Ceramic Heat Emitters?

[PsykotikLovbyrd]

I am thinking about switching all of my animals (2 leopard geckos, cornsnake, ball python, pacman frog) over to a ceramic heat emitter. I am fostering a bearded dragon and she actually has one on her tank and it keeps her temps perfect without me really doing much other than turning it on. I have had several faulty UTH, and one actually broke the tank it was attached to because it short circuited. A few have not even turned on right out of the package. CHE just seem safer. I have worked out that if I put some rocks on the area below one it will make a nice hot spot for my critters that need belly heat. What experiences has everyone had with them? What are some pros and cons? Are they safer? I like that they don`t seem to get as hot, and my ball python seems to like hers that I just got for her I have it covered so she won`t touch it (it is outside her tank) and it is keeping her temperatures perfect. So thoughts?

[jasonm96]

Habistat make the best heat mats, from what I've heard none of their heat mats have failed. They're also made in the UK, in Scotland and made of a cloth element, instead of printed.

I tried a CHE once but didn't work well for me in my situation. It killed my humidity and dried out my substrate in my Pacman tank and then I tried again on a larger tank housing the Cane toad but also had the same effect.

[PsykotikLovbyrd]

I`m in the US I have been using ZooMed heating pads. It is impacting her humidity, which is the only downside I see so far. It just means I need to spray her tank more, which I am okay with. The geckos and cornsnake don`t need much as far as humidity goes but it may get harder with the pacman frog. I will keep tinkering though, because as far as temps go it is working great.

[LilyPad]

I love my CHE's and would never use another heat source. You have to do a bit more misting for tropical animals, which is expected when you use any heat source. I have mine connected to thermostats so that they turn on and off as needed. The one on my red eye tank, I've had for a year now, and it's still going strong. You have to make sure you have a lamp made to handle a CHE though. They produce no light which is great for having a normal day/night cycle.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._detailpages00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._detailpages00

[jasonm96]

For me the CHE seemed to dry the tank out more than a heat lamp which confused me as I heard they were less drying. I use an infrared heat lamp now and don't have any problems however I do put a thin layer of sphagnum moss on top of the coir, which helps a lot with humidity and means I only have to mist every other day.

[LilyPad]

In the winter time, I have to mist up to 2-3 times a day. Right now, I usually mist once in the morning and again before bed. That's just part of keeping a tropical pet in a cold weather climate. The CHE is far more effective than heating pads. When used in conjunction with the thermostat, it doesn't run 100% of the time, which is why it is actually less drying. You also want to make sure you have the correct wattage for the size of your tank, or use a dimmer switch to tone it down if it's too strong. I have a 100 watt on my red eyed tree frog tank (18x18x24 exo terra,) it would be a bit much but I turn the dimmer down so it actually runs at about 50%. If you're using an open screen top, cover most of it. My red eye tank screen top is 3/4 covered during the winter months, and only half covered during the summer months.

[flybyferns]

I use exo terra heat cables under under more that 20 enclosures--- three 6' racks
On timers
Works for me
All PDF enclosures except for one 36H enclosure that houses 2 'old man' red eye tree frogs