Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm doing a bit of research about Leo's, do they require a basking light or will a heat mat at a third of the cage be suitible for temperature?

You can do either, or both. I use an under tank heater (UTH) (equipped with a dimmer). They get their photoperiod from window-light and light bulbs in the room. Some people use basking lights/ceramic disc heaters. Some people use UTH and provide a low wattage UVB light to simulate daylight. Apparently this can have a good effect on your leos - sleepygecko is the one who really raves about this method, so maybe he/she will shed some "light" on this subject.

Any other questions?
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-Kristin

0.2.2 Leopard Geckos
(Kumquat, Tamale, Jujube, and Nougat)

yes more questions (sorry) I have an old vivaruim that is quite big and has sliding glass doors, do leos escape easily from these or should I just buy a new vivaruim?

heat mat is ok. What is important is a gradient from 80-90 within the cage or even 74-105 if you are certain the cage can handle it and the gradient is dispersed enough. Rule of thumb: within the cage the width of a gecko would take up no more than a 2 degree zone within the gradient.

Apparently, I've been summoned. I've been trying to avoid the drama of late, I don't think I'm an "expert" enough to post.

The best setup, IMHO, is a UTH (Under Tank Heater) attached to the bottom of the enclosure covering about 1/4 of the area. (If you are using a standard size tank, the UTH packaging will tell you what size it is good for and how to set it up.) Some sort of Day/ Night light cycle is good, but we have had excellent responses to using a day light bulb with UVB set with a timer and then UTH comes on at night. (It is cold where we live, but in the summer sometimes we shut off the UTH completely.)

I chose to try a UVB bulb because I read lot of conflicting information all over the web on if it was required or not. There are a lot of arguments that they aren't needed, usually based on leos being nocturnal, but a lot of mention on how they eat better and grow faster with it. Our first gecko seemed to be a bit sluggish so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try; he got a 45 watt basking/ UVB light. I figured I'd see for myself... what a difference! On the third day he ate 3x the crickets he usually did and was so much more active. We haven't gone back, needless to say, and often find our current leo sunning her tail. She grew to over 9" in just 8 short months. For all our geckos, it is worth the extra few dollars. It certainly doesn't hurt them.

Thanks for asking your questions before getting a gecko, we are so much more happier to help you get all set up before you have the little one, than act as triage. Good luck! You will find geckos have the most amazing personalities!
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I prefer UTHs personally, because I have my leos in a rack/shelving unit, and heat bulbs totally defeat the point of having shelves. The important thing with leos is BELLY heat, which UTH's provide. You can use bulbs instead, or as a supplement to a UTH if your ambient temperature is REALLY low, but they aren't as efficient, and having a big honking lamp on top of your cage isn't nearly as pleasing to the eye as a UTH that is out of sight, under the tank...

whatever method you choose, PLEASE invest in a digital thermometer with a probe, and a thermostat (or dimmer at the least) to control the temperatures. The 'magic' zone for leos is a warm end temp of 88-92 ( I keep a hot spot of 90-92 for all my leos) with the cooler end dropping off to room temperature.