Tank Heating Problems / Questions

[Evilrobot]

I plan on getting my first leopard gecko next week. I have a 20 inch long tank (yes i know 30 inches is recommended, let's ignore that, i have seen a lot of people with healthy geckos who had 20 inch long tanks) I have put a small zoo med UTH on the underside of one side of my tank and stuck an indoor/outdoor thermometer to measure the temp on both sides. I have a 1/3 inch thick piece of slate over the UTH and the slate is reaching near 90F but the hot side of the tank's temperature above the slate is only reaching 85F and the other side of the tank wont go below 80F. I have read that the hot side should be 90F and the cool 75F, so i am worried these temperatures will be inadequate. I don't really want to beam a heat lamp in there if i don't have to because i've read leopard geckos don't really like that. All suggestions are welcome and i'd be happy to give any additional information. Thanks

 

[kathstew]

Are you measuring the floor temp or the air temp above the hot and cold sides?
The temps being measured should be the floor temps, using a temp gun or a probe thermometer. Leos get their heat from their bellies, so the temp their bellies are touching is what is important. Air temp isn't really important.

 

[Evilrobot]

Alright, when i woke up the temps were 79 on the cool side floor and 87.5 on the warm side floor. Is this ok?

 

[kathstew]

The hot side should be between 88*-95*. To adjust the temp you can get a thermostat or a light dimmer from a home improvement store. You plug the heater into the thermostat or light dimmer, which then plugs into the electrical outlet.

The cool side is a bit hot. Do you have a lamp or anything near it that could be heating that end? It should be on the cooler end of the 70*s but shouldn't really go under that too often.

 

[gothra]

Evilrobot, your hot side temp can be a few degrees higher; I keep mine in the low 90s at all times. If you are not getting enough heat from the UTH, try putting something that has insulating properties under the UTH to divert all the heat to go upward. I personally use 1cm thick cork boards.

 

[Taquiq]

The cool side being 79 degrees is fine. And your hot side could be a little warmer, I keep mine between 90 and 95.

 

[Evilrobot]

Evilrobot, your hot side temp can be a few degrees higher; I keep mine in the low 90s at all times. If you are not getting enough heat from the UTH, try putting something that has insulating properties under the UTH to divert all the heat to go upward. I personally use 1cm thick cork boards.

Thanks a lot i'm going to try this. The thermostat can't raise the temp any more and i was told increasing wattage above what is default on the UTH is a bad idea. I'll let you know if putting an insulator on fixes it.

 

[Evilrobot]

Evilrobot, your hot side temp can be a few degrees higher; I keep mine in the low 90s at all times. If you are not getting enough heat from the UTH, try putting something that has insulating properties under the UTH to divert all the heat to go upward. I personally use 1cm thick cork boards.

Ok my hot side is now 96.3, cool still 79. Thanks a lot gothra, is 96 too hot?

 

[GeckoDude31]

No, 96 is just fine.

 

[gothra]

96 is fine if it only covers a small portion of tank.