Working on getting Gus's enclosure ready for the fall months since this is our first fall together and need guidance on heating bulbs. ..have a mercury vapor lamp on order 160w...will i also need a CHE? Thx!
Getting ready for the cooler weather
- Thread starter Sandy Martinez
- Start date
CHE's are great for night heat since they produce no light. I use two of them in my indoor enclosure at night.
Thanks - time to visit Amazon for CHE
Put the CHE on a thermostat to maintain the desired minimum temp day n night. 
Speedy-1
Well-Known Member
The che,s do a great job ! Our nights have been getting a bit cooler and it warms my enclosure right up . 
Put the CHE on a thermostat to maintain the desired minimum temp day n night.
When you say put the CHE on a thermostat. ..do they usually come with a connection to do that? Or is that usually separate. I have it on order and should be getting in a couple days.
The thermostat is one you would just plug the Che fixture into
Your tortoise looks awfully big. Are you talking about indoor or outdoor housing?
Indoor enclosure for our cooler days here in san antonio... hes 8". The indoor enclosure is 6' x 5'... hes got his outdoor built already im just working on his indoor.
At 8" he should be pretty ready to go live outside with a heated shelter. Its not a bad idea to keep him inside one more winter, but he's going to need a large enclosure. You will certainly need at least one CHE and maybe more. Only your thermometers can answer this question. The MVB will be fine for daytime basking, but you still need the CHE and a thermostat to maintain the warm ambient temps day and night. I would also still put him outside on the warm sunny days throughout "winter".
Also at his size, he needs something much larger outside. They need room to move about. Locomotion helps with their digestion and it keeps them more fit overall. I keep juveniles of that size in something 30x30' or 50x50'. This will also allow much more room to grow grass and weeds for grazing.
Also at his size, he needs something much larger outside. They need room to move about. Locomotion helps with their digestion and it keeps them more fit overall. I keep juveniles of that size in something 30x30' or 50x50'. This will also allow much more room to grow grass and weeds for grazing.
Right now his outdoor enclosure is about 22' x 10' but i plan on enlarging that for him next year and making it a heated shelter as well but for this year my plan is to put in the indoor enclosure only on the cooler days. When he is in the indoor how many hours should i keep the mvb on??
The indoor bulbs are meant to simulate the sun, so they should be on for 12-13 hours a day.
Well my thermostat came in but its not the kind i can plug the che into so ive returned it. Going by petco to see what i can find.
Depending upon how large your indoor habitat is, the 160 watt bulb may be too big.
Thats what i was afraid of...its about 6'x 5' indoor covered...what do you think? 160w mvb
Only your thermometer can answer this question.
Here are a couple of thermostat options that can be ordered online:
http://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NZZG3S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
