Question about unplugging heat mat

equinelove93

New Member
Messages
48
Location
ontatio, Canada
So recently my area had went through a hot heat wave. Despite air conditioning and mutiple fans running in my reptile room the room temperature was around 85. Currently i monitor all my temps using both probe thermometers and a temp gun. I currently dont have any reheostats or thermostats attached to my heat mats (i do however plan on buying them but they are fairly expensive for one, i see the ones sold that can only accommodate 1 heat mat sells for around $50. If anyone knows where to get less expensive one that would be great)

But back to my question. On really hot days i have to unplug my heat mats because my room is too warm for a proper temperature gradient. And the warmer the room temp, the hotter the mats get. On normal days my mats are at 90 degrees but on hot days ive seen readings of 110-120. is unplugging the heat mats safe for my geckos? Will it affect digestion? I always feed at night and will plug the heat mats back in over night when the temperature drops.

Could this be harmful to my geckos? If i had a rheostat that didn't allow the mat rise above 90 degrees on hot days would i still have to unplug all together or just lower the temp of the heat mat?


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Christywoowoo

New Member
Messages
149
Location
CT
For the thermostats I bought some of these off of amazon that are made for seed germination, but they work just the same 18.99 with free shipping.
https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horti...id=1467127723&sr=8-1&keywords=seed+thermostat

These thermostats will turn off the heat mat when the inputted temperature is reached, so you wont have to worry about unplugging it and plugging it back in. I use these mainly for incubation, but I don't see why they would be harmful in the summer in hot places. the turning off of the heat mats could conceivably cause digestion issues, but I really don't think it would.

Make sure your geckos are pooping at least once a day if it causes some concern.
 

DrCarrotTail

Moderator
Messages
3,590
Location
Ridgewood, NJ
IMO Its always better to be too cold than too hot. All of my heat elements are on proportional thermostats which shut them off if temps get over 88 in my room. I would just unplug yours if the temp in the room gets over 85. A few weeks or even a month without heat in the 70s won't hurt geckos so the 80s will be totally fine. Over 100 degrees, however, will stress and potentially kill your geckos. Better to play it safe.
 

indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Thermostats are a great solution for this issue, so you won't have to keep unplugging/plugging things. Overheating definitely isn't good. My geckos tolerate temps into the 90s in the summer just fine, but it's not their preferred temperature, obviously.
 

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