Need help with some heating stuff

[boidanboi]

Hey, i've had my leopard gecko for a year or two and after some research have found out some stuff. I've seen a lot of differing stuff on the subject of heat mats and turning off heat durkng they day and night, should i be turning her heating off during night times or what? and how much do i need a heat mat? im trying to get a hold of this info cause im redoing her whole tank and wanted to know if i should install a heat mat. thanks she is a pink leopard gecko with yellow spots and small black spots, if that is important to this.

 

[acpart]

The common wisdom is to provide floor heat on one side all the time (24/7). This is best done with some kind of heat on the floor and a thermostat to keep it from getting too hot. My preference is to use ZooMed heat cable. This is a rubberized heat cable that you tape on according to the directions. The nice thing about it is that if you change enclosures you can pull it off and install it somewhere else; if you pull of an adhesive heat mat it's probably no good anywhere else. The trick is you have to use Nashua tape to tape it down. This is an aluminum foil tape with a peel-off backing that comes in a roll like duct tape (but it's not duct tape). Anything else, especially duct tape or electrical tape, will eventually peel off or sag. You can get this at Home Depot or equivalent. There is a reasonably priced thermostat made by Zilla, ESU or Alife.

Aliza