# Heat mat for leopard gecko.



## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

I'm buying a heat mat via the internet and would like to know wether it would be suitable. Here's a link to it Triple 8 Reptiles - Exo Terra Desert Heatwave Mats Medium 26.5 x 28 cm
Would it reach the temps required by leos? Also should I leave it on 24/7 as none of the care sheets I've read have specified wether or not I should. I'd assume so. As for thermostats I'm also abit lost, they seem really expensive! Some people have said you can just use a plug in light dimmer but I'm not sure if that's abit too dangerous.

Ian


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## Slurm (Jun 6, 2008)

ive heard some bad things about that make, try habistat or one of the other makes.....


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## POAGeckos (Jul 11, 2008)

Yeah, I agree, those dont have a good rep. If you want a exo terra, get a Tropical mat. The desert gets very hot.


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## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

What about the microclimate one above that on the list? It's 13 Watts, too much, too little?


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## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

POAGeckos said:


> Yeah, I agree, those dont have a good rep. If you want a exo terra, get a Tropical mat. The desert gets very hot.


 Ok, and what about thermostats? Sorry to keep asking questions. I'm new to the heating buisness =P.


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## Elmodfz (Jan 18, 2008)

Ive got my Blizzard on the Desert heat mat your looking at and so far its fine. I thought it wasnt really hot enough rather then too hot but hey ho.

Also neither of my leos has a stat on their heat mats and its fine, both leos are healthy and happy.


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## madbikerbev (Nov 8, 2008)

*heat mat*



Slurm said:


> ive heard some bad things about that make, try habistat or one of the other makes.....


Ive always used habistat mats for my leo's and till now have never needed a themostat, if you get the right size mat for you enclosure (good shop will tell you which size u need) and the enclosure has the right venting the temp stays right through summer and winter, but i do have plenty of reptile thermometers set at different heights throughout my vivs, to make sure. 

Bev:2thumb:


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## Sambee (Jul 4, 2008)

I bought a thermostat from Triple 8 before and it was faulty and took them 6 weeks of asking for a replacement to find that they hadn't even bothered to send it out, then we had to wait another 10 days for a refund! I wouldn't recommend them. 

I would recommend livefoods.co.uk

We use these mats and have no problems Livefood UK Ltd.


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## Sambee (Jul 4, 2008)

Elmodfz said:


> Ive got my Blizzard on the Desert heat mat your looking at and so far its fine. I thought it wasnt really hot enough rather then too hot but hey ho.
> 
> Also neither of my leos has a stat on their heat mats and its fine, both leos are healthy and happy.


Yeah lets just hope one day there isn't a fault that makes it over heat and fry your lizard :bash:

EDIT: You can't be there all the time to keep an eye on the temperatures.

Take a look at this http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snakes/174166-do-i-really-need-thermostat.html


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## POAGeckos (Jul 11, 2008)

Elmodfz said:


> Ive got my Blizzard on the Desert heat mat your looking at and so far its fine. I thought it wasnt really hot enough rather then too hot but hey ho.
> 
> Also neither of my leos has a stat on their heat mats and its fine, both leos are healthy and happy.


They are not as reliable. It may work for some, but my tropical goes to 30, which is over what it is supposed to, and I had a desert and it went up to 45-50(without and animal, i test them before using them).


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## kirsten (Jan 13, 2008)

if you want the dessert one i would get a stat, you can pick them up in the classified section for a fraction of the cost.

thank you for pointing out the dessert heat mat, as i'm after a more powerfull mat myself.


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## arm2010 (Jun 2, 2005)

Sorry to hijack the post but when buying a heatmat how do you decide what wattage mat you need ...? Ive just got a leo baby and not too sure about what mat to use. thanks:2thumb: I have a 7 watt and a 12 watt mat.


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## Sambee (Jul 4, 2008)

arm2010 said:


> Sorry to hijack the post but when buying a heatmat how do you decide what wattage mat you need ...? Ive just got a leo baby and not too sure about what mat to use. thanks:2thumb: I have a 7 watt and a 12 watt mat.


The higher the watt the better. As long as it fits a third of the vivarium floor and you have a thermostat to control how hot it gets, it's fine.


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## arm2010 (Jun 2, 2005)

Thanks i've got a third of the floor covered and a thermostat aswell , So the higher the wattage of the mat the higher the temps...? thanks.


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## madbikerbev (Nov 8, 2008)

*stat*

The one i had 4 my snake was a 100 watt living earth electronics, habistat, mat-stat, it was a good price and worked really well, hope this helps.

:2thumb:


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## puffthebeardeddragon (Jul 23, 2008)

Elmodfz said:


> Ive got my Blizzard on the Desert heat mat your looking at and so far its fine. I thought it wasnt really hot enough rather then too hot but hey ho.
> 
> Also neither of my leos has a stat on their heat mats and its fine, both leos are healthy and happy.


so what haoppens when your house warms up? your viv will aswell, see the "do I REALLY need a thermostat?" thread in the snakes section. You need a heat mat incase the temps in your house change. Your leos wont be kept at a constant temp.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

Elmodfz said:


> Also neither of my leos has a stat on their heat mats and its fine, both leos are healthy and happy.


And my ex-father-in-law drove home from the pub two drinks over the limit twice a week every week for years.

Doesn't make it safe or a good idea.

Thermostats are there to ensure your geckos *continue* to be healthy and happy. Not using one with a heat element is exactly the same as driving drunk - you might get away with it for a long time, but do you want to take the avoidable risk that you could cost something its life?


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## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

Rather than starting a new thread, I'll just post again a similar related question. Where should I put the heat mat? The vivarium is more of an aquarium. It's totally glass. The heat mat I'm getting is 11x11 12w. So question is, where should I put it? Of course it would be on a thermostat so It wouldn't reach dangerous temperatures. People have said you can put it under the substrate (paper towels in this case) or is it better to put it beneath the tank? I'm looking at two aspects here - Safety and effectivness.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

I would put it under the tank, but you'll want to support the tank on something slightly raised so that there's a bit of airspace there. 

However, you might find that a glass tank isn't the best enclosure for a leopard gecko, as they do not hold heat well and can be a little too open for an animal that spends its time hiding in rock crevices in the wild.


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## IanF94 (Oct 12, 2008)

Sorry didn't think to mention that the tank would be surounded on three sides by a background. Would that be sufficient mixed with a few hides? If it doesn't keep heat well, would I be able to insulate it with something like some would surounding it? Or is there anything else that would work well? Thanks for you advice.


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