Leopard gecko heating at night?

[Ladylike]

Hello,

I am a new leopard gecko owner and am confused about their heating needs at night. I’ve heard two different things. I’ve heard that they don’t need heat at night and need the drop in temp to mimic their natural environment and I’ve heard that they do need heat at night to digest food properly. Sooo which of these is correct? I feed my Leo about 7pm ish and his day heat lamp goes off about 8pm. Well tonight he threw up his mealworms. I’m worried he’s not digesting properly. I’ve got a 40W blue night bulb I can use if I need to but it keeps the temp in the tank up around 83F at night. Should I leave the night bulb on? I’m so confused

 

[Rydikulus Reptiles]

Hi! Welcome to the hobby!

That's a great question. For me, I have a DHP (deep heat projector) bulb and UVB for each of my enclosures. I keep my home at around 71F at night, and I turn off all my lights. This mimics the lowered temperature leopard geckos would experience in the wild at night.

I also strongly recommend you remove your blue light immediately, as any colored lights are very harmful to a leopard gecko's sensitive eyes.

As far as the regurgitated food, belly heat would help with that tremendously! I use THG heat tape! Having some sort of undertank heating (regulated by a thermostat) can certainly help with digestion!

Also feel free to visit the Rydikulus Reptiles Facebook page! Our "Files" tab has a lot of valuable information on leopard gecko care and husbandry that is well organized and easy to understand!

-Rai