Heating pad and thermostat question

[SuperFastSlug]

Hey everyone. I have a heat pad set up in my leopard gecko enclosure and it gets way too hot. It reaches upwards of 100 degrees F. So im getting a thermostat, but i have a question: Which thermostat do i need, and where do i put the probe? Do i just lay the probe on the floor and will it get in the way? thanks!

 

[indyana]

Some good brands on the lower end of pricing are Hydrofarm and Big Apple Herp. Those are available online (Amazon, for example, carries them). You can also get way more expensive, into the hundreds of dollars. People usually get the more expensive ones when regulating incubators or racks with many animals.

Stick the probe directly on the floor on the hot spot under the gecko's warm hide. Most come with a little suction cup that you can use to stick to glass or tile. If you want it above paper, for example, you can also use a small piece of tape to stick it to the paper each time you clean.

You can set the dial to 90 F to start and adjust as needed. It's really great to get one of those infrared reptile temperature guns that can instantly read the floor temp for spot checks, but if you don't want to spend the money on one right now, you can also get one of those little digital temperature monitors with a probe and stick the probe on the hot spot too. That will tell you the temperature and let you know whether you need to turn the thermostat up or down.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

You can put the probe anywhere inside or outside the tank as long as it is somewhere it will measure the temperature of the UTH. If it is outside the tank and directly on the UTH you'll need to measure the temeprature using a probe thermometer or Infrared thermometer under the warm hide and set the temp on the thermostat to a temperature where it measures 90. So for example, if the probe is outside on the heater it may need to be set to 100 degrees to make the warm spot under a hide on repticarpet or tile reach 90. If the probe is loosely held down under the hide inside the tank it may only need to be set to 89 or something like that. Make sense? What matters is where your leo is laying his belly not what the thermostat reads