All of our geckos are kept on a crested gecko heat mat. We have three different size enclosures that hold these: one 10 gallon long, one 20 long and the master suite holding four 10 gallon tanks. Each enclosure has its own temperature gauge (as shown below), which is used to monitor the temperatures in each tank. It is very important to keep your gecko’s enclosure at the proper temperatures range, as it will reflect in how healthy they are and how long they live. The temperature ranges for crested geckos can be found here. Remember that depending on where you live, these ranges may not be exactly what you need.
Setting up your Crested Gecko Heat Mat
We currently use Zoo Med’s Aluminum Reptile Heating Pads as our heat sources. We are able to purchase these locally and they work great for us. The aluminum backing seems to radiate the heat quite well, and there are no cords to worry about getting chewed by a curious gecko. These mats have been working great so far…of course this could all change if we have an extended power outage since the mat is powered by electricity.
We also use a dual thermometer that shows both the high and low temperature of the enclosure. This helps when we are out of town or sleeping at night, so you can be sure that your geckos won’t freeze or overheat.
This particular digital thermometer has both a high and low probe that can monitor temperatures from the front, middle and back of the enclosure. It’s especially nice since we have several tanks in one large master suite, so it helps to know what temperature range each area is at as well.
These thermometers are very easy to use and I love that they show both the high and low temperatures of the enclosure. This helps immensely when setting up new enclosures, as you can be sure that your geckos won’t freeze or overheat.
We have had our heat mats for several years now without any problems. These are very easy to set up…just plug them in and place them underneath the tank. We use these mats in both the 10 gallon and 20 gallon long, as well as having one for each of the four enclosures in the master suite.
They are covered up by the substrate to allow for an even temperature throughout the tank. Of course you can also just set them on top of your screen tops, which allows a little more viewing of your gecko.
The only downfall is that they’re a little loud when the power is on, but if you unplug them at night or during the day while your away it’s not an issue. The length of these mats are also quite long which helps to evenly distribute heat throughout the enclosure. They come in many different sizes for all different size enclosures. You can view them here . So far we have been very happy with these mats and I would recommend them to anyone that uses a heat mat system for their crested geckos.
If you found this Crested Gecko Heat Mat article useful then you might also like to read about choosing plants for a gecko tank.
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