Here are some guidelines off Elizabeth's care sheet
Recommended 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
Thermostats
Strongly recommend a thermostat! A thermostat will control your under tank heater, provide your leo with stable and comfortable temperatures, save $ on electricity, and lessen the chance of a house fire from accidental overheating.
Plug the thermostat into a power strip. Then plug the power strip into the wall outlet. For a leopard gecko set the thermostat's control to go off at 91*F. Tape a digital thermometer's probe right onto the thermostat's probe to verify. Place both probes on the floor of the warm dry hide. Check daily.
There should be no greater than a 3% variability. Say your thermostat is set to turn off the UTH when the probe reaches 91*F. The temperature should drop NO LOWER than 88*F before the thermostat turns on again and begins heating
Separate thermostats are required if you wish to achieve different temperatures with different devices like an UTH and an overhead dome.
Do NOT exceed the maximum wattage of your power strip or thermostat!
These are good thermostats:
Click: ******Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden It has a convenient digital readout and a small metal probe. This thermostat should vary no more than +/- 3 degrees F from its setting before it turns on or off.
The Hydrofarm MTPRTC also has a 5/8 inch diameter suction cup that slides up and down the probe's cord. The suction cup could be removed. I tape the cord to the side of the glass. Haven't yet tried vegetable oil to the base of the suction cup to improve the suction.
Click: Amazon.com: reptitemp 500r
Click: BAH-1000DC Reptile Thermostat New Model - Incredibly Reliable Digital Chip for Accurate Temperature Control
The BAH-1000DC Reptile Thermostat's probe is thick & enclosed in black plastic (?) with the suction cup attached (and permanent).
Click: Helix DBS1000 Proportional Therm - Helix Proportional - Temperature Control - The Bean Farm
Click: Herpstat 2 Proportional Thermostat - Herpstat Proportional - Temperature Control - The Bean Farm
Click: Zilla 1000 Watt Reptile Heat Temperature Controller 68022 R Zilla | eBay
A proportional thermostat is another option for safely tweaking the heat/light output.
Lightly dust crickets and Blaptica dubia with Zoo Med's supplements like this:
1. Monday - Repti Calcium with D3 adjusted for your gecko's weight
2. Thursday - Repti Calcium with D3 adjusted for your gecko's weight
3. PLAIN Reptivite (multivitamin) with A acetate adjusted for your leo's weight: Spread out the lightly dusted Reptivite multivitamin crickets over the course of a week. Use the Reptivite (multivitamin) very sparingly.
Recommend feeding crickets and Blaptica dubia an All Purpose Poultry Feed 24/7 or Zoo Med's Natural Bearded Dragon Food Adult Formula 24/7 with added collard greens and dandelion flowers/greens. Then
either
1. Lightly dust prey according to the above schedule
or
2. Follow the directions on a proven formal gutload such as T-Rex Calcium Plus Food for Crickets or Repashy's Superload (not independently studied). When using either the T-Rex gutload or this Repashy's gutload only provide the crickets with water via a damp paper towel! If you add fruits or vegetables the insects will consume those preferentially over the calcium-enriched diet. At the very most add only a tiny pinch of Zoo Med's Reptivite once a week.
Feeding your geckos insects and worms whose entire body is healthy (and not only their guts) is very important! Consider lightly dusting the prey as just icing on the cake.
Be sure to check the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of any food feed to the crickets or worms. Carrots, for instance, are not good because carrots contain about a 1:2.3 ratio (???) of calcium to phosphorus depending upon the charts.
Gutloading the Feeders versus Feeding the Feeders 24/7
The term gutloading causes some confusion. Feed your feeders a nutritious regular diet all the time to build strong feeder bodies. Then only feed a special GUTLOAD product to the crickets 48 hours prior to feeding the crickets to your geckos. T-REX Calcium Plus Food for Crickets is the only proven gutload food at this time (July 2013). When gutloading with T-REX Calcium Plus Food for Crickets, use only a dampened paper towel to provide moisture! Any fruits or veggies added for moisture at the gutload time will only hamper your crickets from eating the T-REX product.
Suggested Prey Items
When trying out any new feeder for your leos, order a trial cup.
Feed adult leos 3 times per week and young leos just about every day. Offer variety selected from the following: crickets, genuine Phoenix worms, roaches, silkworms, hornworms, mealworm pupae, freshly molted mealworms, calciworms, grasshoppers, and locusts (smallest locusts possible).
