Tile Flooring?

Lil Birdie23

New Member
Messages
17
Location
Addison, Maine
Hello Everyone,

I got my new leopard gecko a little over a couple of weeks ago. His name is Gaze. I picked the name because he loves to stare and it is unisex. I call him a boy though. Anyways, I have been using reptile carpet and he sometimes (most of the time) bites the carpet when he attacks his food. I think he will grow out of it, but I also read that they can get their toes stuck in it too. I am thinking about switching to tiles or vinyl. I know it will be more realistic (tile), but I am just worried about them getting too warm. I could place something under the flooring that has the under tank heat pad, but I have heat lamps too. I have a night lamp and a day lamp. The day lamp is a regular heat bulb. Set to the right wattage. I know people say don't have those because of the sensitivity to their eyes, but they are from the desert and the sun there is pretty strong so I don't worry about it much. My question after all of this is (sorry about the long post) will the heat lamps plus the under tank heat pad cause the tile or vinyl to get too hot? Thank you in advance. 
 

ballpythoncrazy

New Member
Messages
79
Location
Idaho
Your heat pad should be hooked up to a thermostat! So that way, no matter what, your heat pad can't go over a certain temperature and will turn off when it starts to get too hot, or will turn on if it isn't hot enough. And as long as your bulb isn't some crazy wattage like 200w then it shouldn't make the tile too hot, but I would definitely check the temperature of the tile a few hours after putting it in.


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Lil Birdie23

New Member
Messages
17
Location
Addison, Maine
The temp in the tank gets to around 80 degrees and sometimes a little higher, but not most of the time. The pad doesn't have a setting. Just on and off. Once the adhesive has stuck to the tank, I can't get it off. It doesn't get really hot. Of course we are war, blooded so I don't know how it feels to us and how it feels to him. He always lays on the side with the pad though which is good. My wattage is like 50 or 75. I can't remember which. It is the right wattage for a juvi though. When you say check the temp of the tiles do you mean with my hand or with an actual thermometer? I assume you mean by hand?
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
I am thinking about switching to tiles or vinyl. I know it will be more realistic (tile), but I am just worried about them getting too warm.

It is likely already too hot. Most heat pads get to 115 + degrees if left unchecked. There was just someone on here pretty recently who had their geckos literally burned because the UTH was not on a thermostat. Thermostats are not optional.

Are you using a stick-on thermometer? You should use a digital thermometer that has a probe you can place on the floor. You should measure floor temps, not air temps. You can also use an infrared temperature gun to measure the temperature. Also, yes, it is absolutely imperative that you measure the temperature with an appropriate thermometer, not with your hand.

I could place something under the flooring that has the under tank heat pad, but I have heat lamps too. I have a night lamp and a day lamp. The day lamp is a regular heat bulb. Set to the right wattage. I know people say don't have those because of the sensitivity to their eyes, but they are from the desert and the sun there is pretty strong so I don't worry about it much. My question after all of this is (sorry about the long post) will the heat lamps plus the under tank heat pad cause the tile or vinyl to get too hot? Thank you in advance. 

Yes, the desert sun is bright, but leopard geckos are nocturnal (meaning they are active at night and sleep during the day). I would recommend against a day light, and definitely recommend against a night light. Leopard geckos can see all of the same colors we can and a light at night of any color will disrupt their photocycle. As for day lights, some people use them provided they don't make the tank too hot, but they make sure the gecko has hides that are completely dark so they don't have to be exposed if they don't want to.
 
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Lil Birdie23

New Member
Messages
17
Location
Addison, Maine
I believe they make day lamps that don't produce so much light. I could get one of those. The night lamp gives off a dark purplish light and I can barely see in it if the lights in the room are off. How much do you think one of the ground thermometers would be? So I can check the side with the pad. I don't know if I can get that pad off. It has very very strong adhesive to it. Say I do get it off, how much would an adjustable (as in temp) cost? What temp should it be set to? Sorry about all of the questions. I just want to make sure my little guy has everything perfect.:)
 

Neon Aurora

New Member
Messages
1,376
Location
New Mexico
A mild day light will be okay as long as the gecko has sufficient dark places to hide (so blocked on three sides and totally solid). Is there a reason you want the night lamp? Perhaps you could just have it on when you're viewing your gecko and off otherwise? It's very important for them to have a proper photocycle.

You can get a Zoo Med digital thermometer w/probe for $10 at just about any pet store or off the internet.

You don't need to remove your pad. You can get a decent thermostat for $30, or another option is a lamp dimmer for about $7 at Home Depot. The thermostat will be more reliable and you won't have to mess with it. The lamp dimmer just adjusts the amount of power going to the pad, so you would need to adjust it manually to keep the correct temp (90 degrees on the ground where the UTH is). In both cases, you'll need the kind you can plug your UTH directly into (it has outlets). So your UTH is fine, you just need something to regulate it. =)

I'm glad you want what's best for your gecko. =) Temperature regulation is so important.

EDIT: Oh yeah, temperatures. So the warm side should be 90 degrees on the ground. I wouldn't let the air temp get above 80. The cool side should be around 70 degrees. One of the problems with heat lamps is they often make the ambient air too warm. It's very important to have a temperature gradient. Try not to let your cool side get above 75 degrees. If your heat lamp is causing this and you are really determined to have a light, perhaps consider an LED since they don't really produce heat.
 
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