# confused about heat emitters!!



## chaos_emerald (Jan 26, 2009)

I searched previous threads and everything, but I'm still a little confused about heat emitters. I'm looking online to buy some. What all do I need?? 
A bulb, clamp, thermometer and thermostat? 
and what watt should the bulb be?


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

You will need:
-The lamp fixture that you screw the bulb/emitter into
-The ceramic heat emitter, appropriate wattage for the lamp fixture
-The thermostat, this will turn the CHE on and off to regulate the temp
-A digital thermometer to keep an eye on it just in case something starts working funny.

I believe you plug the thermostat into the wall, the lamp into the thermostat, the CHE into the lamp, and adjust the temp to what you want it to be consistently. Turn it on and it should work perfectly! I actually have not used a thermostat before so I'm a bit unsure as to how that works. 

Hope that helps a bit


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## Bookgobbler (Aug 13, 2009)

lizardgirl's reply about covers it all. I don't know the price range or if it is possible but something with clear temps on the thermostat would be helpful if you can find one. I have a reptile one with just a bar with colors and +/- (dark red shades to light yellow) and I had to do some guess work before I found the right setting for mine.


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## xsarahjox (Jul 28, 2009)

The digital thermometers are wonderful and I too highly recommend getting one. I just bought Ivan's heating system last weekend. I had a bit of time on my hands so I purchased the supplies at both PetSmart and PetCo. based on which store had the lowest price. Here's the list of how much everything costs... you may find it helpful. I was shocked at how much the whole thing cost. :shock:

*At PetSmart...*
Lamp fixture = $17.99
100w ceramic heat emitter = $39.00
Digital thermometer = $10.99

*At PetCo...*
Thermostat = $49.99

Since you're doing your shopping online, I know that you will be able to find these things at a lower cost, but I figured this might give you an idea.

As for the wattage... I found the 100w bulb to not be quite enough in our apartment. Ivan lives in a plastic bottom wire cage which is located in my _very_ open living room, so his cage doesn't hold heat very well. The nice thing about PetSmart was that they allowed me to exchange the 100w emitter for a 150w, which is working much better. So the wattage really depends on the cage.

I hope that helped.


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## Pickles90 (Jun 18, 2009)

I just bought a thermostat, ceramic heat emmiter and lamp fixture today for 140 euro ($206), couldn't believe how expensive it all was!


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

If you go to Home Depot or Lowes (home improvement stores), you can get lamp fixtures for very cheap. I buy the ones that look like silver domes (they aren't painted black) and have always used these for my herp setups. I think the size I get costs $4.99.

The thermostats are always expensive, and usually the CHEs. I haven't found any place that sells them much lower, online they are a bit less but then you pay shipping.


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## StarstruckAngel (Oct 4, 2009)

That is the setup that I am using. I bought it all from a Big Al's that had a reptile section (except for the thermometer.) The CHE and fixture you can get anywhere, but the thermostat is extremely hard to find. I don't remember individual costs, but the CHE, fixture, and thermostat together including tax was $100 (Canadian) and that was with a price match from an online store for the thermostat. I also have a plastic bottom wire cage, and the guy at the store said a 60 watt would be more than enough - it was - the dial is almost as low as it can go and the cage is never below 75F according to my $10 thermometer from Canadian Tire


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## chaos_emerald (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks!! That was very helpful. I've gotten everything but the thermostat, which I'm getting Tuesday hopefully. I can't believe how expensive it was! Or I guess I can believe, it just sucks. 
But the good news is I will soon have a warm and toasty hedgie. ^-^


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