# Leopard gecko heating, lighting for night viewing???????



## Kerm Designs (Aug 20, 2008)

Hi,

I have my set up for my leos, at the moment im using a heat matt.

I want to know what lighting i can use (and also where is the cheapest place i can buy it) so that i can watch the leos at night???

I was thinking maybe using the exo terra heat glow bulb (Exo Terra : Products : Heat Glo) for heating day and night and then i can also watch them at night. 

What are your suggestions???


----------



## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

Bulbs are no good for heating leo tanks they need belly heat to digest their food 

If you want to use a bulb for viewing on a night get a 15 watt night-glo bulb


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Normal low watt red house hold bulbs are fine for night viewing as leos cant see red light, 
Or you can try LED's they work quite well


----------



## Kerm Designs (Aug 20, 2008)

Cool thanks, so dont bother with that exo terra bulb then and just buy a low watt house hold bulb that i can put on at night when i want to see them?


----------



## violentchopper (Jun 20, 2008)

Faith said:


> Normal low watt red house hold bulbs are fine for night viewing as leos cant see red light,
> Or you can try LED's they work quite well


 i think you might have opened a can of worms:devil:


----------



## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

The problem with normal household bulbs is that even though they are low wattage they still give off heat which messes up the temps in the viv. I dont have any lights whatsoever in my vivs anymore but I used to use 15 watt pygmy bulbs and you wouldnt believe how hot they got.


----------



## violentchopper (Jun 20, 2008)

i used to use a red LED that i got from [email protected] or whatever their called this week, it admits no heat at all, but im certain they was reacting to it which makes me wonder if they can see red light. i know a few people on here swear that reptiles can see it, hence to can of worms lol


----------



## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

How about red energy saving bulbs, think their 13w, they're the spiral ones


----------



## gecko dude (May 30, 2008)

i use a 12 watt heat matt and a 50watt night light bulb and a 50 i think day bulb i change them every night but its worth it plus i barely reach 85f in the day:2thumb:


----------



## violentchopper (Jun 20, 2008)

gecko dude said:


> i use a 12 watt heat matt and a 50watt night light bulb and a 50 i think day bulb i change them every night but its worth it plus i barely reach 85f in the day:2thumb:


 i keep mine between 86-90f, also you dont need all them lights, i would get confused and be paranoid about the temps. people say that keeping them nearer 90f makes there colour brighter


----------



## Kerm Designs (Aug 20, 2008)

violentchopper said:


> i keep mine between 86-90f, also you dont need all them lights, i would get confused and be paranoid about the temps. people say that keeping them nearer 90f makes there colour brighter


What lights and heating do you use???


----------



## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

gecko dude said:


> i use a 12 watt heat matt and a 50watt night light bulb and a 50 i think day bulb i change them every night but its worth it plus i barely reach 85f in the day:2thumb:


You cant be measuring the substrate temp

How big is your tank??


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Sarah-Jayne said:


> The problem with normal household bulbs is that even though they are low wattage they still give off heat which messes up the temps in the viv. I dont have any lights whatsoever in my vivs anymore but I used to use 15 watt pygmy bulbs and you wouldnt believe how hot they got.



Naturally the OP would have had the night glo bulb on a stat all heat sources should be statted!
As for opening a can of worms for the other poster how so?
None of our leos have lights but if people wish to put lights in their vivs then thats up to them, and red house bulbs are fine on a low watt.

Leos warm end temps should be 88-90F cool end 82-84F night drops can go as low as 80F in the cool end with out adverse effects.
Digital thermometers are a must placed next to the probe on top of the heat mat.


----------



## mgdh100 (Jul 29, 2008)

I'll be honest and say that I have used heatmats and bulbs individually in tanks before and have found no difference to the gecko, except that in a cool room a heatmat alone is inadequate and the gecko becomes lethargic and enters hybernation, during the wrong seasons.
I have found that a 60W red heat lamp, controlled by a dimmerstat aimed at the floor of one end of the viv, onto a flat rock e.g. a piece of slate is fine. The rock asorbs the heat and then releases it meaing that the gecko is heated from above and below, just like all the ones in the wild.

For day light I use a 2.0% UV tube that runs the length of the tank, which from my own observations has certainly benefitted my female during the breeding season, as it allowed for better calcium absorbtion.


----------



## Sarah-Jayne (Jul 4, 2007)

But if you have a red light on a dimmer stat it may as well not be turned on lol

Use a torch when you wanna watch them


----------



## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

Faith said:


> Normal low watt red house hold bulbs are fine for night viewing as leos cant see red light,
> Or you can try LED's they work quite well


they can see light from red light bulbs, i tested this many times recently with tokays


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

cooljules said:


> they can see light from red light bulbs, i tested this many times recently with tokays


Tokays are different to leopard geckos 
Ill rephrase if it makes people happy!
Leos are not BOTHERED by red light


----------



## Kerm Designs (Aug 20, 2008)

Ok just to clarify... Im ok using the heat matt, then when i want to see them at night i can just turn on a red light (a low watt household). 
Thanks for all the posts guys.


----------



## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Kerm Designs said:


> Ok just to clarify... Im ok using the heat matt, then when i want to see them at night i can just turn on a red light (a low watt household).
> Thanks for all the posts guys.


As long as both heat sources are on a stat yes you are fine using it that way.


----------



## blackdragon (Jun 27, 2008)

my leos tank is heated by a heat mat and stat but i also wanted a light to view them, i got the lowest wat bulb i could find 15w i think and plugged it into the dimmer stat on my beardies viv so the bulb just barely lights up, it dont over heat the viv as the mats on a stat so switches off if the temp gets to high and the lights are switched off at night anyway so dont bother the leos at all.


----------



## violentchopper (Jun 20, 2008)

i agree red light doesnt bother them but im not to sure if they can see it.


----------

