# crested gecko vivarium temp problems



## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

hi all need some advice. going to pick up my gecko on sun afternoon. had the viv since yesterday shop told me dnt need heat products as they live at room temp. my house is really cold in winter and right now i'm getting day time temps of 18.6 at 7.30am - 20.4 by 5pm. 2nite its been between 19.3 - 21.3. i went to a diff pet store this afternoon told the staff my probs she said yeah u need a heat mat, put it on the side and just switch off if gets too hot etc. well its only raised temp by 1 degree. should i take it back getting really stressed, dnt want to let my son down by not having viv right to bring the gecko home any advice would be appreciated. 

i have an exo terra viv H 53 x W 36 x D 36 cm using a small exo terra desert mat

thanx trisha


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

Where is the thermometers probe? It may seem like common sense but it should be as near to the heat source as possible. The heat mat shouldnt cover the whole side so she have a warm and a cool end if the probe is at the cool end Then you wont detect much difference. Also is the mat attached to a thermostat? Aside from the safety issues it resolves a thermostat should allow you to increase and decrease the mats output levels


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

the probe is at the back of the viv it has holes where u put it i have it the side where the heat mat is, its it doesnt cover the whole side. she said it would be ok as he would go to it if he wanted a bit heat. but i'm still worried i cant seem to keep temp steady & its cold at night.

the lady said i didnt need a thermosat?? 

i'm totally lost is heat mat the right thing as i'm reading the dnt heat actually viv, should i take it back get something else?

wot temps are the lowest temps he can live at??

sorry for the questions but want it to be right


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

ok so moved the probe into the viv jst above the substrate near the heater the temp now was 25.2 then after a misting it dropped abit to 23.8. so appears it is working then, oh i put a layer of tin foil on back of heat mat should i remove it or is it ok??

thanx for the advice will leave heat mat on as gecko not there yet and record morning temp when house heating off.

with regard to thermostats what type should i get and how do they work 

thanx again


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

All sounds a bit better they are quite a hardy species but if it is too cold then it wont be very active and wont eat as much thus meaning it wont grow as well assuming you are buying a juvenile. I use habistat thermostats that all work well it plugs into the mains. You then plug the mat into the termostat i use nail tweezers or a very small screw driver to adjust the temps to the desired level on the dial. Make sure to place the thermostats probe on the heat mat. Its main purpose is to prevent the heat mat over heating which could ultimatley cause a fire. When i first started out i asked my local rep shop owner how important they were and he explained how he lost half a house and over 200 animals because he didnt use them so they are important lol. Finally yes i would definatly remove the tin foil as it is also again a fire hazard. No need to apologise questions are the point of the forum and im happy i can be of help


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

Microclimate Ministat 100 PAH | Pets at Home

is this wot i need & how does it work?? :lol2:


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

Its not the same as mine but it should do the job just as well. By placing the probe on the mat it reads the mats temperature. It then adjusts the output of the mat to provide the desired heat which is set manually on the dial. In the case of the mat over heating to dangerous levels it would fuse causing the mat to stop working as a safety measure to prevent fire. If you have the dial set at the lower end to provide low levels of heat then you may find that will be switch on and of regularly this is not a fault it is just allowing the mat to reach the desired temps then switching it off as the temp begins to drop again it will turn the mat back on. Remember though the dial on the thermostat will set the desired heat for the actual mat. Not for the tank. This still needs to be measured seperatly by your in tank thermometers. Assuming you have a glass tank you may need to set the thermostat a fair bit higher than the desired heat within the tank as the heat first needs to travel through the glass.


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

thanx so much feel alot better now. :2thumb:

does the probe go inside or outside the tank for the thermostat?

assuming i want 23-24 c i would set thermostat about wot c?? in re to allowing for temp to reach all of tank


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

The probe goes on the mat outside the viv how high to set the temps really varies dramatically dependant on the ambient temperature in the room in average room temps i would suggest maybe 10 degrees higher than your desired tank heat however it will be a game of trial and error to get it right for your room. If your house is paticularly cold you may need to put all the way up to max. Its a question i really can not answer for you im afraid. I dont know the room temperature. The stength of the mat the size of the mat the thickness of the glass the contents of the tank. All these are varying factors. The more packed out the tank for example the more it will trap the heat inside.


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

thanx very much for ur help much appreciated was having a panic attack about everything, feel so much better. gona try add a couple of pics of the wee guy.

trisha x


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)




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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

Wow how old is he/she? I'd imagined you were getting a juvenile but he/she looks likes an adult and a decent sized one at that lol


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

lol i think it must be coz zoomed the pic he around 10 - 12 wks they said


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

My crestie 'alfredo' was 14 weeks when i bought him and he was smaller than my thumb lol i'll try and find you a pic


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)




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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)




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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

lol hes about tht size in real life maybe a touch bigger. al take more pics wen hes home


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

Ok lol


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

just brought him home :2thumb: shop boss said hes about 5mths 

he seems a bit scared any advice on first few days plz


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

Leave him alone lol. I know its the hardest thing in the world to do but give him about a week to settle into his new surroundings and more importantly eating. After that he WILL be skittish and jumpy regular handling will soon calm him though i would say 5 mins a day will have him quickly calming down as he gets used to human contact


