CHE Wattage?

[ObeyOurHedgehogs]

I went a bought a 40Watt CHE bulb and it seems to not be nearly hot enough. So I was wondering if I should get a 60Watt or jump straight to 100Watt? I have a heat bulb that emits red light that is 100Watt but I know not to use that. But the 100 Watt bulb is ridiculously hot. Just wondering if anybody using a 100Watt bulb is doing okay with it?

[coribelle]

I have a 150W and it works great (:

[raerysdyk]

It depends on the size of the cage you have. For your normal 2 sq. foot cage, you need a 150watt CHE bulb with a 10 inch dome.

Are you using a thermostat also? This will make sure that the cage stays at a steady temperature.

Here is a link to one of the boards with TONS of info about heating:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4579

[GoodandPlenty]

But the 100 Watt bulb is ridiculously hot.

From a 'cold start', yes, they get hot. But once the cage is warmed up, the CHEs cycle on/off and typically just power-up enough at one time to steady the temperature. That's my experience, anyway. The first time that I turned mine on, I thought the same as you; 'Holy smokes, these are hot.'

I have two 150 watt CHEs in heavy-duty 10" lamps with ceramic fixtures, running through a 1,000 watt thermostat with three outlets, for a 2 grid by 4 grid cage. They add about 5 degrees to the ambient temperature and do a good job of fine tuning the heat level.