Question on heat?

[CinnamonGirl]

We have a new Leo and bought a new 20 L for him/her. The 20L is 30" long and I have a 8W UTH on the hot side and a 5&1/2 dome lamp fixture with a 75W Zoo Med heat lamp bulb in it and the hottest the heat aside would ever get ia 76 degrees (measured on the hot side about 1" off the floor of the tank). I upgraded to a Zoo Med 100w bulb (max for the fixture) and now the hot side gets up to 86 degrees measured in the same place.

My question is with the 75W bulb the Leo stayed on the hot side and I didn't think at 76 it was hot enough...but with the 100W buld the Leo stays on the cold side and I'm thinking that either 86 degrees is too hot for it or perhaps the digital thermometer is inaccurate? What do you think? (pic enclosed)

 

[orbela]

Are the temperature readings air-temperatures or floor-temperatures? If air-temperatures then the floor temperature would be too hot for your Leopard Gecko. For Leopard gecko what matters is the floor temperature because they receive their heat from the floor.

Another possible reason is the hides seems to be too open in the hot area and it seems you're using bright light for heat source. Leopard geckos don't like bright light since they are active during the night and not during the day.

Hope this is useful.

 

[Conched]

Try a 75 watt night glow bulb. They emit heat but only emit a soft blue light that you can only really see at night. Then you can leave it on 24/7 and that will give an overall better temp gradient.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

What are the actual dimensions of your UTH? For a 20 gallon LONG I recommend "sizing up" the UTH. Very good idea to have the UTH 1/3 the length of the tank and as close to the width as possible. Tweak this first and then your overhead heating/lighting.

10 inch diameter domes do a better job redirecting the heat into the enclosure.

You might consider using the 5.5 inch dome to provide a photoperiod.

Temperatures for all leos regardless of size
88-93 F (31-34 C) ground temp at warm end inside the warm dry hide
no greater than 85 F (29.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
no greater than 75 F (24.5 C) air temp - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the UTH on 24/7. Can turn off overhead heating at night unless the ambient room temperatures are particularly cool during the night.

To Establish a Proper Photoperiod
Place a 15 watt incandescent bulb inside a 5.5 inch diameter fixture in the center of the screen top and right next to the CHE. Dim this 15 watt bulb to half power to provide dawn-and-dusk-like lighting since leos are crepuscular. Vary the ON time seasonally according to leos' native habitat. 11 hours ON for February is good.