Hide seems to be trapping heat

[TylerDurden]

So I just finished putting my terrarium together, planning on coming home with a leo tomorrow!

I'm using slate tile for the floor with some play sand (not calci-sand) underneath and in between the cracks. The tile is pretty thick, I was worried at first that the UTH wouldn't be enough, but in fact after about 3 hours on without the rheostat, the inside of the hide reached 100 degrees, the floor 90 degrees to about 80 on the cooler side

Oh my tank is 36x16x18 (about 40 gal), I'm using a UTH for the 30-40 gal size

anyway so after using the rheostat, the temps are coming down but the inside of the hide on the hot side is still very hot compared to everything else. It seems to really be trapping heat in there.

So my question is, I know 90 is supposed to be the "basking" area temp, but the hide seems to always be the hottest part of the tank. Should the inside of the hide be 90 degrees on the hot side? Should I try moving it farther away from the UTH? (the hide is pretty big, probably 12 inches in diameter, a smaller hide is on the cool side of the tank that's about 7x5x6 inches)

Appreciate any help, hoping to get temp stable before tomorrow

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Try checking temps over different spots of the UTH. Some will have some hot spots that you can avoid placing the hide over. If that sin't the case, yes, you should move the hide so it doesn't stay so hot inside Maybe place another in that area that has air flow. With winter coming on tho, it's good for your gecko to know you can keep a nice warm spot for him instead of having to add a heat light. It's likely that you'll have to adjust your temp regulation source seasonally.

 

[justindh1]

As long as the gecko has a warm side/hide that supplies sufficient amount of heat then I don't see where you would have an issue. Most warm side hides will trap more heat. The most important thing is to have a gradient so that the gecko can go where it needs to regulate their body temps.

 

[TylerDurden]

thanks. I ended up getting it to about 76 on cool side, 80-94 on hot side, but the 94 is only in one spot, most of the temps over there are around 80-88 (I've been using a temp gun to check individual spots on the floor)

I'm using the rheostat with the UTH and a ceramic heater above (no light emitted), both set to very low. It seems to really spread the heat out a lot more evenly on the hot side than the UTH alone was doing.

 

[grboxa]

thanks. I ended up getting it to about 76 on cool side, 80-94 on hot side, but the 94 is only in one spot, most of the temps over there are around 80-88 (I've been using a temp gun to check individual spots on the floor)

I'm using the rheostat with the UTH and a ceramic heater above (no light emitted), both set to very low. It seems to really spread the heat out a lot more evenly on the hot side than the UTH alone was doing.

My hot hide is basically like yours a 'cooler' side of the hot hide and a 'hot' spot...mine ranges from 86-90 on the 'cool' and 93-96 on the 'warmer' side. Aslong as you have a constant spot of enough heat for them to digest which in your case you do...the gecko will find it. I find my geckos sleep in the hottest part of the UTH after eating, and during the day there in the cooler side of the warmhide. Wasnt to sure if you were asking if your set up is okay or not lol so I shared my 2 cents regardless...I would even suggest you can raise the temp just a little bit so you can get the 80 to about 84-85 so they can have more area of warmth 80 is a tad low for a warm hide...that will raise your 94 hot spot a bit which is fine because your gecko will find there sweet spots my hottest spot is about 96-97 and I often see her there just chillaxin, besides I heard you need a a much higher temp to burn your gecko...your gecko will let you know when its to hot! :main_thumbsup:

I'm unemployeed so I tend to watch my geckos alot at night(im not crazy), watching your animals character/behaviour helps you learn about them and ables you to cater to them specifcally if that makes sense lol...someone taught me that