Hehe, you have the parts kind of mixed up. The "CHE" is a bulb device that goes into the heating lamp that heats while not giving off light. What I think you're calling the CHE is just the domed heating lamp, which yes, you can use it as a regular lamp.

If the room is staying 75'F all the time, then you probably don't need a heating device. I'm guessing you have a thermometer in the cage, never depend on a general room thermostat for temperature, its always best to have something that reads from inside the cage. Just make sure that the place doesn't get cold at night and such.

 

Thanks, Puffers315. Good job holding back your laughter. :lol:

Okaaaay....blonde here....s-l-o-w-l-y piecing this togehter: the bulb is the CHE? I figured the lamp was cuz it has a ...you know...CERAMIC ring on it. This is the one we got from the previous owner. The bulb is a very warm/bright reptile something or other bulb (it says so on the bulb) - no ceramic. At least the good news is I can replace the light bulb with a good ol' household bulb.

Yes, there is a thermometer in Snarf's cage. I am using the remote one we've been using for the house. And I put it in the coolest place in his home - the corner nearest our breezy sliding doors. It has a min/max button and the biggest fluctuation over 24 hrs has been 2 degrees (23-25) and when I edged the heat up in the apartment, it stays at 24. I will likely buy another one that's a little more high-tech but I figure as long as we prefer shorts to fleece pants 24/7, we're doing okay. It's SO comforting looking at the thing in the morning and seeing 24 in Snarf's cage and -24 outside. :twisted:

 

Just to get a little more specific (ie. technical), many people get confused and interchange the words bulb, light, and lamp.

Relating to those traditional old-fashioned incandescents (easiest example):
- filament = the coiled wire inside that actually lights up
- bulb = the outer glass only (no filament, etc)
- lamp = the whole incandescent unit (filament + bulb)
- light* = the entire fixture that you plug the lamp into
* sometimes referred to as a luminaire

To answer the question as well, a regular lamp can go into a light housing made to house CHEs. You can't necessarily go the other way around because of two reason:
- Power: a regular light might not be able to handle the wattage of a CHE
- Heat: a regular light might not be designed to tolerate the heat generated by a CHE

It might not be the case, but a CHE's light is design to handle both power + heat and also reflect/dissipate the heat where other light housings have different intentions/uses.

 

Thanks, Tomato. Even *I* understand now. I kinda figured a CHE in a regular lamp wouldn't be a good idea cuz I read somewhere about making sure it's ground properly etc etc. I took apart the supposed 'heat lamp' the previous owner used and thought "well, jeez, looks like a plain ol' light bulb would work here."

My mechanic BF was watching me verrrry carefully throughout, with his "Good God Almighty Woman" look and offered to help but I refused to give him the satisfaction and came here instead. So ppppppppffffffffffffttttttt to him! ha ha HA!