Question on Ceramic Hea Emitters

[Luthien]

Ok so as most of you know I'm trying to decide on decent priced way to heat my renevated wood vivarium for my corn snake. I've played with the idea of heat cable (just about ruled that out), heat panels (to expensive) and now I'm thinking of the CHE.

So here is my questions on the CHE:
1. Can these "Heaters" sit on a screen or do they have to be suspended above the cage?

2. If my viv is approximately a 65 gal what wattage would I need to heat 1/4-1/2 of it?

3. For those of you that use/have used these do you leave them on 24/7 or do you turn them off at night? Is it safe for the corn to not have heat all night?

Thanks!

[Luthien]

Oh and question 4. Do you use thermostats with CHE's?

[Minkness]

I can only answer the 1st question.

I wouldn't set it directly on the screen, but uf you have it in a dome, you can set the dome on the screen. Still not advised imo because if the snake rubs the screen for some reason, could burn the snake.

[toddnbecka]

I've been using them for several different tanks, but not for my Okeetee corn snake. I have him/her in a small tank with a small reptitherm UTH on one end. It's only 4 watts, so a t-stat isn't necessary to control it, and the corn has been growing and generally thriving quite well.
I use 100w CHE's for my small DRMB's and 150w for the carpet python and red tail boas. I turn off the heaters on the DRMB's at night, but leave the others on all the time.
I don't allow the ceramic to touch the screen tops directly, though they are quite close. No domes, they'd likely trap too much rising heat, so I made my own fixtures to hold the bulbs. I don't use t-stats on them, simply set them up higher to decrease the heat a bit.

[metalcopper]

I use them, and put them in a dome, like you would a light bulb, then i set that on a screen, if the cage requires it.

I like to buy a strong wattage, like 100 watt, and use a thermostat, that way, your CHE isn't struggling and running all the time to heat your enclosure. I use a cheaper model thermostat, Hydrofarm, ebay has them for around $35. I leave mine run 24 hours a day like this. Temps are really easy to control once you dial in your thermostat.

[IW17]

I would always use a thermostat with a Che. They get unbelievably hot. Like 500+. I've had them melt the wires just from the residual heat coming back up through an enclosure. Just for the sake of safety(fire hazard), you should use something to control the temp.

[Luthien]

Thanks! That's all my questions answered!