Undertank heating pad.

[Jace]

Hello everyone. I am currently trying to properly set up a 20 gallon terriarium for my newly purchased Leopard Geckos. I have a overhead heating lamp that I keep on during the day, and then shut off in the evening. I have also read that they need one area to be even warmer, and that an undertank heating pad should be used. Thing is, I have never used one before. I purchased one that covers one side of the tank-it is 8" square. Now, do I leave it on all the time, or do I shut it off at night like the overhead? I have a fairly thick layer of paper towel as substrate; the water dish is away from the undertank heater as is the food dish and calcium dish; the moist hide is out of the way as well. I have one hide in the hot side and one hide in the cool side. Should I be doing anything different? Thanks for any help.

[SludgeMunkey]

In my experience with reptiles, I am highly against heating pads and heat rocks. The high risk of thermal runaway due to thermostat failure or heating element shorts is unacceptable to me. In the case of desert species, under tank heating can be fatal. These animals tend to burrow to cool down and if the substrate is warm, they quickly succumb to overheating and dehydration.

The best alternative is to use either a metal halide type spot bulb, which provides needed UVB AND a hot spot basking area, or to use my personal favorite- the ceramic infrared heaters.

(I do not waste money of the pet shop ones, I buy them from industrial or livestock supply houses. Pet shop brands are overpriced fourth party mark ups of the exact same products with fancier packaging)

Leopard geckos do best in daytime temperatures around 80°F +/- 5°. Night time temperatures should be around anywhere from 65 to 75 °F.

A daytime basking area with an ambient temperature of 90-100°F should be provided. Keep in mind that ambient air temp is very, very different from the surface temp of the basking surface. The surface temp should be anywhere from 90-125°F!

Keep in mind they will need a cool area to hide, so provide hides as far from the basking source as possible. If your enclosure is large enough, a temperature gradient of 75° on one side easing up to 80° on the other is best. Keep the hides on the cool side and the non plastic basking surface on the hot side. An intermediate temp hide is a good idea too.

[Jace]

Thanks Johnny-very informative. I have not set up the undertank heater as of yet. I have their home on top of my tv stand, and the overhead light alone seems to be keeping their temperature in the right range-84 degrees or so. I even had to turn off the overhead as it heated it up a little too much. They have slept pretty much all day. I did not realize they needed a basking area-I will have to look into setting up such an area for them. I will return the heating pad for a refund and invest in a very cool skull feeding dish I found....perfect for upcoming Hallowe'en!