Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Will a hot spot of 90 hurt them, if the rest of the cage is in the 75-80 degree range during the day?

Now that I've thought about it, I doubt they're going to be dumb enough to stay right on the floor (directly over the UTH) all day long, so I would think that they'd be fine. We'll just try it and see what happens.

And thanks for all the replies everyone.

-Ant

If any spot in the cage is above 85, I doubt the cresteds would go there. 82 is really the highest it should be. Even adults can die from prolonged exposure to higher temps above 85. Providing ground heat is basically useless as they are arboreal. I think a low-wattage red/black light will work fine.
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A twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.......so is BEEF JERKY!!!!!

Crested geckos do not fair well in temps over 80F. I do not suggest 90F even if it is a hotspot. Just use a low wattage bulb; I am not a fan of UTH for arboreal geckos. Save that for the terrestrial animals that can make due with belly heat. Most get way to hot (for rhacs anyway) and can cause stress to the animal climbing around it. Easiest way to heat them, esp if you have a lot, is to heat the whole room. If the room has it’s own zone turn it up, if not use a space heater (see post below) and keep it around 77-78F. If you have any other reptiles in the room they will benefit from the warmer ambient temps. Not to mention you can use lower wattage bulb for any species that do require the 85 basking spot.
-Mike
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Mike Coscia
mike@gexfiles.com
www.gexfiles.com

Mike,

I know a lot of people just heat the whole room...and I wish I could, but I keep my reptiles in the finished part of my basement, which is about 500 square feet...that's also where my office is located, so between having website clients over and being such a large room, I can't really heat the entire room to 78 degrees.

I only have four ciliatus (housed in two different cages), so I guess I'll just see how it goes (for now) with a 50 watt bulb on one and a 40 watt on the other.

This sucks because I have tons of rack space, but all of the racks house various boids, so none of my thermostats are set below 90. Oh well...I'm starting to get into Trans Pecos Ratsnakes too, so over the next few months, I guess I'll just set up a stack of lower temp cages on the opposite end of the room, specifically for Rhacs and Colubrids.

Thanks for the input. It's much appreciated.

-Anthony

I thought that no extra heating was required for crested geckos as long as your house stays room temperature...

I live in the northeast......this time of year its still like 50 or so degrees at nite, and in the am 58-60 and midday 76 or so....

I have fixtures with black or red bulbs for extra heat, not to exceed 80 degrees on one side and I try to keep a minimum of 68-70 degrees......
when its full blown summer I wont use anything for the most part.
They seem to do well with these temps.......

Sue
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Life is what happens when you are making other plans.......