I'm in the process of setting up my first Viviarium. I am looking to keep Leopard Geckos in their. The Vivarium is 3 ft long with a 11x17 heat mat at one end beneath a false floor (4mm mdf with lino tiles on top). I am using a 15W bulb just to provide a bit of additional daylight to the Vivarium.

I've read & read about temperature gradient but there are a lot of opinions. As stated, I have a heat mat which I control with a thermostat.

I can currently maintain a gradient of 85 to 70.

My questions...

Is a temperature drop for night time essential for the substrate (ie can the temp gradient remain the same all day/night) or is an ambient temp drop ok?

If the substrate temp needs to drop, what is the best way of achieving this? The thermostat I have at the moment allows me to set the temp and then allow upto a 5 degree difference either way (+ or -)?

Thanks in advance!

Night time temps can drop as long as it is around 68 or above. You can keep the Under Tank Heater on with usually no problems.

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MARSHA

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