# what should i cover heat mat with???



## dm66n66 (Jul 27, 2009)

hi im getting a leopard gecko and have a wooden vivarium with heat mat on inside, just wondere dwhat should i cover heat mat with im going to use paper towel substrate but im worried if he climbs under towels he might burn himself on heat mat ive got heatmat setup with a thermostat by the way, also can anyone tell me perfect temperature to set thermastat at thankyou : victory:


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

dm66n66 said:


> hi im getting a leopard gecko and have a wooden vivarium with heat mat on inside, just wondere dwhat should i cover heat mat with im going to use paper towel substrate but im worried if he climbs under towels he might burn himself on heat mat ive got heatmat setup with a thermostat by the way, also can anyone tell me perfect temperature to set thermastat at thankyou : victory:


You need a dual probe thermometer or two digital thermometers as the thermostat settings are far from accurate. 
You need to set it so the probes on the hot side are inside the hot hide (both for the thermostat and thermometer) and have the digital thermometer reading what you set it to. I have my hot side turning off at 32.5 and it usually comes on around 31.5.

Cool side my normally sits at 26 but it depends on the ambient temperature in the room.

Thanks for posting this though btw i just set up my wifes vivarium this way before we get her gecko and i need to go and check her temperatures on the thermometer myself.

As for substrate i use lino thoughout rather than paper towels mainly because they can get under it although if you have it set up properly they should not get burnt. Also my leo is a messy bugger and will spalsh his water bowl so makes the towel soggy :lol2:


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## BoscMonster (Jan 20, 2011)

You can always grab a IR temp gun off Ebay, if your willing to wait the 3 weeks postage from China you can get them for a £10.

As long as the heatmat is stat'ed to within temps the gecko should have no problem.
Can use kitchen roll or the lino roll, most people use this for the ease of cleaning.
I'm using some lino with a few small kitchen tiles, put a tile where they normally poo and it makes cleaning poo out easier.


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## trogdorable (Feb 4, 2011)

iv had my leo's on papertowel for 7 years and ive never had one go under the papertowel. so long as hides ect are wieghing it down, you should be fine : victory: i vary the thickness of the paper towel over the heatmat to give a variation in temps, i try to keep them between 30 - 33 degrees.


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## Lewis M (Aug 6, 2009)

dm66n66 said:


> hi im getting a leopard gecko and have a wooden vivarium with heat mat on inside, just wondere dwhat should i cover heat mat with im going to use paper towel substrate but im worried if he climbs under towels he might burn himself on heat mat ive got heatmat setup with a thermostat by the way, also can anyone tell me perfect temperature to set thermastat at thankyou : victory:


I don't keep leos, but in my vivs where I have heatmats, I place a ceramic tile over them. Ceramic also holds the heat for longer aswell.



BoscMonster said:


> You can always grab a IR temp gun off Ebay, if your willing to wait the 3 weeks postage from China you can get them for a £10.


A lot of UK ebayers now stock them for the same price. Non-Contact IR Infrared Digital Thermometer with Laser | eBay


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## Grimr3ap3r (Jul 26, 2012)

Dramen, I love your knowledge so will ask,

My probe from my stat is under my tile directly on the mat, is it right I should have that in the hide as well as the thermo probe?


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

Thanks for the compliment :blush: but the other posters have given good advice also. What you actually need is to have the stat and thermostat probes sat where your gecko will be sat as that is the temperature he will be exposed to. The reason the probes go inside the hot hide is most geckos will go there to digest in safety and to be hidden. 
This is the reason i use just lino as it does insulate somewhat from the heatmat and they cant get underneath the lino.
The problem you may have if the tile is not under the hot hide as well then the temperature will be different on top of the tile as inside the hide.

trogdorable's advice is excellent advice if you prefer to stick to the paper towell route as providing a thicker layer of towell will give that thickness you need to protect between the heatmat and the gecko.

Having both probes in the same place means your getting a fairly accurate reading of exactly what the temperature is there and also the probe can be adjusted to maintain that temperature.

I personally havent got an IR temp gun but have heard very good things about them and the accuracy so if you have the money i would get one of those as well.

BoscMonitor also posted about using tiles in a toilet area which is a great idea and i also do this as well, Having multiple tiles available means you can use a stronger disinfectant and allow it to air for 24 hours whilst replacing it with a second tile that you cleaned 24 hours earlier.

Hope this helps


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## dm66n66 (Jul 27, 2009)

id ecided to put a sheet of nespaper over the heat mat then put vinyl tiles on top thankyou for advice


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