Heat and humidity problem

[SenSx]

Hello,

I just acquired a 2 years old leopard gekco, on a 20 gallon Tank, but I struggled to get a good gradient temp.
I have a heat pad on the warm side, and a heat lamp (45Watt) on the cold side (I know this is strange, but the heat pad on the warm side was not enough to alos get good temperatures on the cold side).
However, I noticed my humidity was extremely low, it is barely at 10 daytime !!!
How can I get it higher ?
I do have a moist box with wet vermiculite in the tank.
Maybe having to heat systems is the cause, I was adviced to get rid of the heat pad, and only put a heat lamp on the warm side.
What kind of lamp should I use ? 75 w? 100 ?
I have an exoterra tank, and I am putting the lamp on top of it, but I could also place the lamp inside the tank, if it is really needed (But I don't find it very aesthetic).

Thx for any help

 

[Am8er]

To get humidity up for my insects I mist their viv with water, im guessing the same is for leos.

 

[indyana]

Assuming your substrate is not very thick, a heat pad is usually better than a heat lamp for leopard geckos, as they rely more on the floor surface temperature than the air temperature. Plus, as you have seen, the heat lamps sap the air of humidity. How low was the temperature on the cool side?

 

[SenSx]

My substrate is paper towel.
I am using a heat lamp on the cold side, because the heat pad ont he warm side is not enough to provide a good temperature on the cold side.
Please tell me how a single head pad can give you a good temp gradient in your tank, because it is not in mine.
It is covering 1/3 of the tank.

Temperature on the cold side are 78.8 F° / 80.6 F° (26°/27°) Cwith the heat lamp above, 60 F °/ 71.6 F° ( 20° C/22° C) without heat lamp.

I removed the hygrometer fromt he tank, put in on the wet blanket to see if it was not damage, but it was apprently working.
I put it back inside the tank, and it told me humidity was 40, not 10 anymore...I just don't udnerstand what is happening...tonight it is showing 50 humidity.
I'll sheck again tomorrow.

I just removed the heat lamp on the coold side, as you said indyana, heat lamp sap the air humidity, and I think that was the problem : head pad on warm side + heat lamp on cool side = not good for humidity.
So i place a 35 watt lamp on the warm side instead of my 45 watt heat lamp on the cool side, to get a lighting lamp and help a bit getting that gradient temp, but not having any heat source on the cold side that would make it dry.
But my cold temp are still too cold, i am getting 71.6°F (22°C) in the cold hide...
I see most of the people here claiming heat pad are better, but it is far from being enough for getting a good gradient temp in my 20 gallon tank, what am I doing wrong ?
Don't tell me I have to put an other heat pad with an other thermostat on the cold side lol

 

[indyana]

Haha, no, I believe the ambient temperature is just too cool where you are keeping the enclosure to maintain heat with only the heat pad. Continue using a lower wattage bulb or get a dimmer to turn down the bulbs. Anything above 21 C is fine for the cool side (could even drop a little lower at night). You could also move the lamp toward the warm end or in the middle rather than right over the cool end. Whatever gets the total tank to the right gradient.

As long as you provide a humid hide, it's okay for the tank to be dry during the day. These guys are desert lizards. If your gecko won't use the humid hide, you may have to force the issue until he uses it by doing humidity treatments when he's shedding.

 

[SenSx]

I am using an exo terra desert heat pad 16W on the warm side.
The tank is in my room, which is not too cold in my opinion ( 68°F / 20°C).
The heat pad is set like this udner the tank :
http://www.pixenli.com/images/1417/1417694072085937100.jpg

So I believe it is on 1/3 of the size of enclosure, which seems fine.
I could put the lamp back on the coold side, but I don't really like the idea...and it is hard to place the lamp on top in the middle of the tank because it is an exo terra.
I plan to ad my rock decor later, with the lamp above it to provide an other hot spot where the gecko can go, so if can avoid putting the lamp on the cold side, that would be cool.

Without the heat lamp on the cold side, the temp are ( 68°F / 20°C) (same as my room).

 

[indyana]

That seems fine then, especially for winter time cool side. As long as the warm side continues meeting the proper temperatures, your gecko will be able to warm up over there.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I didn't see this mentioned but are you measuring the temp of the floor or of the air in the tank? What kind of thermometer are you using? In my experience anything over 50W is too much for a small tank like a 10 or 20 gallon and the use of a light will decrease the overall humidity. I would use the lowest wattage possible to bring the air temp in the tank up to around 70 degrees and keep a good enclosed hide over the warm side where the heat mat is at 90.