CHE bulb help

Naidene23

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I have recently purchased a CHE bulb (100 watt) to warm up my little torts bed area of his tortoise table. I was told to do so to up the temp at night as it can drop very low in my house & also due to the fact tito has an upper respiratory problem & the vet has advised me to up night time temps.

I am going to attach photos of how I have set up the CHE bulbIMG_0763.JPG IMG_0765.JPG IMG_0764.JPG in order to heat up titos bed area. my question is, have I set it up properly? Height wise, position wise etc.

And yes I have purchased a thermostat but I am still waiting on this item arriving from delivery which is a pest when the bulb is good to go & I wanted to use it asap, as temperature drops very low for my little man.

Any help, answers &I advice would be appreciated :)

Naidene & tito x
 

wellington

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No. Heat rises. All the heat is just going up and not into the hide at all. You need to get a metal done fixture like your using for the light and possibly put the che into the hide with the cord coming out of the hole or place the dome over the hole so the Che is centered over the hole. Only you can tell which one will work. You have to try them both and see which one will work. You might want to get a thermastat to run the Che. Then it can't get too hot.
 

Naidene23

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No idea how I am going to get it under the roof it's really big in size & been told that is the light holder I have to use as the other ones are unreliable, that's the correct holder for it seemingly, it's really large.

I have a thermostat coming it's still out in delivery just now.

Could I possibly cut a very large hole and hang the light through the hole?? So it is hanging down into the bed area??
 

Pearly

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No idea how I am going to get it under the roof it's really big in size & been told that is the light holder I have to use as the other ones are unreliable, that's the correct holder for it seemingly, it's really large.

I have a thermostat coming it's still out in delivery just now.

Could I possibly cut a very large hole and hang the light through the hole?? So it is hanging down into the bed area??
How about changing the fixture from cage to a dome? Not 100% but at least you trap most heat under the dome and direct it down... have you checked out the "CLOSED CHAMBER" threads? There are lots of pictures, may give you some ideas
 

Naidene23

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I've removed the lid of the bed area and clamped the CHE bulb to the side and closer to the substrate, was thinking of getting something to cover some of the space where the lid would have been and that would hold some heat and stop it escaping?
 

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teresaf

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I would go back to the way it was and use aluminum foil around your CHE cage. Do you have a reliable thermometer yet? Many of us like these that I've attached a pic of...

You should have another check on the other end for night time too. You have to be smart for the stupid tortoise. What if he decides to sleep near his food? No part of his habitats should go under 80f even in the corners. 85f since he's sick.
 

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Naidene23

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Hi guys,

My thermostat arrived, hallelujah!! however I have a question... AGAIN.

I have set the thermostat as shown in the picture, and yes i know it does read below 19 degrees C (which is too low for a sick tortoise) but I also have a small thermometer inside the cage reading the temperature & that is reading just below 30 degrees C which I am so confused about & now worried to set the thermostat for the CHE any higher incase I am basically cooking tito!

I thought if I set the thermostat to 20 C then it would not get any hotter than that? So how come the little thermometer inside the cage is reading well above this?

What is the hottest I should allow the hide to get? HELP :(
 

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Tom

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Hold on. Too much advice from too many people.

Go back to how you had it set up in the first pic in this thread. Plug it in and put a thermometer under it and let it run for a couple of hours. That is the only way to know if you are getting enough heat from your CHE in that area.

Where is the probe from your thermostat? Put the probe somewhere inside the hide area, but away from the heat source. Try setting it to 26-27 for a tortoise that is already fighting an RI. The little dial on your thermostat is likely to be off, so set the dial by using a thermometer. Start at a setting of 26, and then let it run for a couple of hours. Then check your thermometer in the hide area. Dial the thermostat up or down until you get the correct temperature in the hide area according to your thermometer. You can use the dial on the thermostat as a good starting point, but rely on the readings from your thermometer to set your temperature.
 

Naidene23

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It has been running for a good couple of hours now & my thermometer is reading 26/27 degrees Celsius. Is that a good temp for during the night or far too hot??

Secondly, with you saying to me to go back to how it was in my first pic is that just until I find out the correct temperature for the dial or do you mean to keep it that way? Is there something wrong with the most recent picture set up? Because I prefer it the way it is now it is closer to the substrate & tito must feel a heat from it as he hasn't moved away from it since he went to sleep about 8ish.

Will it matter that he's lying basically underneath it?? Oh and the probe is inside the bed area, a good few inches away from the bulb, not touching the substrate just inches off it. thanks x
 

Naidene23

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I have attached some photos of titos enclosure & a little snap of him enjoying a bath :)

Temperature under his lamp is 33 degrees C, cool area of his cage is 20 degrees C. His substrate is coco coir. He has his bed area with CHE bulb for at night, he also has a little cave to hide in (I have never seen him go inside it since I bought him it haha).

He gets fresh water everyday, I have changed his diet to less veg & more weeds which I get from the garden.

He also gets 1 - 2 baths every day.

Any advice, or anything you need to ask feel free! If there is anything I can improve or change let me know. Also my dad has built me an outdoor enclosure for tito for the better weather which is also a lot larger than the cage he is in just now :)
 

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