| Any responsible owner knows that the temperature | | | | not touching the substrate then they'll be measuring |
| for leopard geckos is very important. Leopard geckos | | | | air temperature, not surface temperature. |
| need a warm area in their tanks of about 90 degrees | | | | Remote digital sensor units |
| Fahrenheit, and a temperature gradient down to | | | | This type of device is essentially a digital |
| about 80 degrees Fahrenheit in another part of their | | | | thermometer with a probe on the end of a wire. |
| tank. It's simply not acceptable for a leopard gecko | | | | Stick the probe into the substrate, fix the readout |
| owner to not cater for the needs their pet in this | | | | somewhere you can see it (it'll have suction caps), |
| regard. | | | | and voila - accurate and constantly-updated substrate |
| Providing a heat source in a leo's tank is not difficult - | | | | temperatures. |
| a reflector lamp, heat pad or flexible heat tape will do | | | | Infrared temperature guns |
| an admirable job. What's not so easy is ensuring that | | | | A temperature gun is a thermometer, but quite a |
| the heat source you have is producing the right | | | | different one. You 'aim' it at something and press a |
| amount of heat. Too little and your leo will be | | | | button, and it fires an infrared cone that bounces |
| sluggish, sick and unhappy; too much and it'll get | | | | back to the unit and gives you a temperature reading |
| overheated or could even get burned. | | | | of that surface without needing to make contact |
| What you need, then, is a way of measuring the | | | | with it. The best thing about a temp gun is that it |
| heat that your heat source is putting out so that you | | | | accurately tells you the surface temperature of |
| can then regulate it appropriately (the regulation part | | | | whatever you point it at, not the air temperature |
| can normally be taken care of with a simple plug-in | | | | near it like normal thermometers can. |
| dimmer switch). Below are some of the options for | | | | Herpstats |
| measuring temperature. Keep in mind that what | | | | With most ways of measuring temperature you end |
| needs to be measured is the temperature of the | | | | up with a manual two-stage process: first measure |
| substrate that your leo is walking around on and not | | | | the temperature; then adjust the heating device |
| the temperature of the air near it - this is an | | | | accordingly using a dimmer switch. Herpstats are |
| important distinction. | | | | great, because what they do is measure the |
| Ordinary aquarium thermometers | | | | temperature with a probe, then adjust the power |
| Aquarium mercury-type thermometers are robust | | | | that's going to the heating device automatically until |
| and accurate. They come with a stainless steel | | | | the temperature matches the one you punch into |
| mount and it's easy to fix a couple of them in your | | | | the herpstat. This is definitely the five-star option! |
| leo's tank. However, the potential hazard to using | | | | So, as you can see there are different ways to |
| mercury aquarium thermometers is that they need to | | | | measure the temperature for leopard geckos |
| be touching the surface of the substrate. If they're | | | | depending on your budget and your preferences. |