Ceramic Heat Emitter Wattage?

[drpepperheather]

I've built a C&C cage that is 55.5"L x 33"W x 15"H, with 8" high coroplast walls. I'm planning on getting a heat emitter, but I'm not sure which wattage bulb to get since they run from 60w to 250w.

I'm thinking I would want the 250w which is for 100+ gallon tanks, but I just want to make sure that I don't fry my poor little hedgie! (The fixture will be sitting about 15" above the cage floor.) I will also be getting a ReptiTemp 500R to keep the temp stable, but I don't want the area under the bulb to be like an oven when it is on. The cage is in my livingroom which stays pretty warm during the day, but we turn the heater off at night so it can get pretty cold in there.

So, does anyone know if the 250w be a good choice for my cage, or would a lower wattage emitter be enough to keep my cage heated correctly?

[Nancy]

For that size of cage I think you'd be better getting 2 lower watt emitters. That is a big space to try and heat and one emitter will probably not reach to all areas of it. Your thermostat is going to control the output but 250 is pretty high. I think two 100's might be a better choice.