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