Leopard Gecko Heating? Lots of Questions

[clemsonguy1125]

A while ago my 5 year old green tree frog passed away. After that I decided rather than getting another frog I wanted a lizard. I did a fare amount of research and decided on a leopard gecko. I have a 10 gallon tank, lid, heating pad, water dish, fake tree, and a few hideaways. I really dont understand the heating and lighting. Do i need a viewing light? Also this is what i was planning on getting?http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Combo-De...2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283894342&sr=1-2
Do I need it if I have the heat pad? If I do i keep the night on for twelve hours and day on for twelve hours? Or since I have one half day and One half night do I leave both on all the time. Also how do I measure the temp? Do I measure the air temp or the surface temp, if so how? Also Im planning on using reptile carpet.
Thanks for all your help.

 

[MiamiLeos]

Hi, sorry about your tree frog friend, but I'm glad you're venturing into leos! As far as all the lights - No, you don't need any of them. Daytime lights often upset these little guys and cause them unneeded stress, making them less viewable (which is really the opposite of what lights try to achieve. They don't need/like the lights because they are noctunal by nature. They do not need a UVB light like a bearded dragon or turtle. A large majorit of the vitamins/minerals/calcium they need they get through consumption (in captivity, this is usually through a powder supplement). Some leo owners choose to use night time viewing lights/nocturmal lights. These are the red lights you see in the stores and theyre pretty inexpensive. It is argued that leos can not see red light, which is why they seem to be unbothered by these lights. Blue lights are also used to an extent. Both are mainly for the owner's pleasure so they can see their leo roaming around at night. If you choose to have a night viewing light, just make sure they do not raise the temperature of the enclosure more than a few degrees. The Under Tank Heater, however, is an absolute necessity. To measure the temperature, you want to get the floor temp of the inside of the cage in the middle of the UTH. You can do this by purchasing a thermometer with a probe. They sell these at most petstores for a relatively low price. ZooMed makes a decent cheap one, I think it's yellow. Simply place the probe over the middle of the UTH on top of the repticarpet. You may want to use a piece of tape to keep it from moving. Leave it there for a day or two and if the temps are consistent, then you can remove it. Repeat this periodically, every 10 days or so, to make sure your temps are staying consistent. The hottest your floor temps should be is about 95*F. This is somewhat of an arguable topic as some feel you can go into the 100s with leos. I feel most comfrtable with a temp between 88*-92* for my leos and they seem very comfortable with this. Remember only one side of the enclosure should be warm. The other side should be room temp, provided your house doesnt go below 65* or above 80*. I hope this helps with your questions a little. If you're wondering anything else just ask

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Thanks for your help, it helped out a lot, so basically for heating I need the floor pad only. I dont need an overhead heater if I can get the floor to a respectable temp. Ive see all these 2 setup lights. One day and one night. These will basically harm my gecko and the nights just for viewing pleasure, correct me if Im wrong.

 

[MiamiLeos]

Yes, for heating all a leo needs is floor heat. And in my experience, yes the day ime lights only bother them and have no health benefits. The night viewing lights are just to assist you when you watch your leo in a dark room.

 

[aburningflame]

daytime lights bother a leo

for nightime lighting they sell this cool little red LED lamp that puts out some nice red light - this is really all you need for night viewing

dont keep a lamp on during the day

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Ok thanks, I have a mini reptile heater from my frog that was never used. I have a 10 gallon tank and this heater is a mini for 5 gallon tanks. Since I only heat half of the tank will this be sufficient. Also should I place the humid hide out on the warm(90) side or the cool(65-85, room temp) side. Thanks again for all your help

 

[Alex G]

One more thing; chances are very good that you'll need to put the heat mat on some sort of rheostat or thermostat. The easiest and cheapest of these for just one tank is a lamp dimmer you can buy at any home improvement store. Without one, temps from heat mats easily reach 120F.

 

[MiamiLeos]

Years ago when I only kept a few leos at a time, I had them in 10 or 20 gallon tanks with UTH but the temps of them never went above 97. I guess it depends on what brand of UTH you use, but yes, if it gets too hot you will need a dimmer. As for the size, the 5 gal will be ok for now, but when you get a chance I would definitely upgrade to a 10 gal size heater, it will have a greater temperature range within it. You can keep the 5 gal as a backup incase the 10 gal fails unexpectedly.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Thanks guys, youve helped a whole lot, as for the lamp dimmer do you mean something like this, http://www.amazon.com/Westek-4010W-...f=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1283901243&sr=8-14
For the heating pad Ill use it while i get the tank established but once my gecko grows a bit I will swap them out when I clean is tank. And also the heating pad stays on all day right or do I need a timer for it.

 

[MiamiLeos]

Yep, thats all you need. I purchased one at home depot for $8.99 so they're pretty cheap. Something I forgot to mention with the UTHs, this may seem really stupid but trust me, I've seen it all lol. The UTH goes on the outside of the tank. Yep, I've seen one inside a leo's enclosure.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Thanks the UTH is the heating pad right? And wow Ill be sure to put it on the outside

 

[MiamiLeos]

Yea, you will see the abbreviation, UTH, used to describe an under tank heater aka heat pad

 

[pawsible]

Lighting:
There are two types of lighting in the world of herpetology. There is uv lighting which comes in the form of a fluorescent tube. This kind gives off UV-A and some UV-B (which synthesizes D3 and speeds the uptake of calcium in all animals) but not much heat to speak of. Many lizards and tortoises need this kind of light because it somewhat duplicates the sun's effects. Leopard Geckos DO NOT need this type of lighting. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal (awake at night) and never bask in the sun in their native homeland. They get their D3 from the gut-loaded insects that you feed them with the occasional dusting of calcium with D3 added.
Depending on the size of the cage you are heating and the temperature of your home you might need anywhere from a 40 watt to a 100 watt bulb. If you need more than that you should probably invest in the undertank Heat Element (UTH).
**Lighting is as important for viewing the reptiles as it is for heat, of course. For this reason, many people decide to use a red light bulb that admits little heat and is not visible to the lizards for night viewing
HEATING-
The warm end should ideally be around ninety degrees Fahrenheit, with the cooler end around eighty. An under tank heater is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Heat tape is another popular choice for keeping the cage at the correct temperature.
Don't be tempted to choose a heat rock - an artificial stone with a heater built in - as these often get hotter than appropriate, and some lizards can actually bask themselves to death on one. You can also choose to provide a basking light instead of an under tank heater. Once again, a temperature of about ninety degrees is best, and temperatures over ninety-two can be quite dangerous.
At night, allow the tank to cool to the low seventies, with an under tank pad providing a hot spot. Don't allow the night temperature to sink below sixty-eight degrees, since this can also be bad for your reptiles.
http://www.theultimateleopardgeckomanual.com/

 

[clemsonguy1125]

So I can't have one side at 90 all day and night and the other cool side at room temp all day and all night, I understood that was the best way to heat the tank. And what's the best way to keep the cool side at 80 I heard 70 on the cool side was fine

 

[MiamiLeos]

For leos, yes you can have one side 90* and one side 70-80* 24/7. When they are too hot/cool, they will move to the appropriate side to regulate their body temperature. The temps in your house likely drop slightly at night which will cause the temps in the leos cage to drop slightly as well, this is fine as long as the hot spot does not go below 85* and thecool spot does not go below 68*. I find that during the day my leos hot spots are around 90-92* and at night around 88*, the cool spots are about 75* during the day and about 72* at night. You do not need to turn down/off the heating pad at night, this will probably cause your leo some harm as it will become too cold. Once you get the heating pad set to the right temps, theres really no need to touch them at all.