Using a heat lamp with paper towel?

[pythor]

Hello! I am new to the forums here. We received our leopard gecko in November as a gift to my son. The tank was already set up with sand which I now learned isn't always the best choice for the gecko. I have now put paper towel for bedding and Pythor seems intrigued! My concern is that I cannot maintain a high enough temp in the cage without using a light. We have an underpad but it wont bring the tank over 80 degrees. Currently I just have a 40 watt bulb in the over light and I was concerned if this is a hazard with the paper towel in use?

What do you think??

Thanks!

 

[Nooon]

Hi How big is the tank? Is it covered? Were do you measure the temperature? Check the temperature inside the hides and on ground level and any place the gecko can get to. If the heat is not enough in the warmest hide maybe you should get another heating mat or a hotter lamp. I´d go for a better heating mat.
If the temperature in the warmest hide is OK but the temperature otherwise is too low I´d do something about the insulation - cover the back and perhaps the sides with something - wood, styrofoam sheets, aqua pad, sleeping pad... you can also reduce ventilation... making sure the leo still have fresh air. If you have only a mesh top maybe you could cover at least a part of it with glass. Watch out with the lamp as heat may case glass to crack. Even more of you go for a hotter lamp. I would not. 40W produce a lot of heat. Hot enough to deal with and most of it travels upward to no use.
If changing the lamp and/or top/lid... make sure the leo will not be able to get to close to the lamp - many reptiles , among them leos, don´t have any understanding of what is too hot.

 

[lisa127]

I've been keeping reptiles for almost 20 years and never has a heat lamp caused glass to crack or caught my paper towel substrate on fire. Of course, the heat lamp should be resting on a screen top. If I want to prevent heat from escaping the top I cover the entire top with heavy aluminum foil or clear packing tape and just leave an opening for the heat lamp. I'm not just talking about leo's here, this is what works for me with reptiles in general.

That being said, what are you using to measure your temps with? I highly recommend an infrared temperature gun for the most accurate temps at floor level where your leo will be.