heat mat or CHE?

[reesanne]

hi all, im having a difficult time figuring out if the Ceramic heat emitter that im using for my leos tank should be taken out and replaced with a heat mat? Right now the only “light” on top of the tank is a CHE. Thoughts?

 

[acpart]

Heat mat. The CHE tends to dry out the air a lot. You don't need lights as long as there is ambient light in the room so the gecko can tell day from night.

Aliza

 

[KatieG]

Ive tried everything from che and deep heat emitters and still ended up back with a heat mat lol.

 

[annie]

I've only had my girl a few days but I've already switched her from a CHE to an under the tank heat mat and she seems to use her basking area a lot more now plus the humidity and temperature are much easier to maintain now.

 

[reesanne]

I've only had my girl a few days but I've already switched her from a CHE to an under the tank heat mat and she seems to use her basking area a lot more now plus the humidity and temperature are much easier to maintain now.

this helps a ton, definitely switching!! thank you

 

[MVicchitto]

I have tried all three and, at least with our set up and home conditions, find that the deep heat projector seems to work best for us. I use an Arcadia 80w Deep Heat Projector during the day and a 50w one during the evening (bear in mind, we keep our home on the colder side of comfortable). The UTH was okay, but I had a hard time maintaining a consistent temperature (especially after I moved his enclosure from on my desk to on a metal shelf unit where the heat seemed to escape out the wire shelving rather than going into his enclosure.

SInce I've been using the DHP, he has become a lot more active and explores a lot more.

But, ultimately, I think it is what works best for your gecko in your home.

 

[muskiemagic]

Geckos need some kind of heat source coming from underneath that they bask on. They rely on belly heat to digest their food unlike other reptiles such as Bearded Dragons that rely on a heat source from above. Using a heat mat controlled by a thermostat set at 90 degrees placed under a warm hide will do the trick. Please NO heat rocks or anything like that. These will burn your Gecko. I have included pics of my set up. I have my under tank heat mat placed under the warm hide on the back left side. ( the lighted side ) I use a 50 watt halogen flood bulb for extra daytime light and heat to help with ambient air temp since I live in a basement where it's cooler. I also use a 50 watt Arcadia heat projection bulb set on timer and thermostat set at 70 degrees to only come on at night if air temps dip to low.

 

[reesanne]

Geckos need some kind of heat source coming from underneath that they bask on. They rely on belly heat to digest their food unlike other reptiles such as Bearded Dragons that rely on a heat source from above. Using a heat mat controlled by a thermostat set at 90 degrees placed under a warm hide will do the trick. Please NO heat rocks or anything like that. These will burn your Gecko. I have included pics of my set up. I have my under tank heat mat placed under the warm hide on the back left side. ( the lighted side ) I use a 50 watt halogen flood bulb for extra daytime light and heat to help with ambient air temp since I live in a basement where it's cooler. I also use a 50 watt Arcadia heat projection bulb set on timer and thermostat set at 70 degrees to only come on at night if air temps dip to low.

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this helped sooooooo much!!! thank u!!! me and my leo appreciate