Ceramic Heat Emitters
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Ceramic Heat Emitters have many household uses and are found in saunas, space heaters and hair straighteners; but in the reptile world they are used in place of light emitters to provide night time heat. Humans are not the only species to appreciate a dark room for a good night's sleep, as reptiles also require dark to have uninterrupted sleep. Using colored lights for heat at night will interrupt your reptile's circadian rhythm and is often the cause of daytime irritation.
Ceramic Heat Emitters (or 'CHEs') are sold in many different colors, but the actual emitter gives off no light, and you will get the same temperature from a 60 watt black CHE as you would with a 60 watt white CHE, as the color is purely aesthetic. |
CHEs deliver a more intense heat than the common basking or light bulb, because it uses infrared light which is a longer wavelength than visible light. The ceramic or porcelain colored cover blocks the infrared light so that no visible light is emitted, thus only emitting heat.
It is important to remember that CHEs must be used with lamps that have a ceramic base, as their intense heat will melt lamps with plastic bases. Another precaution to take in using a CHE is to either have it resting directly on the screen lid of the enclosure, or in a ceramic-based fixture that has a wire cage over the emitter. Never have a bare CHE mounted inside an enclosure due to the high incidence of burns. Also CHEs are not supposed to be placed in any fixture that is permanently mounted inside of an enclosure. The 'flat' profile CHEs are preferable to the 'dome' shaped emitters, since the dome-shaped emitters can trap heat inside and burn out the heat element sooner than the flat profile, making them less efficient. The flat profile emitters last approximately five years. The ceramic heat emitters used for reptiles typically come in these four different wattages with recommended tank sizes: 60W (10-20 Gal), 100W (30-40 Gal), 150W (50-100 Gal) and 250W (100+ Gal).
It is important to remember that CHEs must be used with lamps that have a ceramic base, as their intense heat will melt lamps with plastic bases. Another precaution to take in using a CHE is to either have it resting directly on the screen lid of the enclosure, or in a ceramic-based fixture that has a wire cage over the emitter. Never have a bare CHE mounted inside an enclosure due to the high incidence of burns. Also CHEs are not supposed to be placed in any fixture that is permanently mounted inside of an enclosure. The 'flat' profile CHEs are preferable to the 'dome' shaped emitters, since the dome-shaped emitters can trap heat inside and burn out the heat element sooner than the flat profile, making them less efficient. The flat profile emitters last approximately five years. The ceramic heat emitters used for reptiles typically come in these four different wattages with recommended tank sizes: 60W (10-20 Gal), 100W (30-40 Gal), 150W (50-100 Gal) and 250W (100+ Gal).
For the safety of your reptile, always use a lamp with a protective wire cage around the heat emitter to prevent burns.
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