heatmatt and digging

just wondering if it is normal for a leopard gecko to dig down to the heatmatt and lay directly on the heatmatt?? because when i lifted up his hide last night to see if he wanted some food he had dug all the substrate out ( reptile bark ), i just keep pushing it back over when he dose dig, oh and he tends to dig round his moss hide and try and get under it and sometimes he manages to the nutta lol x

I honestly can't say that I've seen leo's dig. I know at my local reptile shop, they have a little dug out tunnel and the leo's are always in it.

oh ok guessing yours dont do it then lol x

I've seen it in uromastyx and leopard lizards, before and I do believe its is perfectly normal. I haven't seen it in my leo as I use newspaper as substrate I think they just want to get closer to the heat source but this can cause burns on their belly.

You may want to think about maybe a tile to go over the heat mat?

Yeah its normal.. they like to lay on top of the heat mat .. my leo sleeps in the corner of the tank where the heat mat is. I've seen my leopard gecko digging.. all lizards will dig but obvs they will only dig underground is they normally would in the wild.
my leopard gecko digs in her litter tray a little before she goes to the loo :P and gets sand everywhere

To be honest what im guessing it is; is imagine his soft little tummy laid on the reptile bark? Can't be comfortable.

He's probably dug so he can lie on the flat surface. Rather than rough bark.
Which is perfectly understandable and normal.

I agree with Jordan... repti bark is not a natural substrait for them and it is likely not very pleasant on his belly, plus he could just be wanting to get to the UTH as well. It's unlikely he would get burnt because if you lay your feaverish hand on your leo for an hour he isn't getting burned and if your uth is in the proper parameters of 88-95 then it's really no different.



Just to comment on the digging thing, Eros digs in his litterbox just about every night and kicks out half the sand as of late.... grrrr... silly boy makin HUGE messes

Slate tiles for the win

It's normal for leopard geckos to want to dig, but you shouldn't let your gecko lay directly on top of the UTH. Their stomach can get burned as it's very hot on the direct glass surface where your UTH is. So if you find your gecko digging to that spot, you will want to think about changing substrate and secure it so they can't dig all the way down to the bottom.

I'd definitely recommend slate/ceramic tiles, or simply paper towels. They do enjoy a flat surface to lay on, as mentioned above bark can't be comfortable. Gecko stomach is very soft, so the bumps and possible sharp edges on the bark won't feel good with them needing to lay flat down to absorb heat.

yeah but if i put kitchen roll ontop of the heatmatt aint that gunna make the kitchen roll to hot?? because my heatmatt is inside my viv ? x

This is what thermostats are for...

If you put the probe of the thermostat on the glass and set the the thermostat to 92 or something... It's only going to reach 92 or 93 at the most. Glass or slate, wherever you put the thermostat probe will only stay to the temp you have set.

As long as yOu have a thermostat regulating the heat of the heatmat it shouldn't be a problem to lay on... Unless you set your thermostat top high.

my temp is always kept at 32-33 c so its only on 90/91 f ... would that be ok to lay kitchen roll on then??



what i was doin b4 was having just sand on the hot side over the heatmatt and kitchen roll on the cold side do u think i should go back to that?? and when i feed him just feed him on the kitchen roll x

Wait you have your under tank heating pad inside the tank? It should go outside, please fix it. It's designed to go on the outside of your tank on the bottom.

i have always had it on the inside.... i have to i got a wooden viv... trust me it is a heatmatt that can go inside or i would have it

I have my heatmat INSIDE my viv as the wood is too thick to let enough heat through. Which is why I have a slate tile over the top of the heat mat then a couple of layers of newpaper and this does the trick

Personally it's not a risk I'm willing to take but they are your animals. Leopard geckos can get messy at times and if water ever spills on your heating pad, it spells disaster.

But if you insist, at the very least use a thermostat and get a slate tile to place on top of the pad. Still not something I'd do but that's just my opinion.

well if i didnt have that in there my gecko would die because the heatmatt wouldnt come through the wood its to thick.... he has been fine with it for the last 4 months and his dont wee on it he has a litter tray that he uses

Kermit wrote:


Just to comment on the digging thing, Eros digs in his litterbox just about every night and kicks out half the sand as of late.... grrrr... silly boy makin HUGE messes

Just like banana then

what has everyone else got there leo's on??? do any of u recon that i should change back to half sand and half kitchen roll or leave him on bark?? x

nope sand is bad for leopard geckos.. they can get impaction if they eat it. I would either go on full floor of kitchen roll or tile. I have tile

im a bit scared the kitchen roll might set alight lol although i guess its just like putting ya toilet roll on the radator when the heating is on.... it wont set alight will it?





i have just changed it all over for kitchen roll lets see if he is a bit more happyier with that, he wasent intrested in food again and thats the 5th night in a row and this isnt his usual behavour x

its actually quite a popular thing, the whole heatmat inside the viv. Those great big wooden vivs are very popular and the heeatmat being inside is never an issue if you have a good and trusted thermostat.

I know a lot of people generally house snakes in the big wooden vivs, and eveyone seems fine with it.

I'd definitely go all kitchen roll to be honest though. But a thermostat is a must, and the probe of thermostat should be on top of the kitchen roll keeping it steady at 90 - 92 ish.

As far as the uth being exposed on te inside of the tank, what you need to do is get. A heat mat from cobra either ultra therm cobra or t-rex cobra. They're water esistant and highly reliable. What we did for my sons ball was place the uth directly in the viv, get 4 little square ceamic tiles, 1x1 inch or 2x2 inch place on each corner of the uth. Place a piece of stone tile, thin, slate marble granite on those 4 little tiles. The gap will provide you a buffer so your herp isn't directly on the mat and the mat can breathe properly. You can get a reostat or thermostat to either decrease the wattage of the mat (rheostat) but you'll have to monitor that, thermostat which is more expensive you set the temp so it cycles heat on and off insted of constant lower wattage heat. The most it will get IF you go with a cobra is 103. That will not burn your leo. Again think of you having a feaver and holding your leo... are you gonna burn him? If you get 106 and higher which is highly unusual without the addition of bulbs or an exceptionally hot summer day.

i have got a thermostate controling my temputure and it is at 33 c which is about 91 f... i put kitchen roll in there last night and he dose seem happyier... my heatmatt is fine its not a problem... and my elmo wee's in his litter tray and his water bowl is over the other side of his viv way away from the heatmatt.. he is still not eating tho .. i just tried to feed him a minit ago and he is not intrested at all but will try again later... think im goin to take him down to the shop i got him from so they can have a look at him

because you've changed his substrate, he may be off his food for a couple of days. change can be stressful for some leos i personally wouldnt worry for a few days.

Yup Sarah is right, when you change the substrate its liike he has moved home now, and in a new enclosure, unfortunately you'll have to go through another settling in period with him.

This means not handling him or boothering him often, and he may not eat for 3 - 5 days. He may also see, very retreated.