Please help me out here : (

[darkridder]

I'm sooo confused about the lighting and the tempatures I should be reading and where to get them..I mean Sooo confused.

I first started with a uth on one side of the tank and a light for the other side of the tank. and I was getting around 92 under the light and 88 over the uth......But then I put the probe onto the floor of the tank on the uth side and it was 94.

What temps should I be trying to reach on the floor hot side and cool side?
Should I just have a uth? or should I have lightbulb and a uth?
what tempatures should I be getting and around where?

What do you guys suggest I get for monitoring/maintaining the heat?

Please help me, and thanks : )

 

[efx*]

You want to have a cool side and a warm side, The cool side should be room temp. and the warm side should be around 88-92 on the hot spot for digesting food. Get rid of the light, Leopard geckos need belly heat. And for a temp control I would just use a zoo med repti temp controller, Or if you can find a thermostat but that will work fine for now

 

[Jaiden23]

First off, go ahead and ditch the lamp, it isn't needed. All you need is your UTH.

You want to always measure the temperatures of the floor, so use the probe on top of whatever you are using for substrate.

On the warm side (the side where the UTH is located) you want your temperatures to be around 89-93 F
Measure the warm side directly above your mat.

The cool side (the side opposite of the UTH) should be around 75 F

It's a good idea to use a thermostat or a rheostate with your UTH to help monitor and maintain the temperate. You can find some good ones here:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPath=30_74

Usually, once the temperatures on the warm side are accurate, the cool side will automatically fall where it should be.:main_thumbsup:

 

[darkridder]

Alright another question I have is, can their be hotspots on the uth side and cause burns for my gecko?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

As long as the floor surface temperature doesn not go over about 98 degrees on the hot-spot, your geckos will be fine. If it goes over that, you will need to put the UTH on a temperature controller or rheostat (dimmer).

 

[GeckoGathering]

If your tank is tall enough and you're wanting to observe your geckos with an overhead, get a newer type 13 watt (low heat gas) output bulb. Use it over the warm side......usually it will be OK temp. wise but monitor it to make sure. I use them on my large tanks so I can view activity better....take care HJ