Heating Issue

The ambient air in my house is 65 - 70 degrees, and average night temperatures are even colder. I have a juvenile crested gecko in a 29 gallon glass tank. I have two heat emitters working at nighttime. One is an 8x4 heat pad, and the other is a 12 x 6 inch heating pad. At nightime, the temperature in the tank barely gets to 65 degrees. At daytime I use the heat pads as well as a 25 watt heat light (I know it isn’t ideal), and the tank can only get to 73 degrees in most parts. How can I fix this? Is it ok? Also I should have mentioned the heat pads are on a thermostat set to 75 degrees.

You could increase the temperature of the heat pads a few degrees to 78*, It’s not a big change but it might help a little bit, depending on how much heat the heat light adds, it might help to increase the wattage some. Usually cresties will move around in their enclosure to get their desired temperature, as long as you have some warm areas that get up to around 80* during the day then it should be good. As for the night if the spots closest to the heat mats reach around 75* then it should be good however the best ideas I have for keeping it warm at night are adding an infrared night light(preferably avoid if possible) or keeping objects in the tank that get warm during the day and radiate heat at night(water bottles, rocks, etc)

Some areas in the tank definitely are warmer than others by a few degrees. If I add more heat pads, do you think that would make a difference?

Also the heat pads are on the side of the tank and not the bottom. Is that OK?

I don’t think you would need to add more heat pads, as long as it’s reaching the desired temperature in a few spots then your gecko should be able to find spots that are whatever temperature he wants at that given time. For tall terrariums it’s better that they are on the sides, if they were on the bottom then they don’t radiate enough heat to work for arboreal species, on the sides they can warm the ambient temperature.

Tanks are the worst at containing heat. @erie-herps has made some great suggestions. Do keep some places warmer than others, that way they can thermoregulate. And keep heat pads on the sides of the tank not the bottom for arboreal species. May I suggest insulating the tank? Temporary foam insulation to the sides of the tank should help keep some heat in. Also, think about using a ceramic heat emitter as well with a thermostat to maintain temperatures if it stays too low, I prefer them over infrared bulbs as they don’t emit light only heat. Just keep monitoring the enclosure to avoid temperature swings.

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Crested geckos, I’ve found are fine in the winter going down to cooler temperatures of 67-68 degrees. They certainly don’t need to get up to 80 degrees in the winter. 74 or 75 degrees is fine and they can handle a bit cooler. Be very wary of using heat on the crested geckos. You are better off heating the room rather than the tank. They are nocturnal and do not bask. If it is cool you will see them bury themselves in the substrate which is natural. Watch to see if they are coming out and firing up at night.

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Yeah… it’s way too cold in there I think. I will have to buy either a incadescent night light or a low watt ceramic heat emitter. Would that even work?

The heat pads are pretty much not doing anything at all. Do ceramic heat emitters heat up the ambient air, or just one small spot? Would I need more than one? Does anyone else have this issue? Why might the heat pads not be working? Sorry for so many questions… the gecko has been eating and acting fine, but I’m obviously not going to take any risks. Thank you in advance.

Most people don’t have this issue due to not using such a large enclosure for such a small gecko. The reasons for using small enclosures are not only so you make sure your gecko is eating and healthy, but also because it makes keeping heat and humidity easy. If you can’t keep heat well, you likely aren’t keeping good humidity and it is only a matter if time before your gecko has issues because of it. I recommend downsizing for the sake of your gecko, and simply putting it in a warmer room so you don’t risk it getting too hot using a heating element.

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I don’t think any of the rooms in the house are really much warmer than any other, but I will check. I don’t love the idea of changing the gecko to a smaller enclosure but it seems like that would be the best thing to do. Would the heat pads on the tank right now work for a bin? The brand is Ibuypower.

I moved the gecko to a bin and the heat pads seem to be working much better now. Should I be too concerned about ventilation? I drilled about 100 little holes in the lid? Is that enough? Sorry I couldn’t post any pictures. Thank you for all the help!

I doubt anybody is going to come back hear, but if anyone is wondering, the gecko is doing great in a bin setup. Thanks for the idea.

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That great to hear :muscle::blush: hopefully it stays that way.