I used a CHE for my dubia roach bin, my 30 gallon breeder for my ball python and a night heat for my bearded dragon. I run them all on lamp dimmers you get from Home Depot. Unless you are running them on a dimming T-stat, the temp swings would seem huge to me as they heat up, then turn off and then the element cools down, then it will turn back on and have to heat the element and then once its at the temp, it would turn off and the element would stay hot for probably 10 mins. Dimming T-stats would just limit the power to them but keep them running. I use Herpstat for my RHP which is like a better version of a CHE. Herpstats are both proportional and/or dimming while VE offers one model which is dimming.

As for wattage in a 10 gallon, it depends on the ambient room temps. You could use a 100 watt with a lamp dimmer and then just turn it low. But im sure if your room stays around 75F, a 60 watt would probably work too. Just remember CHEs get REALLY hot. My 60 watt one errors my temp gun at over 660F so you want to make sure your snake cant touch it EVER! Or the dome you put it in as those get pretty darn hot as well. CHEs are much better though as they last forever and aren't as delicate as light bulbs.