Today I would like to ask about the temperature for the Leopard Gecko. In my terrarium (80 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm) I keep the temperature at about 30 degrees celcius (86 F) in the warm zone 24/7. The warm zone occupies about 1/3 of the entire terrarium area. I hear from many sources that the temperature should drop at night, but also from many that it is not necessary and if the gecko gets too warm it will go to the cold zone.
How do you do with your geckos? What do you think is the correct approach? Perhaps both are correct?
I would also like to ask if the placement of my thermometer is correct?
how are you heating? those analog thermometers are very inaccurate so I would change it out for a digital one. The temperature sounds fine but I don’t trust that thermometer so I can’t say if it truly is
I heat the terrarium with a heating mat, of course, it is connected to the thermostat. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the thermoemtr shows only 30 degrees I set the thermostat to 35 degrees.
I plan to buy a second little one soon so will probably invest in a better thermometer. Do you have any to recommend?
Trust the thermostat over the thermometer. I would turn the thermostat down to 32 degrees to account for any heat blocked out by the tank. I really like the govee brand stuff. This one is expensive but it should last a long time and is very nice- Govee Wi-Fi Thermo-Hygrometer - Govee
Wow looks professional, and with those charts it looks even more professional. I like it. I think it’s a good investment. As for turning off the heating at night, what’s your opinion on that?
I really don’t think it is necessary but if your room stays at or above 24 degrees then it would be beneficial. If your room doesn’t stay that warm then I would leave it on.
Actually, I would still have a question if you might know this model: Govee Wi-Fi Digital Thermometer Hygrometer. I see that it allows you to monitor several rooms at once. Do you think it would work in several terrariums?
I think it would work perfectly. Definitely seems like it is a really good product. I actually have never seen that model before but I am going to look into getting one!
Thank you for caring about your animal enough to buy somewhat expensive stuff for them. I know plenty of people who aren’t even willing to drop $20 on a thermostat.
I’d like to one day start a larger breeding than just two geckos so I think taking care of them is key. The moment I get involved in a hobby I have no problem spending money on it. Sometimes it’s good for sometimes it’s bad haha
Exactly! so many people see them as decorations instead of living animals and aren’t willing to spend anything “extra” no matter how important it is
If you dont already, you need a laser thermometer to measure the basking spot temperature. I’m sure the setup logar has recommended is great, what I use is one simple probe thermometer at each end to measure ambient temperatures, and then the laser thermometer for basking temps. Once you switch over to more reliable thermometers, always trust those over the thermostat. In most of my vivariums I have to set the stats higher to get the correct temps.
I also considered such a solution, especially since a laser thermometer is not a very large expense, and I have seen it on many YouTube videos. In that case, 32 degrees is the recommended substrate or ambient temperature? Because here there may be a problem in the temperature discrepancy between the setting on the thermostat and the thermometer I currently have. The probe from the thermostat lies directly on the ground (roughly in the middle of the mat) while the thermometer is attached to a wall about 0.5 cm above the ground on the side of the heating mat.
Even if the probe is touching a surface it only measures the air temperature in that spot. Heat mats only really warm up the surface and only effect the ambient temperature a few centimeters above it, so a probe placed on the mat will read much warmer than one elevated slightly above. Because of this there won’t be big difference in the warm and cool end ambient temps, just make sure the basking spot (laser) and cool end (probe) are correct so he can move between the two.
I’ll wait for someone else to give you the correct basking spot temps, I’ve heard anywhere from 32-37 is ideal, but I don’t keep leos so I can’t say what’s better.
On the warm end: tape the thermosat probe to the surface above the mat (assuming the mat is under the enclosure, otherwise tape it directly to the mat), use a laser thermometer to measure the basking spot and adjust the thermostat based on that. This should be in that 32-37 range that I said I’m not qualified to speak on.
On the cool end: Secure the probe of a digital thermometer to the wall near the bottom of the enclosure. This should be around 22-23.
I’m not familiar with Govee products so I don’t know how those work, but whatever you use for ambient temps you always need a laser thermometer to measure surface temps
Interesting and factual answer once again. The placement of the thermometer and thermostat seems obvious, but still, after reading, doubts about it disappeared! Thank you very much!
