I might be being a little dumb here, but how is it possible to use both? I have them both on stats but find that when it gets to a certain temp one of them goes off, then never comes back on because the other keeps the temperature up.

Am I just being dumb though? does anyone else know how to make it work?

I did read somewhere that heat mats are better than lamps for gecko's as they warm their bellies up, but i'm having a hard time keeping a constant temp with the mat, as it seems to go to 91'f (even though its set to 88'f ) then cools right down to 84'f. I do have an easier time keeping a constant temp with the heat bulb but I find the tank in general doesn't seem as warm with the mat (even though the thermometer says it is.) and i'm worried that her belly will be getting cold. she's stopped eating recently and i'm wondering if the temperature is something to do with it.

Any advice please?

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1.0.0 Rainbow boa {Ziggy}
1.2.1 Leo's {Fudge, Priscillia, Thermie and Poppet
1.0.0 cat {Kitty-Pancake}
0.0.2 Emporer Scorpions {Jack and Jill!}
0.0.2 Blue Vietnamese tree frogs
0.0.1 Real human baby on the way

88 is your average temp - when you set your thermostat it will try and maintain a median temperature which is why you get the higher and lower variations.

Depending on your set-up, this will play a part in how much of a variation you get -with our 08 Royal she is in a 34ltr RUB so the heat mat is underneath this with the stat probe and the thermometer sensor going through a hole into the RUB. These are positioned over where the heat mat is and I get an accurate reading and less of a variation in temps.

With the probe positined on top of the heat mat and not placed inside the tanks I get a bigger variation in readings - similar to what you are getting.

I dont use lamps with any of mine (snakes) as I find there are more risks - with burns etc. And I wouldnt have thought it would be neccessary to have both for certain species of reptile. The other alternative would be to change your thermostat. A bog-standard mat stat will always have varying temp readings, but if you got a pulse one it keeps it at the same temp better.

Hope this helps x x x

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My Ever-Expanding Household1.2.0 08 Normal Royal Python-Remus, Arabella, Olympe1.0.0 08 Albino Reverse Okeetee Corn-Sirius1.0.0 08 Snow Corn-Lucius AKA HOUDINI0.1.0 08 Ghost Motley Corn-Molly1.0.0 08 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Severus1.1.0 06 Lionhead Rabbits-Simba & Narla1.1.0 07/04 Children-Samuel & Caitlyn1.0.0 80 Fiance-Stuart
My WishlistLavender CornAnery CornThere's always more room for Royals

From reading your post it sounds like you are using more than one mat on stat, notthing wrong there i hasten to add, but are you using more than one mat under the sametank/viv or are you using a bulb and a mat connected to the same stat?

I'm using a mat on a mat-stat and a bulb on a dimmer stat

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1.0.0 Rainbow boa {Ziggy}
1.2.1 Leo's {Fudge, Priscillia, Thermie and Poppet
1.0.0 cat {Kitty-Pancake}
0.0.2 Emporer Scorpions {Jack and Jill!}
0.0.2 Blue Vietnamese tree frogs
0.0.1 Real human baby on the way

I dont know anything about general heat/light requirements for a gecko, but if they dont need uv or other form of lighting, Id go with the heat mat. If the lighting is for viewing purposes only, Id recommend you buy LEDs as they dont get hot - so dont need thermostats etc and wont affect the settings for your mat.

x

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My Ever-Expanding Household1.2.0 08 Normal Royal Python-Remus, Arabella, Olympe1.0.0 08 Albino Reverse Okeetee Corn-Sirius1.0.0 08 Snow Corn-Lucius AKA HOUDINI0.1.0 08 Ghost Motley Corn-Molly1.0.0 08 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Severus1.1.0 06 Lionhead Rabbits-Simba & Narla1.1.0 07/04 Children-Samuel & Caitlyn1.0.0 80 Fiance-Stuart
My WishlistLavender CornAnery CornThere's always more room for Royals

Geckos don't need uv light as they are nocturnal. It is important that they get heat from underneath for digestion so I would follow Charlie's advice.

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My Pets 0.0.1 Leo Gecko 0.1.0 Cat 0.2.0 Guinea Pigs 0.4.0 Rats 1.0.0 Syrian Hamster 1.0.0 Chinese Hamster 0.0.3 Giant African Land Snails 0.0.1 Newt Fishies- Plec, Upside Down Catfish, Neons

Is there some way to connect the mat to the dimmerstat so that it runs in parallel with the lamp (both lamp and mat runing from the dimmerstat with the probe above the mat), and do away with the matstat (save it for the next reptile ?)

What you are experiencing is a common problem which occurs when you allow two control systems to control one system variable (the temperature). The usual problem is that the output from one affects the input reading of the other, and the dominant system ends up controlling everything

My daughters leos are in vivs with red heat bulbs connected to dimmer stats. If you put a rock under the bulb, the rock heats up and the leos can use them to get belly heat. We dont have any problems.

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My Reptiles3.3 various corns2.2 cali kings 2.0 hybrid 3/4 pine 1/4 bull0.1 bull1.0 common boa1.0 royals1.0 yellow rat 1.1 albino black rat1.0 white sided black rat0.1 jungle carpet2.2 kenyan sand boas
0.0.1 bearded dragon0.1 chile rose0.0.1 brachypelma emilia

I would stick to just a heat mat,lights are not needed unless for viewing as already stated,Having a basking rock under a heat lamp is not so good as the geckos are not designed to have heat from above but from underneath and they will feel happier in their warm hide to digest and not out in the open on a rock.