Howdy,



The general consensus is that the temperature of the warm end of you terrarium should rest somewhere between 80 - 88 F (during the day, anywhere in the low 70s at night should be fine). Since your gecko regulates his or her body temperature using the temperature gradient in you terrarium, where the gecko resides is probably a good indication of how appropriate your temperature gradient is. If you gecko rarely ventures to the warm side, it's probably too hot. This being said, a warm temperature in the mid 80's is a good place to shoot for, and your 100 F is definitely too hot. I have an UTH and a red light for heating purposes (I bought the UTH because the terrarium is in my room and I thought the red light might affect my sleep, but I've found it doesn't bother me at all), and I only really use the heating lamp since it allows me to view my little guy at night without affecting the lizard. I found my lamp was a little too hot when I first set up my terrarium so I downgraded from a 150 W bulb to a 100 W bulb and I also purchased a variable powerbar. I would highly recommend the variable powerbar because it allows you to manually adjust the temperature of either a UTH or a lamp simply by twisting a dial. Personally I have found turning the powerbar up to medium during the daytime and down to low for the evening hours gives me a good balance of heat in my terrarium and I find my leopard gecko spends a lot of time on the warm side of the terrarium, a good sign that the temperature is adequate. I rarely use the UTH, but if you prefer you could certainly scrap the lamp and use the UTH instead - I would still recommened a variable powerbar (should be available at your local pet store) to give you better control of your terrarium temperature.



I would also recommend a digital thermometer (you can get a decent one for $15 or so) to ensure you're getting a proper temperature reading. Bottom line - pay attention to your gecko, I personally leave my warm side terrarium temperature a little warmer at night (75 - 78 F) to help my little guy digest since I feed him at dusk, and he seems to appreciate the warmer temperature.



Good luck with your new critter!



- Robes

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