How hot is TOO hot?

[Hankj]

Trying out this heat cable business and through tile it is reaching high temperatures. There are no geckos in it. I have a little probe thermometer taped to the tile. At the moment it is at about 100 F and rising. I know this is too hot but what is the limit. Is 95 okay? Or should I be aiming for just 90?

While I am already posting.. I picked up this gecko a few weeks ago and she is a big girl but I am questionable of her health. First off the guy had her crowded with three other geckos on sand and no humid hide. Just now got all the shed off of her toes. Her back also seems weird to me. With my other geckos their spin is the peek of their body but with this one it seems to look kind of concave down on her spine. Is this a sign of anything or possibly just age?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

100 degrees is too hot. Excessive exposure to high temperatures can cause the parathyroid glad (which controls calcium metabolism) to be over stimulated. This can leech the calcium from their blood and bones causing the spine deformity you are describing. Keep the warm side temperatures at 90-95 on the surface where the gecko's belly would be.

 

[Hankj]

Okay thanks a lot. I will play around with it.

And to be very clear, I do not have that gecko on temps above 100, and the two questions were completely unrelated. I got her like this. I wouldn't be surprised if they were too hot, think they had a heat pad and white basking light. The other gecko my buddy picked up looks fine though.

Now that I think about it, could it be due to a lack of calcium? I remember seeing the mealworms in the cage with just the bedding they come in from pet stores, no calcium.