40 gallon tank question

[LizardMomma]

I recently upped my gecko’s space.. Penny now lives in a 40 gallon tank. The problem I am having is for some reason I can not get the tank above 72-83F and that’s with a day, night, and ceramic heater, on top of that I have a heating pad on the side of the tank. I Fear penny is too cold.. Any Suggestions?? Please.

 

[acpart]

Are you talking about air temp or floor temp? How are you measuring the temp?

Aliza

 

[LizardMomma]

Oh snap I suck im gonna say both temps maybe lol.. i am an idiot. I don’t even measure floor temp and I have a thermometer attached to back wall of tank in the middle.. I just built a stand so I can start putting a under tank heater

 

[LizardMomma]

So I just found this little uth but it has no sticky stuff.. question is can I plug it in for like maybe 2 hours or so and place it in my tank under the carpet where she doesn’t lay? Would it help keep heat up or cause a fire or burn

 

[acpart]

If you have one of those circular thermometers (like I see in the picture) you won't be getting an accurate reading. Here's what I recommend for best husbandry:
--get a new under tank heater designed for 30-40 gallon enclosures or else get ZooMed heat cable, 50' length (Ebay has it for a good price and often free shipping). Ideally the gecko needs belly heat 24/7 and the overhead lights dry out the air and dehydrate the gecko. The heat pad you showed is probably too small. Also, once you tear the pad off another enclosure it never works as well if it's stuck on something else
--get a reptile thermometer (around $10). It's just a digital thermometer with a probe that you put on the hot side. The ground temp on the hot side should be in the low 90's. Don't worry about the air temp
--you'll need a thermostat to regulate the heat of the mat or cable. Zilla is reasonably priced
--I generally recommend against lights. The gecko is nocturnal and doesn't need them and as I mentioned above they usually dry out the enclosure a whole lot.

Aliza

 

[LizardMomma]

Thank you so much. Yes I’m starting to worry about penny as her urates were not white this last poop but like a pinkish orange.