How cold is too cold?

[Range]

Two quick questions about tank temperature --

1. Air Temperature - Several of the guides I read state the air temperature doesn't matter as long as it's at 'room temperature' or 'about 70F'. My 'room temperature' is about 62F, as we can't afford to keep the house any warmer. Should I leave it as is, or get a small heat lamp to warm the tank air to a more reasonable temperature?

2. Power Outages - Another point about living in Maine: the power goes out. A lot. Sometimes for two to six hours, sometimes for days at a time. What can I do for the gecko when there's no electricity and the tank gets progressively cooler? I'd imagine a brief outage (less than 2 hours) wouldn't be too much of a problem, but what about the longer outages?

 

[Bennayboi]

Id get like a 25 watt heat lamp to put on during the day. You can get a timer to regulate a 12 hour daytime/nighttime schedule.

You can order up to 72 hour heat pads that are activated by oxygen(they come in an air tight package). Just put one in the tank during a power outage or just put the gecko and a heat pad in a shoe box. You can buy heat pads from most online feeder stores.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

the air temperature doesn't matter as long as it's at 'room temperature' or 'about 70F'

Outside Air Temp.

A UTH will heat the inside or floor of the tank.

You may need an additional light (25watt).

Check the temps inside the tank.

 

[Range]

Id get like a 25 watt heat lamp to put on during the day. You can get a timer to regulate a 12 hour daytime/nighttime schedule.

You can order up to 72 hour heat pads that are activated by oxygen(they come in an air tight package). Just put one in the tank during a power outage or just put the gecko and a heat pad in a shoe box. You can buy heat pads from most online feeder stores.

Ah, okay. Never thought of the timer, actually - that's an excellent idea.

And are 'heat pads' like those silly 'instahot' bags you can get from the pharmacy for muscle pain?

 

[Pepper]

No, they are reptile under the tank heaters, you plug them in and they stay heated.

 

[nats]

Well, your first question has been answered.
So, I have a comment on your second question.
Weeks at a time!!?? Wow!
You are going to have to set up a rig like this:

Get a large styrofoam cooler, a digital thermometer with a prob, and a
whole bunch of heat packs.
Side note; be aware the heat packs have a shelf life, a year I think.

To set this up, you will need to take notes.
find a container that your geckos can not escape from (very important).
put it in your cooler. Put a few heat packs on the opposit side, as far from
your gecko container as possible. Fill the void areas with newspaper and put the thermometer prob in the gecko container (you will probably have to
make some holes for the prob wire.
You will need to experiment with the ventilation, and how much of the lid
to put on it, how many heat packs, etc. this is why you need to take notes.

Of course, no animals are actually in the container while you are doing this
testing.

Once you have it right, and all documented so you know what to do when
you need to without freaking out, you can have a stock of heat packs
in reserve. You are now ready for the emergency :main_thumbsup:

 

[Range]

No, they are reptile under the tank heaters, you plug them in and they stay heated.

Not the UTH, silly
You can't plug something in if the power's out

 

[fOOlsgOld]

If you have a gas water heater you could use hot water bottles also... change them out every few hours as they cool off. Try putting the geckos in small containers (plastic shoe boxes) and keep them close to what ever you use to keep yourself warm (space heater, wood stove, fire place) and make sure to keep a CLOSE eye on the temps?
Best case would be to get a generator that you could just use to power part of the house and keep the geckos plugged in to one of the outlets that had power.