Scollins17

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Oct 13, 2019
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Gilbert AZ
Hi @Tom I have a yearling marginated I posted for about a week ago. I bought a glass terrarium like you recommended to help keep better control of the humidity. This terrarium is much taller than the box I was using so my 100w ceramic heating element is only getting the basking spot to about 86F. Should I move up to a 150w element? What element brands do you recommend?
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings. Post some pix of your new enclosure, this will help everyone have an idea on enclosure dimensions, etc. do you have your CHE on a thermostat?

You could lower your CHE a few inches until you get the ambient temp you are seeking.

Remember - CHE bulbs are there to control overall ambient temps, not to create specific basking temps.
 

S2G

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Basking it done with an incandescent light & adjusted with height. Cre is used usually on a thermostat to control ambient.
 

Scollins17

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Oct 13, 2019
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Gilbert AZ
Greetings. Post some pix of your new enclosure, this will help everyone have an idea on enclosure dimensions, etc. do you have your CHE on a thermostat?

You could lower your CHE a few inches until you get the ambient temp you are seeking.

Remember - CHE bulbs are there to control overall ambient temps, not to create specific basking temps.
Hi. Here is the enclosure. The tortoise is current outside w/shade and water available inside a safe outdoor enclosure while I work on his indoor one. I have a 100w heating element and a bulb I bought from the pet store. I've been told to use a regular hardware store bulb so I will be replacing that next.
I added tinfoil to the top of the enclosure to help contain the humidity better. So I guess another concern I have is that I am afraid I'm going to seal it off too much and suffocate the tortoise. How worried about that should I be? And also how would you all safely seal it to keep the humidity inside?
 

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KarenSoCal

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Hello! I have a few observations.

You asked about suffocating your tort...you don't need to be concerned at all. Air will go under the foil, plus each time you tend to him there will be air exchange. In the closed chambers we buy or build, we often have to tape over the air vents to keep in the heat and humidity.

I see a humidifier. We advise against using them. Breathing cold water droplets from a humidifier is not the same as being in a warm humid environment. We believe those droplets can contribute to RI's. Dampening the substrate works well. After that dampening, if the humidity drops too much, maybe the next day or so, spritz the substrate with a spray bottle of very warm water. Warm air holds more water than cold air, and the warm water will increase the temp rather than drag it down. It's made a world of difference for me.

As others have mentioned, CHE's are used for additional heat, often at night. They must be screwed into a ceramic socket since they burn so hot. And a thermostat is needed to control it. You don't need or want the CHE on continuously since your enclosure will get very hot and cook your tort. The t'stat turns it on only when the temp drops below your chosen temp, and off when it gets warmer. It works just like the t'stat in your house for the furnace.

Any CHE should work fine. Search Amazon for ceramic heat bulb for reptiles and take your pick.

The t'stat that I like is this one. It's rated for 1000watts and has 3 outlets in case you need to add another CHE.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076J1CZVV/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

For basking you want an incandescent flood bulb...flood, not spot.

Living where you do you shouldn't need a UVB light, as long as you can get him outside for an hour or two twice a week.
 

Scollins17

New Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Gilbert AZ
Hello! I have a few observations.

You asked about suffocating your tort...you don't need to be concerned at all. Air will go under the foil, plus each time you tend to him there will be air exchange. In the closed chambers we buy or build, we often have to tape over the air vents to keep in the heat and humidity.

I see a humidifier. We advise against using them. Breathing cold water droplets from a humidifier is not the same as being in a warm humid environment. We believe those droplets can contribute to RI's. Dampening the substrate works well. After that dampening, if the humidity drops too much, maybe the next day or so, spritz the substrate with a spray bottle of very warm water. Warm air holds more water than cold air, and the warm water will increase the temp rather than drag it down. It's made a world of difference for me.

As others have mentioned, CHE's are used for additional heat, often at night. They must be screwed into a ceramic socket since they burn so hot. And a thermostat is needed to control it. You don't need or want the CHE on continuously since your enclosure will get very hot and cook your tort. The t'stat turns it on only when the temp drops below your chosen temp, and off when it gets warmer. It works just like the t'stat in your house for the furnace.

Any CHE should work fine. Search Amazon for ceramic heat bulb for reptiles and take your pick.

The t'stat that I like is this one. It's rated for 1000watts and has 3 outlets in case you need to add another CHE.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076J1CZVV/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

For basking you want an incandescent flood bulb...flood, not spot.

Living where you do you shouldn't need a UVB light, as long as you can get him outside for an hour or two twice a week.
Hi @KarenSoCal , thank you very much for the help, everyone is teaching me a lot on this website. I will return the humidifier. I wanted to give it a shot because I was struggling to keep the humidity where I wanted without it. I will use your method to keep the humidity. Also now that I have the enclosure is sealed off a little bit, that might make it easier.

I definitely do not need a CHE at night as my house/room almost never gets below 77F. I do use a CHE during the day because with just the bulb it wont get above 85F.

In my old enclosure which is 1/2 the height as this one, from 7AM-7PM, I was using the same CHE(100w) and I had it on a BN-link automatic thermostat. It was set for 93F so it would turn on/off throughout the day. The "cool side" would be about room temperature which is 77-80.

This new enclosure is much taller so even with the CHE on the full 12 hours, the hottest spot only gets up to about 90F and the cool spots farthest from the CHE are between 80-83.At least according to my heat gun. Other people on the forum say the hottest spot should be about 95-100 and the cool spot should be room temp.

Do I still need the Auto t'stat even though this CHE doesnt get above 90?
Should I get a larger CHE so I can get it up to 95? Or do you think 90 is sufficient?
Also how can I make the cool spots cooler? I'm afraid they arent cool enough and will only get warmer if I were to get a larger CHE.

Thanks again for all the help! I'm learning a lot.
 
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