Questions about heat mats and lighting

[anaa]

So I recently got a leopard gecko about a week ago and I purchased the desert kit by zilla it comes with 2 domes and a day and night light . I started reading that heating mats are the way to go when it comes to geckos because it helps with digestion so I purchased a heating mat as well .


My question is .

Is the heating mat enough even at night ? I feel like it gets too cold in my room at night . And the thermostat that I have now not sure if it is getting the temperature of the heating mat . Anyone have any idea to read the temperature better with the heat mat ???


And do you guys recommend maybe keeping the lights on for more heat ?

The day light is on the left side of the tank as well as the heating pad and the night light is on the right side of the tank. the kit said to switch the lights on and off during the day and night . So that the day light light is on in the day and the night light is on during the night .

There is another picture further away .

Now I haven't been keeping the night light on at night because that's supposed to be the cool side of the tank and didn't want to mess with the temperature on that side because I do leave the heating mat on all day and night . So turning on the night light would leave her with no cool spots .

Help .

What do you guys recommend I do ? And how do I know how much what is enough heat ? Should I keep the lights on ?


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[Ruvik]

I would say get a temp gun. That is the best way to read the temps in your cage seeing as it's all about the ground heat.

 

[warhawk]

Your setup does look nice just need to find tune it for the gecko.

I only run heat mats or UTH (under tank heater)on my geckos, I don't use any lights on my tanks, I keep my geckos in the same room as my fish tanks that are all on timers so they know when it's day and night. So I would use the lights only to see your gecko and not worry about using them at night at all.

You might need to get something to adjust the temperature of the UTH so you don't get it too hot and burn them. Most pet stores will have digital thermostats so they will keep the correct temperature for you(90-92 degrees) you can also use rheostats. But like Ruvik said get a Temp gun to know for sure what the temps are and make sure they are set correct.

 

[anaa]

Your setup does look nice just need to find tune it for the gecko.

I only run heat mats or UTH (under tank heater)on my geckos, I don't use any lights on my tanks, I keep my geckos in the same room as my fish tanks that are all on timers so they know when it's day and night. So I would use the lights only to see your gecko and not worry about using them at night at all.

You might need to get something to adjust the temperature of the UTH so you don't get it too hot and burn them. Most pet stores will have digital thermostats so they will keep the correct temperature for you(90-92 degrees) you can also use rheostats. But like Ruvik said get a Temp gun to know for sure what the temps are and make sure they are set correct.

i dont think that the uth that i have doesnt have the ability to change the temperature. i just plug it in and it heats up . its a zoo med uth. 10-20 gallon mat.

 

[warhawk]

Sorry what I was talking about is one of these Amazon.com : Zilla 11939 Temperature Controller, 1000-Watt : Reptile Thermostat : Pet Supplies You will plug your UTH into that and place the prob on the warm spot. Then when the warm spot gets to the temp you set it will cut the power to the UTH until the temp drops and then turn it back on. This will help keep the temp from getting too high.

Another way is to hook your UTH into a dimmer switch and adjust the switch to get the temp you want. It will require a heat gun so you can get good readings on your warm spot and it takes a few hours to get the temp correct. Lots of people make a DIY switch but you have to make sure you know what your doing if you want to build one.

 

[Neon Aurora]

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer/dp/B000MD3MFA This is a decent enough thermometer that is very cheap. That dial one you have isn't doing much good. Temperature guns are pretty great, but there you don't necessarily have to have one if you would rather have something cheaper. The Zoo Med thermometer has always worked well enough.

My experience with the Zoo Med UTHs is that they heat up way too much. Warhawk made some good suggestions. Lamp dimmers are around 7-10 dollars at Home Depot.

I also feel compelled to mention that you should provide your gecko with a humid hide. You can make it out of a tupperware, so it's very cheap. This is very important so the gecko does not have shedding problems.

I also agree that you should remove the lights. It's probably too warm in there, and geckos don't need or like lights.

 

[warhawk]

My experience with the Zoo Med UTHs is that they heat up way too much. Warhawk made some good suggestions. Lamp dimmers are around 7-10 dollars at Home Depot.

I bought a dimmer, extension cord, and electrical box for less than $10 and built mine. I plug the UTH into the extension cord (dimmer is wired into the cord) and I adjust UTH at once. Just need to make sure all have the correct temp which is the hard part.