In general, what's preferred for night time heating, IR/red/black lights or ceramic heaters? Specifically, I recently acquired a 5" sulcata that I'm trying to set up a good enclosure for. Currently, I've got a 3 x 2' container with a halogen floodlight for heat. However, I want to preserve the day-night cycle and would rather not leave the lights on at night. For now, the tortoise stays indoors overnight where it's room temperature, but longterm, I want some other means of heat in case it's cold or if I let it stay outside. To my knowledge, the only difference between IR lights and ceramic heaters is the dim "red" light that IR emits so the owner can see what's going on, but I wonder if there's more to it. Is ceramic more efficient since there's no energy lost as heat? Is one better at focusing the heat on a single spot? Is one safer? They're similar in price, so any help would be great.
Regarding setups, my plan is to have a mercury vapor bulb for UVB and daytime heat (I don't think I can take it outside enough to meet its needs), then switching to IR/ceramic at night. HOw does this combo compare to, say, an IR/ceramic heat source fulltime with a dedicated UVB lamp during the daytime? The latter combo will have 2 lights on at the same time, while the first option only has one light on at any given time.
Regarding setups, my plan is to have a mercury vapor bulb for UVB and daytime heat (I don't think I can take it outside enough to meet its needs), then switching to IR/ceramic at night. HOw does this combo compare to, say, an IR/ceramic heat source fulltime with a dedicated UVB lamp during the daytime? The latter combo will have 2 lights on at the same time, while the first option only has one light on at any given time.