Where is best to place the heat mat?

Newbe

New Member
Messages
21
Hi, I'm having a move about and would like advice. Where is best to plc the heat mat. I have a 36" length, 18" high tank. Half fine sank half gecko bark, the heat lamp is above the sand. The large hide is in the middle.

Shall I place the heat mat under the hide or the opposite end to the lamp?

Help please. :) I want a nice comfortable set up. X
 

uhxxLeah

New Member
Messages
235
Location
Pennsylvania
Well first of all you need to get both substrates out of the tank. Leopard geckos will ingest loose substrates and it will cause impaction (and in the worst cases death). Choose a substrate such as paper towels, repticarpet, tile, or cage liner.

Then it wont matter what side is the warm side, just choose one. If you want to use a lamp and a UTH they need to both go on the same side so the leo can have a cool and warm side. That way if it gets too hot/cold they can adjust by moving.

Leah
 

grboxa

New Member
Messages
689
Location
Mississauga
you dont have to put ur hide directly over the top..i put mine kind of at the top...but u should just get a thermostat and you should be okay...ive asked countless 'experts' about this online and instore and theyve all told me that sand is ONLY safe if you feed your gecko in a seperate tank and if your gecko dosent constantly lick the substrate...they tend to lick the substrate if you dont feed them enough calcium so they resort to licking the sand(if you have vita/calcisand). Im not an expert..these are what experts told me...usually major impaction occurs when the young ones miss the crickets and ingest a huge load of sand....a few licks here and there wont do anything. Again I was told all this and it does make sense...if you take out the leading factors as to why they ingest sand how wil impaction occur then right?..makes sense to me. But ofcourse anything lose will have a chance of impaction. Take them out the cage for eating and i was told you decrease the chance of impaction drastically....but if you use paper-towel,tile you'd be 100% safe........
 
Last edited:

Russ S

Re-Member
Messages
877
Location
New Jersey
Hi, I'm having a move about and would like advice. Where is best to plc the heat mat. I have a 36" length, 18" high tank. Half fine sank half gecko bark, the heat lamp is above the sand. The large hide is in the middle.

Shall I place the heat mat under the hide or the opposite end to the lamp?

Help please. :) I want a nice comfortable set up. X

May I ask, what exactly is "gecko bark"?
 

Newbe

New Member
Messages
21
Of course you can:) what it says on the packet is:-
Orchid bark, attractive substrate holds moisture, making it an excellent choice for reptiles and invertebrates. It also has a gecko picture on the bag!
I have also read on a few websites fine sand is also good.
I'm confused now.
 

Russ S

Re-Member
Messages
877
Location
New Jersey
No.1 leos do not require high humidity.
No. 2 leos will lick anything and everything.
It is probably not a good idea for most people to keep leos on a loose substrate.

Ad for your UTH question. Bottom of cage near one end. Lights are not required except for viewing or if you can't achieve proper temps. If you need the light for temps on any but the coldest days, your UTH may be too small.


Of course you can:) what it says on the packet is:-
Orchid bark, attractive substrate holds moisture, making it an excellent choice for reptiles and invertebrates. It also has a gecko picture on the bag!
I have also read on a few websites fine sand is also good.
I'm confused now.
 

grboxa

New Member
Messages
689
Location
Mississauga
dont be confused its pretty simple. any loose substrate can cause impaction. impaction bascally is when something gets trapped and stuck inside the gecko and can cause the gecko to to stop eating and pooing which can harm the gecko and even be fatal....theres alot of debates on sand...people say its safe if its very fine, people say its not. in theory it makes sense because anything lose can be eaten accidentally either a juvie or an adult. if you want to use sand try taking precautions to just be safer if you insist on using sand...try training your gecko to eat in another empty tank...ive been told this decreases chance of impaction drastically and it makes sense. if your using calci/vita sand make sure your feeding your gecko the appropriate calcium/vitamins or he/she will start licking the sand to substitue...but then again ive even read and talked to people who said theyve been using fine sand since they were small and feeding them in the cage and nothing happened...so yeah. how long have u had your gecko on sand before?...and another thing mention ive heard having high humidity levels on constant is bad for there respiratory function
 

Newbe

New Member
Messages
21
Thanks grboxA

I've change the set and ordered larger heat mat so I won't need the heat lamp. They have lived using sand for a few months, no problem. I have a small pot with calcium dust for them, I also dust their food. They eat well, mainly from hand or chasing crickets n hoppers around. I think I'll try feeding them in another tank. They all seem really happy, no eggs though, but then I'm in no rush as still preparing.
 

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