I need some assistance with heating/lighting

[whiteraven97]

With me purchasing my first leo soon, I want to make sure I make the right decisions concerning heat and lighting.

UTHs are honestly out of the question. Personally, they spook me and I have a 40gal curved-front tank, so I am not really interested in one of them at all.

I am looking more at an overhead lamp.

Like I said I will be holding one (most likely female) leo in a 40 gallon tank. I plan on adding LOTS of decor for stimulation and exploration like rocks, fake plants, and climbing items so the big tank isn't too overwhelming. I am thinking of DIYing a BG from Styrofoam too (not too sure yet, needs to be easy to clean, so I need to work out the details. Ideas?)

Buy anyway, I have become slightly overwhelmed with all of the heating/lighting products out there. There are red lamps, blue lamps, incadescents, CHEs, and basking spots...which would be best? Do I NEED a lamp for light during the day? My room has two large windows that the tank would be situated ~10 feet from. There is no direct sunlight due to the placement of the house, but the room gets lit well. Obviously, I would need a heating appliance.

For the night, I am thinking the red (leos cant see it) or a blue (moonlight). I am leaning towards the red...but open to opinions! I have trouble sleeping with any light in my room, so this should be an interesting adjustment...

For the day, since there is light in my room, would just a CHE be okay? [are they trusted and reliable? I have not done very much research into them] or would a heat lamp be required, especially for those dark, rainy days when there isn't much light in my room? Or could I JUST use the red heat lamp for all-day usage?

The lamp would be suspended on one of those heat lamp stands, to eliminate the risk of fire as much as possible. [My best friend had an issue where a turned off lamp sat on the floor and randomly turned on (switched off) and caught her carpet on fire... Honestly I am spooked by UTHs and over-heads, but I will FACEMYFEARS. I also live in a brand new custom built home, so that adds to the spook factor:anxious:]

​

Of course, a thermostat would be used.

As I said, completely open to opinions!
Thanks in advance

 

[jemjdragon]

I don't understand why having a bow front tank is an issue with a undertank heater?

Leopard geckos need belly heat not back heat. This is why UTHs are mostly used. If you have a good thermostat and put "feet" on the tank of the UTH is not resting on whatever your tank is on, then there is really nothing to be afraid of.
You can get adhesive "feet" from hardware stores. Look for the ones people use for furniture. They could be made from rubber or felt.
They look like this:

You can also just make feet with cardboard. This is just to lift the tank a bit so its not resting on the UTH or the UTH cable.

There is a lot of conflicting information on whether lights can be harmful or not. Albinos for example are very sensitive to light, and it is recommended not to have lights with albinos. There have also been claims with leos getting burned because they can't sense heat as well through their back.
Some people use ceramic heat emitters, these don't produce light just heat.

If you are really set on using a light, don't use a basking bulb or day light bulb. Red, moonlight, or CHEs should be fine. Either way, definitely get a good thermostat whether you're getting a light, CHE, or UTH.

 

[whiteraven97]

I guess I was more concerned of the size of the UTH that would be needed.

Is the UTH used WAY more often than the overhead bulbs? Both would be on a thermostat, to prevent burns. And like I said, lots of coverage would be provided to eliminate the possibility of basking too long due to the less-sensitive heat sensors in their backs.

What I am leaning most to is a red bulb above for heat and a regular bulb for just light. However, if a UTH is 100% the way to go, I can compromise and get a big UTH and then have a redbulb for emergency situations or if the house gets cold for some reason. Would you say this is the case?

Edit: I was thinking: if I put a sheet of glass under the tank (it would go tank, UTH, glass sheet, table tank sits on) it would highly eliminate chance of fire, yes?

 

[jxl22]

UTH is the 100% way to go.
You really won't need the red bulb (which I'm pretty sure leos can see. As I know bearded dragons can see it and it disrupts there sleep).

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[whiteraven97]

I have done some research on radiant head panels. Ever heard of these?

I am seriously leaning to this now (after 40 minutes of research), they are more expensive, but hey, they last 35+ years and are incredibly safe. Wooh!

 

[Some87]

If your worried about cost just go with a 11" wide flex watt which is about $3.50 a foot + wire and clips $5 and you can get a lamp dimmer switch for around $10. I don't think you can even use over head heat because you want surface temp not air temp. Also the only overhead light you would be able to use is a CHE because as most people don't know they can see the red light and blue light. I think a bulb would be an even bigger fire hazard than a UTH anyways because the risk of knocking it off the tank.