Leopard gecko heating temperature requirement. Under tank heating pad. How to install UTH. Digital thermostat.

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med

Leopard gecko heating requirement

Leopard gecko heating and temperature requirement is an important topic.  We’re happy to provide you some factual information and clear a few things up for gecko hobbyists.  Leopard geckos require belly heating in order to digest food properly.  This is why under tank heating pads are preferred.  Some people mistaken leopard geckos with diurnal species such as iguanas and bearded dragons.

Difference between diurnal and crepuscular species

Diurnal species require basking light as they absorb UVB and heat through their backs.  They are active during the day when the sun is shining bright, and they sleep throughout the night.  UVB triggers vitamin D3 synthesis, and with vitamin D3, they are able to absorb calcium properly.  Where as leopard geckos are crepuscular, they are the most active during fading light, such as around dusk and dawn.

Leopard geckos wake up early in the morning to hunt for food.  They will sleep through the day, often burrow deep underground or inside rock crevices to hide completely away from sunlight.  Then they wake up later in the afternoon to hunt for food again.  This is their normal daily cycle, the very definition of crepuscular species.  Their exposure to sunlight is very limited in the wild.

Leopard gecko heating requirement is different, they absorb heat through their belly instead.  It’s through belly heating that they are able to digest food properly and have a healthy life.  In the wild heat traps underground and inside rocks long after sunset.  Leopard geckos are able to find belly heat throughout the night.  They are also known to navigate at night using natural moonlight.

Leopard gecko heating with under tank heating pad

Under tank heating pads, or UTH for short, come in all different sizes.  What you want is for your UTH to cover roughly 1/3 of your tank.  Zoo Med ReptiTherm is a popular brand, we’ve been using them for over 7 years with great success.

Here is how you would install this under tank heating pad.  First you stick the pad under your tank, like this:

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med

leopard gecko heating under tank heat pad zoo med uth

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Leopard Gecko Habitat – In Quarantine

leopard gecko habitat terrarium tank setup

Looking for a new hobby to get into while being quarantined? You could setup a leopard gecko habitat without ever leaving your home. Many are practicing social distancing during these trying times. But just because you have to be in isolation, doesn’t mean you need to give up on fun hobbies. Read on and we’ll show you how to properly setup a leopard gecko habitat, and how you could order leopard geckos online and get them shipped to your door.

Why Leopard Gecko As Pets

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Black Friday Deals 2018

It is time for Black Friday deals 2018.  Every year we look for sales of leopard gecko supplies and equipment around the holiday season.  We post them here so you have a chance at getting good discounts when purchasing gecko supplies.  Note that we can’t tell how long the sales will last, we only post them as we see them.  So let’s get right to it!

Exo Terra Short All Glass Terrarium, 24 by 18 by 12-Inch

While it’s no longer Black Friday, we found this amazing deal for this beautiful Exo-Terra tank at $109.89 with free shipping.  We have never seen this tank at this discount before.  The normal price is usually around $150.  This is the perfect tank for your leopard geckos, with its long design so your gecko will have plenty of space to roam.  It also has the awesome front-opening glass making it easy to feed your geckos and clean the tank.  We highly recommend this tank, it’s a great deal you don’t want to miss out.

Black Friday Deals 2018 – Zoo Med Reptivite with D3

Zoo Med Reptivite with D3 is on sale right now for $4.89, this is the cheapest we’ve seen.  And it also comes with free shipping.  We are not sure how long this deal is going to last, so act quick!  Visit our blog here to learn about multivitamin supplement routine.

Black Friday Deals 2018 – Hydrofarm Jump Start Digital Thermostat

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Best Reptile Incubator 2017 2018 – Leopard Gecko Incubation – Natures Spirit

best reptile incubator Natures Spirit leopard gecko incubation eggs

Leopard gecko hobbyists often ask, “my leopard gecko laid eggs, what do I do?”  The topic of leopard gecko incubation often comes up unexpectedly.  Maybe you didn’t know the group of leopard geckos you are housing together contained a male.  Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to get into leopard gecko breeding, so the eggs are a pleasant surprise.  In this article we’ll discuss the best reptile incubator money can buy in 2018.  We will also go over specifics of leopard gecko incubation, such as ideal incubation medium, temperature sexing, incubation temperature, and egg incubation period.

The Best Reptile Incubator 2017 – 2018 – Natures Spirit

The best reptile incubator of 2018 is without a doubt, Natures Spirit incubator.  It measures a whopping 24″ Tall x 24″ Deep x 19″ Wide.

best leopard gecko incubator Natures Spirit reptile eggs incubation

These Natures Spirit incubators are solidly built.  They come with 2 removable shelves, a large clear plexiglass door for easy viewing, heavy duty secure latches, air circulation fan, and they weigh only 40lbs.  Put it all together, you have the best reptile incubator available for small to mid-sized breeders, no matter if you are an amateur gecko hobbyist or professional breeder. Continue reading “Best Reptile Incubator 2017 2018 – Leopard Gecko Incubation – Natures Spirit”

Importance of incubators

For a leopard gecko breeder, there are a few things that affect your season’s success. One of which is finding good breeder geckos, something we covered in a previous Gecko Breeder Chronicle article. The other however, is having good incubators. As a breeder, your eggs are everything. Without the eggs hatching, you have no season, and you can’t advance your projects.

Importance of Incubators – Unexpected Failures

During our first year of breeding, we had an incubator that died overnight.  There were 12 eggs in that incubator, and all 12 turned out bad. It was not surprising to us that the eggs went bad after the incident, we expected it. Although it was disheartening, because the eggs looked firm and fertile before.  They were from several projects we were working on that year, many of which included our Super Giant and Radar projects. That incubator was incubating for males, so we had a season with no male holdbacks to further our projects. Continue reading “Importance of incubators”