Warm side temp range of 86-90 and adjusting temp issues

[Gonser]

Ron Tremper says never go above 91 degrees on the warm side. I know many here go into the mid 90s on their warm sides, but I try to follow Tremper's suggested range of 86-90. The man knows what he is doing! 50 years experience...

I also feel it has not been emphasized enough that a thermostat should be used to control the UTH. A dimmer is NOT accurate, nor are lights. A good thermostat unit is a wise addition. It takes a while to get it adjusted into the right range. I keep my warm side at 87-90 and the thermostat, once set, will keep it right in there. It is also very important to calibrate the range of the thermostat with a really good digital thermometer unit, placing the probe directly onto the warm hide surface for periods of a few hours until you get the temp set where you want it. I have found that using reptile carpet is much better for temp adjusting as opposed to sand (which is also not good anyway for impaction reasons).

Not sure why everyone is keeping their warms sides in the 95-97 range.....plus when the gecko goes to the cool side of 72-76, coming from a warm side of 97 is quite a shock, while coming from a warm side of 87 is more adaptable for the animal. Dissenting viewpoints welcome.

 

[sleepyjones]

There's a lot of debate about this, I usually keep my warm side at about 90 - 95, but I do have a 3 foot tank, and I have hides at both ends of the tank as well as in the middle, so there's plenty of different temps that my wee guys can go to depending on their mood.

My tank will generally be about 93 at the hot end, ranging down to 80 at the cool end, with I guess an 86ish in the middle.

 

[denver2890]

Well no offense to RT but he does make up a new name for a old morph every month to make a quick buck. He might have been breeding much longer than anyone else but I do believe their are much more knowledgeable people in this hobby. I have always kept my geckos at 88-90 on the heat tape, but after listening to Greggs logic I boosted them up to 95-97. Since then all my geckos eat much more, never go off food, and stay much brighter all year long. Ill let the experts explain this one.

 

[LizMarie]

Ron Tremper has contributed a lot to the Leo community but he is not the Leo God, so I take his information with others and then see what works for me and my leo.

For the most part my apt is REALLY hot especially during the summer when its naturally hot and starting Nov. until spring my apt is in the 80's because these people are ridiculous with the heat, it's even reached 85 in mid-Dec! So obviously having a 87-90 warm side won't provide that much of a heat gradient. When I first got my leo I had a 88-90 degree warm side and she was slow, picking at food and not as bright that all changed when I bumped up the temps to 94-95degrees a few weeks after receiving her. Lately I do admit she went off feed but that could also be my fault for having a crappy rheostat that seems to be failing causing the temps to jump and go really low but hopefully that will change VERY soon especially that she's done ovulating and getting her appetite back.

 

[Nigel4less]

96.5 over here Except around this time of year when it gets fairly warm, I can turn my Heat Tape down to 92 and still get around a 94-95 hot spot.

 

[Gonser]

All great input. I look at the amazing leos Ron produces and it sure looks like he knows what he is doing. I do not worship him but I do respect him. If 86-90 did not work for him I'm sure he would adjust accordingly and let people know that he has made adjustment in his procedures. Until that happens though I'm playing follow the leader....this may be a good thing to chat with him on 5/24.

 

[herpencounter]

I also keep a 97 hot spot.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have been working with leopard geckos for over 14 years, and keep my warm area at 90-94 degrees. My geckos are big, healthy, and do just fine. (BTW, there is more than one 'leader' in the industry).

 

[denver2890]

RT also produces about 1000 times more geckos than most everyone else. When you have projects on his scale your sure to get amazing animals out of them, along with tons and tons that he just whole sales out. I bet if he bumped up the temps they would look evern more amazing.

Plus, if he changed all his racks to 95-97 im sure he wouldnt bother changing his book with this information and or changing his web page. Why? Because that wouldn't make him any more money.

In this Industry its very easy to see when people are in it for the love of the animals and when people do it to make a quick buck.

Denver

 

[Nigel4less]

RT also produces about 1000 times more geckos than most everyone else. When you have projects on his scale your sure to get amazing animals out of them, along with tons and tons that he just whole sales out. I bet if he bumped up the temps they would look evern more amazing.

