heating

[bonus41]

i get my gecko this week but now i'm not sure if it's the roght pet for me... i can't get the heat right it's at 73 right now with the under the tank heater on a full 48 hours thats not hot enouf... with the infa red it gets to hot to fast then i turn it off it just goes back to 73 right now the set up is (i'm including some photos) the mini 1-5 gallon under the tank heater one the left corner under the tank then i put a ceramic tile with some moss on top and a hut...

 

[wny_luke]

I would recommend getting a digital thermometer with a probe. You can find them for $10 - $15 depending on where you look. You can then put the probe on top of the tile to get an accurate reading of how warm it is.

If you are still seeing temps too low, you may want to use a thinner substrate than the tile. As long as the UTH is under the tank, you should be able to use paper towels over it, as long as it's not getting too hot.

You can also try to tape some aluminum foil over the UTH, so that the UTH is between the foil and tank. This may help hold some of the heat in and increase the temps.

I'm a fairly new owner myself, but those are some tips I can share from what I've learned. I'm sure some of the pro's will chime in as well.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[bonus41]

thanks for the tips wny_luke i just put a peice of aluminum foil on top of the heater it was pertty hot under the tile i guess it held the heat to good... i'll see what happends for the rest of the day to see if the heat will go up

 

[bonus41]

hmmm... temp still not going up?

 

[wny_luke]

Covering the UTH with foil may increase the temp a little, but not enough to get you into the high 80s to low 90s where you want to be.

I would strongly recommend that you replace the thermometer at the back of your tank which is measuring the air temperature with a digital thermometer w/ probe that you can monitor the floor temp with.

Your leopard gecko will get it's heat by lying on it's belly on the floor so the temperature of the floor is what you really need to monitor.

Once you can monitor the floor temp, you can then experiment with removing the tile if needed to get the right temps.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Well i had the same heater and it was to small. I got a thermometer for 10 bucks at a store which must not be named and is the foil under the heater, that worked for me. The heater could be busted, one of mine was. I suggest just returning it and getting the next size up for 3 dollars more.

 

[Mel&Keith]

It's almost impossible to get an accurate temperature reading with a thermometer like that since you really need the temperature from the floor of the tank not just the air above it. All major pet stores will carry probe thermometers that are less than $10. Get one of these first to find out if you even have a problem with your UTH.