Heating leopard geckos

On this page I intend to offer advice on which heating methods are best for leopard geckos. There are a number of methods in which you can heat leopard geckos, all of them come with advantages and disadvantages. It is important you understand the pros and cons of the available leopard gecko heating methods so you can make an informed decision about how you want to heat your leopard gecko.

Temperature gradients are very important for leopard geckos. Being reptiles they are cold blooded and thus get their body heat from external sources. Leopard geckos use this temperature gradient to thermoregulate. Thermoregulation is exactly what it sounds like, the regulation of body temperature. By providing a temperature gradient you allow your leopard gecko to choose which temperature it is most comfortable at. They need to be able to choose their optimum temperature in order to digest food properly (certain enzymes work better at certain temperatures). Leopard geckos may move from one end of the vivarium to the other to establish the correct temperature, this is perfectly normal.

THermostats

Thermostats

Thermostats are, contrary to what some shops and breeders may say, essential. They are required to safely control heat sources so you can establish the correct temperatures and avoid large temperature fluctuations (particularly in summer). Thermostats are generally expensive but they can be picked up relatively cheaply off eBay and some online stores. Just because they are expensive doesn’t mean you should do without, they are just as essential as the heat source heating element themselves.

Different heat sources require different thermostats, I have provided information on which heat mat you should use with each heat source in an attempt to simplify things a little.

Heating methods

Heat mats

Heat mats are a personal favorite of mine. They heat leopard geckos nicely and can be used very easily. They can be easily used to provide the leopard gecko with a temperature gradient; they are also relatively cheap and very long lasting (my oldest one is 7 years old and still pumping heat out).

There are two safe ways in which you can use a heat mat (both require thermostats obviously). You can either use them under the vivarium although wooden vivariums can block the heat and be quite inefficient. With glass tanks that isn’t a problem as glass seems to be a fair good conductor of heat. You can also place the heat mat inside the vivarium (on the bottom). You need to make sure the leopard gecko can’t get into direct vivarium. In order to do this you need to get a piece of hardboard to sit on top of the heat mat. You are essentially sandwiching the heat mat between the bottom of the vivarium and the piece of hardboard. You can then add your substrate of choice.

Make sure the heat mat doesn’t cover more than 50% of the floor space (eg, in a 2ft vivarium you would need a 11x11in heat mat).

For heat mats you should use temperature thermostats or mat stats.

Ceramic heaters

Ceramic heaters for leopard geckos are another good heat source. They provide heat without providing any light, this means they are much more energy efficient than bulbs and they get very hot. They are only really suited to larger enclosures because, being as powerful as they are they tend to heat small vivariums quite evenly making it difficult to establish a temperature gradient for your leopard gecko. I wouldn’t use them in a vivarium any smaller than 3ft long but 4ft would be more appropriate. To use properly you need a special heat proof fitting (available from any goodlarge DIY store, I get mine from BnQ) along with some heatproof wire for them (they get very hot and can melt normal stuff). You then wire them up like you would any other light bulb. If there is even the slightest possible chance your leopard gecko can get within 5inches of it (you get my idea) you need to guard the ceramic heater. The surface temperature can reach hundreds of degrees and will burn your leopard gecko upon contact.

You can use either an on/off temperature thermostat or a pulse thermostat with your ceramic heater but a pulse stat will produce more constant temperatures.

Light bulbs

Light bulbs are a popular heating method for leopard geckos. Personally I only use coloured light bulbs with leopard geckos (red and blue are my favourite) as I’ve been told that leopard geckos struggle to see colours, in particular red and blue. In my opinion he bright light white bulbs give off cannot be good for your leopard gecko.

Light bulbs shouldn’t be used as the only heating source for your leopard gecko as they aren’t very good at providing a gradient. Instead you should use them in conjunction with heat mats to help create a gradient. I prefer to use light bulbs as a method of increasing the ambient air temperature throughout rather than as a complete heating system.

To safely use a light bulb is must be on a thermostat and possibly guarded depending on its position within the vivarium. If there is any possible chance of the gecko getting within a few inches of the bulb (if there is a structure which may be climbed upon near it for instance) I would suggest using a guard for it. There is only one type of thermostat which can be used with a light bulb and that’s a dimmer stat. They act by reducing (dimming) the power and thus reducing the heat given out by the light bulb.

Conclusion

My personal favourite heating method is the heat mat, they are cheap (they are more expensive than light bulbs initially but they last much longer and you only need a cheap thermostat to run them), they are ideal for creating the temperature gradient required by leopard geckos (a warm end of 88 or so and a cool end of room temp and can easily be adapted to most situations. They are also relatively safe is used correctly. They MUST be on a thermostat and the gecko mustn’t be able to get into direct contact with their surface. I like to have them either under the vivarium or if that’s not possible (if I am using a wooden vivarium for instance) I get a sheet of hardboard cut and sit them underneath that. As long as you use a thermostat and common sense there shouldn’t be a problem.