Temperature Assistance

[archangelvk]

Hello Community,
First time poster, few months following and I was wondering if you could help me out with my setup before I buy one for me and my 2 kids.
Tank parameters are
48" long by 12" deep by 12" high
Ceramic Tiles as substrate throughout tank with Soil/sand mix dig box
Hot sideAmbient temp : 30.5C/ 87F
Hot side hide (inside): 32C/90F
Hot side tile around hide: 31C/87.8F
Basking (top of hide): 41 C/105F
Mid ambient temp: 25.5C/78F
Mid tile temp: 23C/73F
Inside humid hide: 26C/79F
Cool side ambient: 20C/68F
Cool side tile: 19 C/66F
Im Using a Halogen Flood on the hot side and a CHE in the middle. I live in Canada and the Tank is in the basement which is why I need so much heating.

The Questions I have are
1) How hot does the inside of the Humid Hide be? and is my temp ok? Ive read that it needs to be in the High 20C/ Mid 80F but Im using the Large Zilla Rock Lair and the walls are quite thick. My humid hide is located inbetween the hot and warm side of the tank.

2) The TOP of the hide on the hot side is sitting at 41C/105F. I cant seem to lower that without lowering the overall temperature of my hot side. Obviously its going to be hotter since its closer to the heat source. Is this okay as well? Would the Leopard Gecko climb ontop and burn him/herself?
Thanks in advance.

 

[helfrichj]

Welcome to the forum! I would say your temperatures look great! The hot side should typically be between 85-92 F with the ideal ranges being 87-90 F. 105 is a little hot for the top of the hide, but I would imagine he would stay away from something that would burn or be uncomfortable. I think it should be fine. If you notice he or she is climbing on it and the skin on the feet is looking red/ irritated then I would consider making changes. Unless that happens, you should be all set!

 

[archangelvk]

Welcome to the forum! I would say your temperatures look great! The hot side should typically be between 85-92 F with the ideal ranges being 87-90 F. 105 is a little hot for the top of the hide, but I would imagine he would stay away from something that would burn or be uncomfortable. I think it should be fine. If you notice he or she is climbing on it and the skin on the feet is looking red/ irritated then I would consider making changes. Unless that happens, you should be all set!

Thank you for your response. So I should crank up the bulb (its on a dimmer) to bring the hot side a bit hotter?

 

[acpart]

I actually think the hot side is kind of hot (ambient temp, not floor temp). I guess it is the case that if it's too hot, the gecko won't spend much time there. The heat coming from above also tends to dry out the air and that can dehydrate the gecko. Most people deal with this by using under tank heating and reducing use of CHE and high heat lights from above. I'm not saying this won't work for you, just sharing what many people do. If you want to go with under tank heater, I'd recommend ZooMed heat cable which can be reconfigured any time. Ebay often has the best prices and frequently free shipping. Otherwise, it's always OK to use what you have and observe the gecko carefully. Where does it spend its time? Does it have any pink spots on the bottom of the feet or the tail (that would be a sign of too much heat)? There is more than one way to do things.

Aliza

 

[archangelvk]

I actually think the hot side is kind of hot (ambient temp, not floor temp). I guess it is the case that if it's too hot, the gecko won't spend much time there. The heat coming from above also tends to dry out the air and that can dehydrate the gecko. Most people deal with this by using under tank heating and reducing use of CHE and high heat lights from above. I'm not saying this won't work for you, just sharing what many people do. If you want to go with under tank heater, I'd recommend ZooMed heat cable which can be reconfigured any time. Ebay often has the best prices and frequently free shipping. Otherwise, it's always OK to use what you have and observe the gecko carefully. Where does it spend its time? Does it have any pink spots on the bottom of the feet or the tail (that would be a sign of too much heat)? There is more than one way to do things.

Aliza

Thanks for your response. I dont have the Gecko yet as I was just testing everything out before I get my hands on one. Only reason Im using CHE is because I have 3 bulbs left over from previous pet.