Some help needed

I have a problem. I was watching the temp and noticed it didn't
get above 80. Also noticed that Bob does not come out at all like I have
seen in many of the vids and pics throughout out the internet. So some
help on I guess lighting. Right now the light I had on during the day is
a Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/compact_fluorescent_bulbs.php and I now know gecko don't like these uvb lights and
I also have an Exo-Terra night glow 25 w http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/night_glo.php light , So should I leave any of the two on/off and a question about wires in the tank. Is it ok to have them in the tank because I was thinking about putting the heating pad between the tile and the tank to produce more heat as I now feel the tile may be too thick. Also noticed that most tanks I saw had a vary small bowl of calcium and food at all time, is this normal? Any comment would be great. Thanks, J

Something I did already, I felt the thermometer was placed too high on the tank so I lowered it closer to the heat to get I hope a better reading before I move the heat pad. I will check temp again later.

I keep my thermometer directly laying on the ground of the hot spot. I believe my hot spot is in the mid 90's right now. As for the calcium, yes keep a little bottle cap full of it in there, they'll get it as they need it.

To address the issues with the heat mat... you can't put it inbetween the tiles and teh tank if it is not a moisture resistant heat mat. Theonly ones I know taht are moisture proof are cobra heat mats by T-Rex and ultratherm. Pretty sure zoomed and exoterra flukers etc are not moistur resistant or at least dont advertise themselves as such. I mwentioned long ago that you would have problems trying to heat thru ceramic tiles as ceramic is an insulator and not a conductor. You can try backing your uth with tin foil or insulating pad so that all the heat is directed upwards insted of having heat loss thru the bottom of the tank. If your substrait plys the glass of the tank floor are more than a half inch thick you will need a minimum of at least 11 watts to heat thru that effectively.

As far as teh calcium cup goes that all depends on the suppliments you use... if you use an all in 1 suppliment such as repashy calcium plus icb or T-Rex leopard gecko dust icb by sandfire foods then no calcium cup in the tank is required unless it is a breeding female, a leo with mbd, or some other deficienct or you risk calcium bubbles in the arm pits which are relitively harmless and also psudo-gout which is not so harmless. If youre using a seperate calcium and multi vit rotating between them during the week them you may want to consider leavnig a calcium cup in the viv but again depending on what you feed and how you gutload you could be overloading with calcium which could again possibly resulting in the afore mentioned problems.

As far as your leo not coming out much, when leos are cold or not kept at potimum temperatures they will become lethargic and inactive. They need proper heat to control metabolism... if the metabolism is slowed down because your leo is cold then it won't move much and it will also appear darker or less brilliant in its coloring. As Im sure you know the optimum temperature range should be between 88-95*F, some like it a lil higher some like it a lil lower, but a lot of harm can come from temops being too low for too long starting with lethargy and potentially leading up to impaction as your leo can not properly digest its food. To properly monitor your temps a probe thermometer should be placed DIRECTLY ON THE FLOOR of the tank right over the area with the UTH so you know how hot the hottest spot in your viv really is. There is no real hazard that can come from the wire in your tank... leos don't nibble on them. Worst that can happen is they get tangled in it if it isn't properly secured to the floor with tape.

Hope some of this was helpful and maybe at least explained things a little more indepth for ya. If you're still confused after reading this please ask more questions or you can always PM a staff member for more indepth guidance

very helpful thanks

You're welcome jason. In the housing thread there is a sticky for setting up proper housing... there's pictures of how to affix you probe to your viv floor. I also have different views in other pictures if that would help.