# Leopard gecko night heating



## Lizzardboy92

I have just bought a terrarium and all the bits to start a leopard gecko set up. On one side I have the heat mat and a basking lamp. The current temperature is 86 f on the hot side. At night, what do I do to control the temperature, do I need to turn off the light or keep it on? I am a complete beginner so help me please!


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## bluesimon

Hi, personally I do not use basking lamps for my geckos, only a heat mat is needed, this will need to be controlled by a mat stat, 30 to 32 deg C, leos are nocturnal and absorb heat through their belly, I use a digital thermometer and place that probe with the mat stat probe on the floor to give a more accurate temp reading on the warm side, I do not change the temps from day to night they are kept constant
Regards
Lisa and Si


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## Salzburg

I think having both a basking lamp and a heat mat is a good idea, it gives the gecko the choice, same as what it would have in the wild. Definitely turn off the lamp though, as reptiles associate heat with light so it would probably confuse the gecko. 

I personally keep my heat mat on all the time, with my lamp on a timer so it turns on and off at regular times


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## Lizzardboy92

Salzburg said:


> I think having both a basking lamp and a heat mat is a good idea, it gives the gecko the choice, same as what it would have in the wild. Definitely turn off the lamp though, as reptiles associate heat with light so it would probably confuse the gecko.
> 
> I personally keep my heat mat on all the time, with my lamp on a timer so it turns on and off at regular times



Do you have your heat mat on a thermostat. I've got the lamp on a dimming thermostat?


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## Hashcake

As already said, a thermostat for the heat mate.
Mine is on a timer along with the lights (2x exo terra repti glo and 2 x night glo).
I've currently got it set up as 10 hours of day light and heat and 14 hours on night light but will be changing to 12 and 12 when the clocks change.
Night time temp is around 76f with the heat mat off, I'm a believer that as they do not live in the same temps day and night in the wild, it should be replicated in captivity.

If you are using an Exo Terrarium, I highly rate there compact hoods / bulbs and can be bought a lot cheaper along with the habistat mat-stat from a certain auction website 
One thing I have found using the repli glo UV bulbs is that my Leo tends to bask when in the mood.


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## emmaalyafai

my leo has heat lamp only and has never needed a mat also i just have heat 14 hours a day, my gecko is 16 and very happy and healthy. the thing is with hardy lizards like leos is dont over complicate things, they are hardy and can tolarate quite low temps so if your home is fairly warm with the heating on a leo will be fine at night.


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## retri

simple answer... yes turn the light off at night.

you dont really need the light, the heat mat should be able to provide sufficient heat on its own as has been said it does need to be stated, and as with most nocturnal species they do not require any UV lighting. if you want a light on the tank I would reccomend using a low wattage energy saver rather than a spot bulb : victory:


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## Beev

Sorry to hijack but I picked up 2 leos yesterday both have their own wooden vivs. In each viv they have a heat mat which doesnt feel very warm but probably does to the leo, and they have a heat lamp. Both vivs register 80+f with both on. Over night I turned the heat lamp off but left the heat mat on the temp went down to around below 76f is this okay? Also one lamp is on constantly while the other seems to dim when it gets to a certain temp. The heat lamps are both on their own habistat dimming therm and are set to 86f. Why is one on constantly? Do I have 2 differant bulbs? They look the same. Thanks (i think they are heat lamps they give a lot of heat)


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## retri

Beev said:


> Sorry to hijack but I picked up 2 leos yesterday both have their own wooden vivs. In each viv they have a heat mat which doesnt feel very warm but probably does to the leo, and they have a heat lamp. Both vivs register 80+f with both on. Over night I turned the heat lamp off but left the heat mat on the temp went down to around below 76f is this okay? Also one lamp is on constantly while the other seems to dim when it gets to a certain temp. The heat lamps are both on their own habistat dimming therm and are set to 86f. Why is one on constantly? Do I have 2 differant bulbs? They look the same. Thanks (i think they are heat lamps they give a lot of heat)


you probably have 2 different wattage bulbs, i wouldnt worry too much as long as the stat is doing its job and they are not over heating. 

are the mats on stats also? dont always go from what it says on the stat, you need to ajust the stat to give you the readong you want, as the stats will never be accurate. try turning up your mat stats, you want to aim for 86-90 degrees on the heat mat, 76 is fine for an ambient night temperature but you still want your heat mat sitting at the above temps.

if you are unable to get the temps you need from the mats then ditch them and buy a couple of new ones, depending on the wattage you may need somehting a little bigger or they could just be worn out


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