Can you leave a CHE on 24/7?

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matt0101

New member
I heat my geckos tank with a 100w CHE for air heat during the day, and a UTH 24/7. All winter so far I've been using an electric space heater in the room with his tank at night time when I turned the CHE off, but the heater eats up a lot more electricity than the CHE. I was wondering if it'd be okay to keep it on 24/7?

I have a separate regular 12w compact flourescent lamp i keep off to the side of his tank for his photoperiod - 12 hours of light each day.

Also, any tips on how to increase humidity? It's a dry winter and it's often going below 20% in the tank. I put another dish of water on a warm spot and it doesn't seem to help much.

Thanks. :biggrin:
 
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cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
matt0101 said:
I heat my geckos tank with a 100w CHE for air heat during the day, and a UTH 24/7. All winter so far I've been using an electric space heater in the room with his tank at night time when I turned the CHE off, but the heater eats up a lot more electricity than the CHE. I was wondering if it'd be okay to keep it on 24/7?

I have a separate regular 12w compact flourescent lamp i keep off to the side of his tank for his photoperiod - 12 hours of light each day.

Also, any tips on how to increase humidity? It's a dry winter and it's often going below 20% in the tank. I put another dish of water on a warm spot and it doesn't seem to help much.

Thanks. :biggrin:
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As long as its not interfering with a slight temp drop at night its okay. You want the air temps in the whole enclosure in the low 70's at night. You should be providing 10 hours of light right now. Take a look at the link.

Pakistan Daylight Hours -- Timebie
 
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matt0101

New member
Any idea how long it will last before burning out? They aren't easy to find around here for some reason and they're expensive too.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Also, any tips on how to increase humidity? It's a dry winter and it's often going below 20% in the tank. I put another dish of water on a warm spot and it doesn't seem to help much.
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I know. Now do you understand why I recommended the wood enclosures?:) Sorry, I have no safe recommendations aside from a room humidifier.

Any idea how long it will last before burning out? They aren't easy to find around here for some reason and they're expensive too.
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Any idea how long what will last?
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
So...cricket4u ~

What would you think of covering say half the screen top (the cool side) with a piece of sheet metal?
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You're not going to like my answer.....:(

How can you provide a cool side if the other half will have to provide the heat source? The only other ventilation is the small strip in the front. In reality if you are covering half the top, there has to be ventilation on the cool end to lose the heat.

See, its only 24 inches across correct? The heat will travel to the cool side causing problems providing a cool end.
 
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matt0101

New member
I left the CHE on last night and at around 11pm I actually caught Tommy laying up on his branch. I've never seen him so active at night before, so maybe this is a good thing. =)
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
matt0101 said:
I left the CHE on last night and at around 11pm I actually caught Tommy laying up on his branch. I've never seen him so active at night before, so maybe this is a good thing. =)
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As long as he wasn't acting like he was trying to escape. If he was just relaxed and hanging out he may have been too cool in the past and it is a good thing. I find it a bit interesting when someone mentions that they do not need heating at night and then wonders why their leos are not active.:biggrin: or better yet, their leos won't leave their hides.

This was not directed at you or anyone on the forum. I don't recall anyone on the forum having a problem with some heating. Just in case this was where things went sour. I don't know.
 
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matt0101

New member
Well, my temperatures have always been fine, I think Tommy is just a nervous gecko. But yes, he was just laying on top of his branch under the CHE just relaxing it seemed, belly flat.

I did notice this morning that last night he regurgitated half a horn worm that I had fed him yesterday morning. Perhaps it was too big for him? He had a healthy looking/smelling bowel movement earlier in the night. He hasn't regurgitated any food since he regurgitated some mealworms back in September. Weird.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
matt0101 said:
But yes, he was just laying on top of his branch under the CHE just relaxing it seemed, belly flat.

I did notice this morning that last night he regurgitated half a horn worm that I had fed him yesterday morning. Perhaps it was too big for him? He had a healthy looking/smelling bowel movement earlier in the night. He hasn't regurgitated any food since he regurgitated some mealworms back in September. Weird.
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Well, my temperatures have always been fine, I think Tommy is just a nervous gecko.
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I doubt he's any more nervous than my oldest. My oldest is a mess, but only out of his enclosure. Perhaps it was dropping too low in certain areas of the tank. Very common in glass, you'll have many spots and fluctuations. You would have to move the probe and measure every two inches at different times of the night. Now that you have the CHE, it should help warm up a good portion properly.

Because of how difficult it can be to maintain a whole area warm, it could have been the cause of the regurgitation. One dome will only cover a small area. I would suspect the temps due to the fact it happened with the mealworms as well. Of course feeding a hornworm which is too large can also cause it.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
matt0101 said:
Like I already mentioned, I kept an electric space heater on at night, which kept the entire room at around 73f, which is low 70's, like you said. It couldn't have been different temperatures in different spots of the tank, because the base room temperature was kept very specific. It's actually now that I'm NOT doing that, that Tommy is becoming more active.

The mealworm regurgitation was months ago and the temperatures were warmer then than they are now, but again, the base temperature of the room was always kept low 70's independentt of his tank. It physically could not have been lower than 72-73 in any area of the tank, and his UTH temps are always high 80's low 90's.

Here is a diagram I made of temperatures a while back when I had the blue night heat bulb. They were taken several times throughout the day and remained consistent.

You are very quick to cry 'bad husbandry' without knowing the full story, and I don't appreciate that.

TsPmgUx.png
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When did I cry bad husbandry? Please don't be so quick to assume what I am thinking. I was referring to the time you were only using the blue bulb, sorry I made the mistake not to mention time frame. Based on todays post, you have not been using these heating methods for that long. You mentioned you just purchased the CHE. Sometimes food becomes backed up in the leos and takes a while to digest even after the heat is corrected.

I'm guessing you are running this room heater and have it set. Perhaps you should have mentioned that you stabilize the room temperatures at all times. How many are willing to? How would I have known unless you told me. As you know the humidity is still an issue, can cause some degree of dehydration and cause regurgitation as well. You did mention that the humidity was low yesterday. I am simply trying to inform you of possibilities and you have become offended. *sigh*

You have just provided me with what I have been trying to explain. What you have is spots and not temperature zones.


Have a good day Matt
 
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