Ceramic Heat Emitter - What To Do?

[Smudge]

Hello, I am going to get a hedgehog soon(ish) and are preparing for it at the moment. I've finally decided to use a Ceramic Heat Emitter to heat my Sterilite Bin/s (two story) and was wondering how my idea was. I know that hedgehogs need about 12-14 hours of light and I thought that I could use a heating lamp with visible light to provide that. I know that people say not to have the heaters with visible light, but what if I had two different bulbs that I switched around, one with visible light for around half the day, and one with no visible light for the other half of the day? These would be of the same wattage and also save me electricity. I need to know if this is okay, or if it is simply wrong. Thank you for all your help!

[Daleo]

Because there is supposed to be a thermostat to control the air temperature. And a day lamp would be on off on off all day keeping the temperature constant.

[Smudge]

Wait a minuite.. so are you saying that this is okay or wrong? Sorry but I can't really understand what you're trying to say.

[lehaley]

Originally Posted by Daleo

Because there is supposed to be a thermostat to control the air temperature. And a day lamp would be on off on off all day keeping the temperature constant.

I think what Daleo means is that with a heat source you need to have a thermostat that controls it. The thermostat is set to a specific temperature and will turn the heat source off when the thermostat senses it is above that temperature, then back on when it dips below that temperature. So if you are using a heat source with visible light as your hedgie's only light source, it will not get the amount of daylight it needs to keep on schedule.

[Daleo]

Right. That's why most hedgie owners opt to have a CHE and a separate day lamp

[lehaley]

Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to buy a new lamp for the light source. You can use a normal, household lamp that you already have and buy an inexpensive timer (I've seen them for $5-10) for it so that it automatically turns on and off when you need it to.

[Smudge]

Oh, okay. I get what you mean. I was just wondering though, since the average temperature where the hedgehog is will be about 65 degrees, will a constant 50-70 watt light with no thermostat built in (but one in the cage) will keep the cage constantly warm without having to turn off when the temperature is around 73-78 degrees? I just need a constant source if warmth, with not too high of temperature. Please tell me if a 50 watt is about right, or should I go to around 35 watt, or not do this at all?

Originally Posted by Smudge

Oh, okay. I get what you mean. I was just wondering though, since the average temperature where the hedgehog is will be about 65 degrees, will a constant 50-70 watt light with no thermostat built in (but one in the cage) will keep the cage constantly warm without having to turn off when the temperature is around 73-78 degrees? I just need a constant source if warmth, with not too high of temperature. Please tell me if a 50 watt is about right, or should I go to around 35 watt, or not do this at all?

I think what you are talking about in the cage is a thermometer, a thermostat will regulate what the temperature is suppose to be at and keep it at that level consistently.

[lehaley]

Hm...I know that the main reason for the thermostat is concern for the cage overheating, but perhaps a low wattage bulb would work. I'm really not sure about this, so I would wait for someone with a little more experience to come along and give more advice. I know LizardGirl wrote a really fantastic guide for how to heat cages, so maybe you could try posting on that thread or getting in contact with her. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[Smudge]

Originally Posted by TWCOGAR

I think what you are talking about in the cage is a thermometer, a thermostat will regulate what the temperature is suppose to be at and keep it at that level consistently.

Oh, lol. My brain is messed today. Yeah, that's what I was saying. >.<