ceramic heat emitter wattages

maxvinyl

New member
I'm not really sure where the best place for this question is (and the person below me just posted a similar question, but I didn't want to hijack their thread!), so hopefully this is okay here.

I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me about how hot 25w and 40w ceramic heat emitters get? I'm needing to add some heat to my gargoyle's 18x18x24 now that it's getting colder and I have no idea what to buy. The lowest it gets at night is usually 65, which I know technically is fine, but I'd prefer to be able to keep him warmer than that. Would a 25w be able to handle that? Would I even need a thermostat with it? What about the 40w? And both of those are "nano" heat emitters, so would I be better off with the matching nano domes, or a larger dome? I do also have a hood on my tank with LED grow lights, so I don't have the full lid surface for a dome--the way I have the light oriented right now means that the nano domes might be the only ones to fit unless I move the hood. Also: recommendations for a thermostat? Preferably under $30, assuming there are reliable options at that price. Will a lower wattage CHE need a thermostat?

Basically I've never bought heating for a reptile before and have no idea what's going to give me the result I want.
 

ReptiFiles

New member
25w should be plenty — you really don't need to bump the temps any higher than 70. In fact, I would recommend not worrying about night temps and instead providing a localized basking spot during the day of about 78-80°F. You will need to control the CHE with the Zoo Med Reptitemp thermostat, as it's compatible with CHEs and costs about $28 on Amazon.
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
In case you're still looking for a thermostat, I like digital thermostats. They are much easier to set and to read. They take the guesswork out. :)

I use Hydrofarm's Jump Start MTPRTC digital thermostat for my leo. The readings are quite similar to the readings on the digital thermometer I use to verify the thermostat's settings.

Another option is the Apollo thermostat.

Both are available on Amazon for $20.
 
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