Will an Under the tank heater cause a fire?

Question

i bought a $70 ZILLA basic desert kit for a leopard gecko , it came with 2 light structures, 2 light bulbs ( one night black bulb, and 1 day spot bulb), clamps for the light structures , a repti-carpet , and a thermometer/hygrometer? i have a few questions for you, 1 ) will the under tank heater cause a fire 2) do i need to get another thermometer 3) can you give me any other helpful tips for owning a a leopard gecko, thank you! =D * i have looked at over 25 websites from google on these subjects* :EDIT: 4) is a male or female leopard gecko easier? Thank You again =D

Answer 1

1)the UTH(under-tank heater) shouldnt start a fire unless you are usinga background displayment, i've heard solutions where paper towel as a substrate became to hot and began to burn,if the heat pad is squished under the tank a fire should accure this why they usually give you these suction sliders that go on each vertex of the tank to lift it up so the heatpad can easily be established and hot air can go through,

2)you should have two thermometers to track the temperatures of each side of the tank the best would be a thermometer with a probe,

3)http://www.leopardgecko.com/leopard-gecko-care

4)it doesnt matter on the sex of your gecko that makes it easier to take care of, every leopard gecko has a mind of its own

Answer 2

In order:



- i've heard that the ZOO-MED heat pad has some glitches but the Zilla one i think is fine, myself, i go with Exo-Terra, i'm not sure if the Zilla one has rubber feet, but if it does, USE THEM. you might want to prop your terrarium up about half an inch off the floor or desk or whatever you're keeping them on, it might ruin it after a while.



- I have a digital thermometer with a probe on it so i can easily take temps of both sides. what i do is right when i get up i check both sides, and do the same before i go to bed. exo-terra makes these and i think zilla does too. i just went to Wal-Mart and bought a BIOS one, works fine. pet store didn't sell the exo terra ones.



- Any helpful tips... i assume you've already researched, if you haven't then you're an idiot =] umm.. i have nothing to say, just do A LOT of research, i researched for about 3 months before i even got the gecko =]



- No difference in Genders, i have a high yellow female leopard gecko named Artemis. males tend to be a little bigger but not too much.



- i don't have a thermostat on mine, but i do have a heat lamp on a 24 hour timer. turns on at 8AM and turns off at 8PM. but your heatmat should be on 24/7, if you have a heat lamp turn it off at night, even if you have nighttime bulb because they need a heat drop at night.



- the heat mat doens't regulate it's own temperature, to do that, you need to buy a dimmer or a thermostat.

Answer 3

The heater won't cause a fire. But, over time it can damage certain surfaces. So I wouldn't put it on any nice pieces of furniture. You could get a cheap thermometer to put on the cool side of the tank, but you will be ok with just the one you have.



The best tip I can give you is to buy a cricket keeper. They make it easy to buy and keep large amounts of crickets. This will save you a lot of time running to the pet store.



There are no real behavior or care differences between the sexes. Males tend to be larger though.

Answer 4

Nick Dove and Dave Lewis asked the same question. You should see the answers side by side.

Answer 5

This question is unclear to me too