# leopard gecko heat, heat bulb or heat mat ?



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

just wondering ive read that heat bulbs are good, but leos digest their food by belly heat. I also read that heat mats dont warm the viv's up very much ? 
any help please


----------



## callumcook (Oct 23, 2008)

id stick with heat mat


----------



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

but how do i provide the ambient temp's ? this is whats bugging me :/
i was thinking heat mat and a infared bulb


----------



## Boon (Mar 28, 2010)

Superdryyy said:


> but how do i provide the ambient temp's ? this is whats bugging me :/
> i was thinking heat mat and a infared bulb


 If its ambient temps you're worried about then i'd just get a heat bulb and put it on a dimmer stat, then you can control it to whatever temperature you like. Simples
: victory:


----------



## daveplymouth (May 26, 2009)

the trick is to have the right size heat mat for the size of your viv. If you got a massive viv thats got a lot of height any heat mat will struggle to heat the air temps up. But as leos spend most of there time on the ground a heat mat will work perfectly fine aslong as its connected to a stat.


----------



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

i have a 3ftx1ftx1.5ft viv what heat mat would i need


----------



## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Superdryyy said:


> i have a 3ftx1ftx1.5ft viv what heat mat would i need


You need one that will cover about 1/3 to 1/2 of the viv, this way they can leave the hot spot if they need to.

I have my stat set to 94F which sets the floor at 91F. Obviously this will differ on others' vivariums, so always check the temperature regularly until it stabilises.

They need the ground heat to digest their food, so heatmat is a win. The cool end should not drop below 72-74F although once or twice mine have touched 68F they have been ok. We have a relatively steady ambient in the cool end of 72F most days, and all mine do fine.

Jac


----------



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

i know that obvsss. just wondering the size an example 11x11 etc.


----------



## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Superdryyy said:


> i know that obvsss. just wondering the size an example 11x11 etc.


Sorry, I just get into a habit of putting an epic paragraph of advice :blush:

Ours are 10x12


----------



## Casp (Sep 13, 2010)

Hi,

You purchase a heat matt that will cover one third, to half of the tank floor to provide the necessary 'belly heat' needed for digestion etc.

But i do find that as the heat matt is designed to raise the substrate temperature by 5-10 degrees above the room temperature, if the room temperature goes down (due to the winter months approaching!) the matt does not get sufficiently warm enough to meet the 31-32 degrees required.

I therefore use a infra-red bulb also, so that the ambient air temperature in the tank is given a boost so that the matt works more efficiently and reaches the desired temperature. (this saves on the heating bills, heating the entire room which makes me uncomfortable)

You can't use a larger matt then half the floor space as that defeats the object of providing a warm and cool area.....

I find this works for me as in the summer i find i don't need to use the bulb as the matt is statted and controls the tank to be cooler.

ATB,
Casp.


----------



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

ahaha its alright  
thanks, i have a spare 11x11 can i use a dimmer stat for it ?


----------



## Casp (Sep 13, 2010)

I've known people use a dimmer stat as it is a cheaper option, but i don't think that is temperature controlled? Or maintained rather..

May need to keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

Casp.


----------



## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

You can do, but the temps regulate between 86F and 93F if set to 90F, but this was my experience, I'm unsure as to whther others have had this problem.

I use a pulse stat now, and the temperature sticks to 90F-91F.  Check out the classifieds on here, there are sometimes pulse stats second hand for sale.


----------



## Superdryyy (Aug 27, 2010)

alright, thanks for the advice  
once ive sorted my corns out, should hopefully by about christmas have my leos  and maybe a crestie, but i might wait till after the new year
thanks again


----------

