How hot should my CHE be?

[tortoisetime565]

I just recently got some 100 watt black Che's. The bulbs them self get really hot but I don't really feel a lot of heat output! I was hesitant to leave it on over night in fear it wouldn't provide enough light. However the torts made it an were seemingly fine this morning. So hot warm should the spot under the CHE be? Should I be concerned. How cold can their shells get durning the night?

 

[Maverick]

Your tortoise shouldn't have light at night, only heat. How hot under your che depends on your tortoise, you need a thermometer to tell how hot it is and you can raise and lower the che to get the correct temp.

 

[tortoisetime565]

Okay. That's why I bought the CHE so they could sleep in the dark. I have a thermometer I'll get a reading tonight.

 

[Tom]

I just recently got some 100 watt black Che's. The bulbs them self get really hot but I don't really feel a lot of heat output! I was hesitant to leave it on over night in fear it wouldn't provide enough light. However the torts made it an were seemingly fine this morning. So hot warm should the spot under the CHE be? Should I be concerned. How cold can their shells get durning the night?

Your sentences don't make sense. Your were worried that it wasn't hot enough, so you turned it off? You bought the CHEs so it could be dark, but you were worried it wouldn't provide enough light overnight? I don't understand. Please explain, so we can help answer your questions.

What species, what style of enclosure, what temps do you have, and what temps are you trying to achieve?

 

[tortoisetime565]

I just recently got some 100 watt black Che's. The bulbs them self get really hot but I don't really feel a lot of heat output! I was hesitant to leave it on over night in fear it wouldn't provide enough light. However the torts made it an were seemingly fine this morning. So hot warm should the spot under the CHE be? Should I be concerned. How cold can their shells get durning the night?

Your sentences don't make sense. Your were worried that it wasn't hot enough, so you turned it off? You bought the CHEs so it could be dark, but you were worried it wouldn't provide enough light overnight? I don't understand. Please explain, so we can help answer your questions.

What species, what style of enclosure, what temps do you have, and what temps are you trying to achieve?

Sorry, I bought the Che's so I could turn off the lights. And I wanted heat so I turned them on. I was kinda panic typing. I want to have more heat. They are sulcatas in open top enclosures as I am working on acclimating them from a desert habitat. Their basking is around 98-102 and the room heats up around 8 am and stays in the 70-80 until about 6:30. I turn the CHE on about 15 mins before I turn off the lights to let it warm up. I'm just wondering what the temp should be? And it doesn't seem to put out a lot of heat. I don't have an exact reading but I'll get one tonight of the heat out put.

 

[Tom]

THe best way to run those CHEs is with a thermostat. Then you just set the temp where you want it. If the temp is over your setting the thermostat keeps the CHEs off. If the temp drops below your setting, the thermostat kicks the heat on. These thermostats only cost around $25-30.

The only way to know what is going on there, heat wise, is to put a thermometer probe in the enclosure and see what you've got. It will always be a struggle in an open topped enclosure.

There is no need to "acclimate" them. In the wild its a desert for 9 months, and then the skies open up, it rains like a waterfall and everything is instantly wet, marshy and humid all in one day. CHEs and heat bulbs in an open topped enclosure are going to dry everything out and contribute to more pyramiding. The cooler the room its in, the worse this will be.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tom:

I had told the OP that taking a young tortoise from the beef jerky situation and immediately putting him into the swamp situation might not be a good idea, and to try to acclimate it slowly to more moist conditions. In my opinion, a lot of the beef jerky tortoises that die, die because we've overwhelmed their systems with moisture too quickly.

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Isaiah:

If your CHE doesn't seem to be hot enough, maybe you bought one that isn't the correct size. They make them with more watts. Do you know what wattage you bought? You can also move the CHE down closer to the substrate to get more heat down closer. Then you can cover the top of the enclosure with foil or some other non-flammable material to keep the heat inside.

OOps! Sorry...I see that you've bought 100 watt CHE. That should be plenty hot enough for your tort table. Maybe its defective. You shouldn't be able to touch it - too hot to touch.

 

[Tom]

Tom:

I had told the OP that taking a young tortoise from the beef jerky situation and immediately putting him into the swamp situation might not be a good idea, and to try to acclimate it slowly to more moist conditions. In my opinion, a lot of the beef jerky tortoises that die, die because we've overwhelmed their systems with moisture too quickly.

Ahh. I see. I wish there was a practical way to verify this. I've seen you mention that in the past. I wonder if its an acclimation thing, or if its just that dry started babies are already ticking time bombs and if they would have the same problems moisture or not.

What do you think about what I said about wet weather in the wild? Same thing for our CDTs too. Dry for months on end then it rains one day.


Tortoisetime, is this okay to discuss in your thread? It sort of relates to your question, but I don't want to take your thread in a different direction if you are not okay with it.

 

[tortoisetime565]

Yvonne,

It was way to hot to touch but I didn't feel much heat coming off it. I have lids to their enclosure I could cut them in half and cover half, but I would have to take it off to spray and mix their substrate.

Tom, thank you! I'll get it fixed up!

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Tom:

I had told the OP that taking a young tortoise from the beef jerky situation and immediately putting him into the swamp situation might not be a good idea, and to try to acclimate it slowly to more moist conditions. In my opinion, a lot of the beef jerky tortoises that die, die because we've overwhelmed their systems with moisture too quickly.

Ahh. I see. I wish there was a practical way to verify this. I've seen you mention that in the past. I wonder if its an acclimation thing, or if its just that dry started babies are already ticking time bombs and if they would have the same problems moisture or not.

What do you think about what I said about wet weather in the wild? Same thing for our CDTs too. Dry for months on end then it rains one day.


Tortoisetime, is this okay to discuss in your thread? It sort of relates to your question, but I don't want to take your thread in a different direction if you are not okay with it.

Yes please do discuss. I'm all for it. I would love some insight.

 

[Yvonne G]

I really don't think a tort table or aquarium with heat and lights in any way, shape or form can compare to what a baby tortoise in the wild experiences. Apples and oranges.


I've never seen baby tortoises in the wild, however, the picture I have in my mind has them being pretty protected either in someone's burrow or under a bush and out of the drying rays of the sun. A baby tortoise in the wild is able to move around and find a more humid/moist or suitable place to live.

While in the tort table, he's got the heat and 'sun' shining on him all the time. And he's stuck there. He can't dig down into a more moist area, or find an abandoned burrow, etc.

I may be all off base, but my common sense is telling me we need to treat these beef jerky babies with care and slowly get them used to having more moisture in their lives.

 

[Tom]

I don't have the answer to this one, but I look forward to a day when there are no beef jerky babies.

 

[WillTort2]

I'm thinking that the light bulbs may project the heat further because the light rays are more directionally projected whereas the heat rays of the CHE are only reaching the immediate area. I'm not a scientist, just a lay person with an observation.

The closed chambers are much easier to heat, but as Tom mentioned use a thermostat to avoid over heating. For open enclosures you are heating the entire room when using the CHE.

The heat output for a light bulb will also be increased by having the light absorbed by a dark surface and thus converting more energy to heat.

I'm sure one of the trained physicists will be able to provide a more accurate explanation.

Good luck.