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

brill thanx ma wee boy desperate to hold him, i did u wot u said & taped probe to glass so its sitting jst a little above the mat on outside although the instructions say inside the tank?? 

hes sitting up on a branch the now i thot he would try hide


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

That is normal. They are nocturnal and will usually hide in the day time but they may seem to be out in the open as they camoflauge rather than hide under things also he may well be sussing out his new surroundings but believe me if they want to hide they will i couldnt tell you how many times i pancked thinking mine had escaped only to realise he was right under my nose lol


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Can I just say that heat mats aren't really suitable for cresties. They'll have to lie on the glass to get any warmth and that's not how they're adapted, they're adapted to bask in light. Heat mats only warm up the surface and are pretty useless at heating the air.

When you have the opportunity, I would get a ceramic or light emitting bulb and get a canopy (that sits on top of the tank) and use this instead (with a thermostat and digital thermometers). Cresties are know known to not thrive at room temperatures but instead do much better with basking temperatures around 30C. They are also crepuscular rather than nocturnal so benefit from UVB lights.

He's a lovely looking gecko (light ones are one of my favourites!) and seems to be in good condition


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## kingsnake (Mar 23, 2007)

I was just going to say the same thing. I have a pair of cresties in a planted tank so I use a 2% UV in a canopy fitting for the plants. To top up the temperature during the day/night I use a reflector light fitting with a 15w (red/clear colour) bulb. During this cold weather, it raises the temperature quite a few degrees must be doing something right, as they have started mating recently


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

thanx for the replies, re to lights can u give any links for me to look at plz & abit more info. 

hes seems to be doing alrite for his 1st night. eaten 5 crickets and seems lively now, hes also pooped  loves it wen i spray the viv aswell 

care guide says feed him live every couple of days. how many crickets roughly. totally new to this so as many tips/advice as poss much appreciated


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Well there's a couple ways of lighting - some people use a canopy that sits on top of the tank, these can usually hold low watt bulbs and UV bulbs. Other people use a ceramic and sit it on top of the tank using a dome (so that the heating ceramic doesn't sit directly on the mesh). You can put the bulbs inside the tank and attach it to the mesh however this is more difficult and can result in burns if it's not used properly/the cresties is silly.

A link to the canopies I'm talking about > Reptile Light Canopies - Surrey Pet Supplies

Which ever choice you pick (if you do) you'll need to use this in conjunction with a thermostat and digital thermometer.

You can feed live however often you want really and in whatever quantities he wants. You'll soon learn how often and how much he'll eat, so it's very specific to each individual. If he'll eat more than 5 in a sitting, then give him a few more. Just make sure any live food is dusted and gut loaded. Are you using any crested gecko diet?


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

This is his viv i have the heatmat on right hand side in the middle of the glass with the thermometer and thermostat probe nxt to it right now temp showing as 26. is a ceramic bulb really necessary as its not tht big an enclosure? i will buy it if i need to should i move the thermometer to somewhere else in viv or leave it where it is.

hes got gecko diet mixed with baby fruit puree as thts wot he was eating in the store, dnt know if he had any yet.

how often shld u feed a 5mth old live food and the crickets have bug gel and food stuff i have 1 of those house things for them also. 

i do want wots best for him


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Not necessarily a ceramic but a bulb is far superior to a mat when it comes to cresties. He won't be getting heat in the right way with a mat and it'll restrict his movement if he wants warmth.

Is that a picture of your setup? Because it looks like there is already a canopy?

The thermostat and thermometer probe would probably be best against the glass where the mat is to prevent it from getting too hot.

If you're able to, I would get a lot more cover in there (more vines, pieces of wood and plants). He'll appreciate extra cover.

CGD should be offered up higher as they are often reluctant to go to the floor. If he's going for the live food more than the CGD I would feed them to him maybe every other day, and keep the CGD in constantly. You'll need to feed the crickets different things, scraps of vegetable and fruit is perfect.


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

yeah changed it up a wee bit since then put the plants on the side walls will add more to it as time goes on. 

yep it has a canopy already so wot kind of bulb, sure box says max 25w will the mat be ok as temporary measure coz am kinda skint now getting all his stuff in lol i assume when i have the bulb then i remove the mat???

how do u get his food bowl up high i tried but the branches dnt hold it steady enough


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## vgorst (Sep 27, 2011)

Maybe a 15w? You might have to try with a couple of bulbs and see which one gets the best temperature. I'm sure I've gotten close to 30C with just a 15w. Mat should be ok in the short-term.

I wouldn't have both the heat mat and the bulb on at the same time, but if you're worried about night time temperatures the mat could probably be used for that.

You can get special magnetic ledges with food bowls attached. You'll have to look around for them though, or make them yourself.


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## trishnish (Mar 1, 2013)

thanx for ur advice much appreciated will have a look in nxt couple of weeks for bulbs etc.


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