[Kirsty]

Hi, I'm new to the forum but really hope somebody might have had this problem in the past and be able to point me in the right direction. I recently purchased an African Fat-Tailed Gecko from a reputable pet shop and was advised to use a heat mat - which has always been fine for my Leopard Gecko (who I've had since she was a baby and is now 15 months). However, he drastically lost a lot of weight from his tail overnight one day and after immediately taking him to the vets was advised that it was a parasite affected by heat. The vet recommended that I get a heat lamp rather than a heat mat. I went straight out and purchased a heat lamp, which I fitted with a dimmer thermostat. During the day I set the temperature to 88F and drop it down to about 78F in the evening. Within 1 day of setting the lamp up, his tail had plumped back up and he's back to his normal self.

Unfortunately though, the bulb lasts about a week before it cracks - which obviously leaves him without heat and is very worrying as I work full time and do want him to be left freezing during the day when it happens. I've made sure that when I spray his house to keep it humid I spray away from the bulb so don't think it's because of the water.

The bulbs cost £7.95 a go. Can anybody make any suggestions please? It's making me constantly worry about him whilst I'm at work and is costing me a fortune in bulbs every week!!!!! Please help!

[Riverside Reptiles]

Try a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). They're great for providing overhead ambient heat and they last a million times longer than a "bulb". Here's some examples:
Reptile Ceramic Heat Emitters, Heating Elements and Bulbs
Also, make sure that the hood that you're using is designed to handle the high wattage of light that you're using.

[oli]

A parasite affected by heat? This is an interesting selection of words. A parasite effected by lack of heat maybe? Maybe your heat pad wasn't getting the substrate warm enough for your reptile to digest the food properly. Regardless, the only reason a bulb would crack is if it went from hot to cold very quickly, ie. getting sprayed with cold water. It could be the ballast as well. I'd go with the ceramic bulb idea that Ethan came up with as they aren't effected much by moisture and they last for years. They are pricey at first, not too bad though. The only thing is that they don't produce any light if you want to watch your gecko at night. I would just leave the heat lamp on for the entire day and night, without the cooling of the evenings. Just put the lamp over one side of the enclosure to form a nice heat gradient so the gecko can go from a hot section to a cooler section of the enclosure when he needs.

[Kirsty]

Ethan - Thanks very much for your advice. I have rung the organisation I purchased my heat lamp fittings from and they have agreed to swap the dimming thermostat for the pulse (I think he said?) thermostat I need for a ceramic heater as I have my original packaging and receipt and it is only a few weeks old. So that's sorted. It will definitely put my mind at ease.

What do you mean by 'hood'? I have a 3ft wooden vivarium with sliding glass doors at the front, so the heat lamp is only near wood. Is this OK?

I'm sorry I sound very amateur with this. I am very confident with my Leopard Gecko as I had her from being a baby but I feel I have got off on a wrong foot with my African Fat-Tail because of the advice from the pet centre i.e. heat mat etc and because he was already 3 years old. He has definitely improved with regard to his fear levels etc since coming home with me and is much more confident with being seen i.e. he happily basks in the open and his eating is brilliant. He has signs of being mistreated in the past - damaged toes, he had lost his tail and he was always very scared when your hand went near him (which is why I took him on - nobody else seemed to want him). But he's now generally much more confident. It's just the heat that's the issue, which I want to rectify ASAP.

Oli - Yes, the vet said that he felt he needed a higher temperature and from above as having his only heat source coming from underneath his belly was 'incubating the parasite'.

I will get on with the ceramic heater for now and hopefully he will then be a happy gecko for many years to come!

Thanks again for your advice guys