh air through. Experiment. (Foil can result in a glare inside that may hurt a tort's eyes.) Obviously, be very careful of the lamps...only cover the left hand side of that wire panel.

I've used burlap to great effect on wire tops, but your heat loss seems extreme.

***************

Move the food and water dishes over to the warmer side...a tort that is too cold in its stomach to digest will not bother searching for food, and will avoid eating and drinking somewhere cold. He can cope with the crowding for the time being. Use a small cardboard box or plastic container to make a second hide box close to the heat sources. Being in the open is stressful. Stress can be very damaging to good health.