Plus, if he changed all his racks to 95-97 im sure he wouldnt bother changing his book with this information and or changing his web page. Why? Because that wouldn't make him any more money.

In this Industry its very easy to see when people are in it for the love of the animals and when people do it to make a quick buck.

Denver

You act like Wholesaling is a bad thing? If we didn't have wholesalers some "Dealers" would be out of a job, along with dropshippers. Some breeders that produce thousands amongst thousands of animals a year cannot retail every single animal... I`m not standing up for the so-called "Leader" of the industry, but at the same time lets look at the facts... many of you who purchase from Pet Stores ,if Ron or any other large breeder didn't supply these chain stores well you would be out of more then just Leopard Geckos, Crested Geckos, Corn snakes, Cal Kings, and the list goes on.

 

[LizMarie]

I say with 1000+ leos I too would bring down my temps because that freeaking electric bill would kill me, lol.

 

[Gonser]

Please let's refrain from personal attacks and allegations....no cat fights on the gecko forum. I am new here and these things are a bit disturbing. This is supposed to be a forum for learning and helping each other.....this has gotten way off thread. Thanks.

Now, on to temps.....I have spoken with other experts who feel 86-90 is pretty much the standard. When I raised my temps to 94 I noticed lethargy setting in a bit, so I thought it was a bit too warm. Maybe it is altitude dependent too, who knows. I am at 5400 feet. The air is thin and maybe higher temps affect their breathing? Just wondering.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Please let's refrain from personal attacks and allegations....no cat fights on the gecko forum. I am new here and these things are a bit disturbing. This is supposed to be a forum for learning and helping each other.....this has gotten way off thread. Thanks.

I have not seen any personal attacks (to anyone here) or any cat fights. The moderators including myself are already watching this thread as any thread that brings Ron Tremper up tends to get a little too close to TOS.

As far as the temps go, I believe that the majority keep their hot sides at 92-95+, and it's whatever works best for you and your geckos' situation that matters, not what anyone else says. :main_rolleyes:

 

[Gonser]

I have not seen any personal attacks (to anyone here) or any cat fights. The moderators including myself are already watching this thread as any thread that brings Ron Tremper up tends to get a little too close to TOS. :main_rolleyes:

With all due respect, I do see personal attacks here, and if Mr. Tremper saw them I'm sure they would be hurtful. I will not quote them here, but all I'm saying is that it is not a friendly discourse and there is no need to attack anyone over and over.
I see this way too much on this forum and there's no need for it because there is also so much GREAT stuff here that we should focus on. I know you can't possibly moderate everything or control what people post here, but I'm asking the general population here to be more congenial and respectful to others here, even if they don't particularly like them or care for their philosophies. It would make for a much more enjoyable forum. I am new here and this stuff jumps out at me and is a bum-out, so I'm sure it affects others that way as well.

Let's have fun!!! These are cool creatures we are all into. Have a good weekend all.

 

[denver2890]

You act like Wholesaling is a bad thing? If we didn't have wholesalers some "Dealers" would be out of a job, along with dropshippers. Some breeders that produce thousands amongst thousands of animals a year cannot retail every single animal... I`m not standing up for the so-called "Leader" of the industry, but at the same time lets look at the facts... many of you who purchase from Pet Stores ,if Ron or any other large breeder didn't supply these chain stores well you would be out of more then just Leopard Geckos, Crested Geckos, Corn snakes, Cal Kings, and the list goes on.

No, not at all. I said with that many animals he would get a lot that he would wholesale because of them being cheaper morphs. I never said anything about it being a bad idea, could you show me? I myself see nothing wrong with wholesaling but was just saying most of the geckos he produces we dont even see. He only puts select "high end" geckos on his site and sales the rest to pet stores and I doubt people know where the gecko came from when purchasing from a pet store.

 

[herpencounter]

You also have to look at the electric bill also, 5-7 more degrees is a lot on his scale. Correct me if I am wrong… But… I believe he said he has over 2000 breeders (+ the thousands of babies he produces). So you can see how 5-7 degrees would add up.

If I produced as many as he did my temps would be lower.

If I am not mistaken keeping leos over 92 is a relatively new thing.