I’ve been learning about reptiles for a while, and I’ve been obsessed for years, but I finally convinced my parents to let me get one! I decided on a leopard gecko for a lot of reasons (I WILL get a snake one day, though!!!), and now I’m in the research phase. I’ll probably be asking a lot of questions on here, and I’d really appreciate any answers!! Here are today’s two questions:
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Heat lamp vs. heat pad-- some people say heat mats are dangerous for them, others say bulbs are. I just don’t want to hurt my future leo. PLEASE advise!!!
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What’s the best way to “systematically” vary their diet, and what feeders are the best/absolute worst?
Thank you 
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Cant say much for gekos im with ball pythons but heat mat vs bulb depends mainly if u have adiquate control over the temperature either can harm if their built in temp controls go haywire i personally use heat mats because of the risk of overheating the surface they lay on do not use anything with direct contact with your reptile for a heat source in my opinion
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Most heating elements can be dangerous and overheat if they’re not used with a thermostat. But so long as you’re using an appropriate thermostat for the heating element in question, heat mats and heat bulbs are both pretty safe. I’m not a leo person, so I couldn’t tell you which is better for them, though do be aware that a light-producing bulb will require a more expensive thermostat, since you need one with a dimming feature and can’t use a cheap on/off stat for something that produces light (I guess technically you could, but the light would constantly be turning off and on, which isn’t great for the animal).
That said, I do highly recommend the nicer, pricier thermostats like VE or Herpstat, because they’re great products with great safety features that are much easier to use and set properly. But they do have a considerably higher price tag than the cheap on/off stats you can buy on Amazon.
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