Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
I've had two of the front-opening ExoTerras. While they're nice for retaining heat and humidity if you keep the top covered, the glass in the bottom of both of mine cracked in under two years.
Could water have gotten on the glass over the heat mat? I've had my big one for five years and through a move with no cracks, then again I may just be lucky. CHE is an acronym for ceramic heat emitter, some people use them in conjunction with an under tank heater, the CHE helps keep up ambient temp in the cage if your house isn't naturally eighty degrees year round.

It's not fancy by any means but I tape plastic wrap over each mesh panel on top I want covered. On the opposite side from the UTH I've left one panel open and I have a CHE over it. It's cheap and so far has worked well for me.