What is the Best Way to Keep Your Crested Gecko Warm in Winter?
By: Jason
Last Updated: March 17, 2023
Pet reptiles need the temperature of their tanks regulated, especially in the winter. For most of the year, crested geckos can thrive without extra tools to warm or cool their tanks. But what about when it gets cold? Do you know how to keep crested geckos warm in winter?
When the weather gets so cold that it drops the temperature in your crested geckos’ tank, please place it in a warm room and insulate the sides. Add a heat lamp and monitor the temperature closely.
Keeping your pet lizard warm during the cold season takes planning and the right tools, but it is essential to providing good care.
When Do Crested Geckos Need Heating?
Crested geckos are relatively easy pets to keep for several reasons. One reason is that they do not need special heating devices under most circumstances.
Room temperature works well for them, though they do better with a warmer and cooler section of their enclosure during the day. For an arboreal species, the ideal range is 80°F-82°F (26-28°C) at the top of the tank and between 72°F-75°F (22-24°C) at the bottom. This spectrum is called a thermal gradient.
If the temperature range falls below those low points, like it might in the cold months, it is time to explore adding a heating device to get it to warm it back up.
What is the lowest safe temperature?
Crested geckos can survive lower temperatures than 68°F (20°C), but those conditions are stressful and can cause health problems.
In Philippe de Vosjoli’s 2005 handbook on Crested Geckos, he notes lower temperatures are okay during the winter. The researcher explored their natural environment extensively and understood their rainforest habitat well. The author cites that low 70s are a reasonable day temp and low 60s are safe for the evening.
“Only if temperatures regularly dip below 55°F (13°C) would I consider providing a supplemental heat source at night.”
While experts today do not recommend ambient temperatures anywhere close to that low, it is worth noting that one of the early pioneers of pet crested gecko care wasn’t worried about colder climates.
Most experts today use the mid 60’s as the safest low point and avoid the extremes to reduce discomfort and chances of illness.
What happens if the temperature gets too low?
When reptiles get cold for extended periods, their whole system slows down. They get lethargic and eat less, and might enter into the reptilian equivalent of hibernation called brumation. Crested geckos are no different.
You can expect a cold crestie to find a tight spot to squeeze into and not move around much. It might be under some loose substrate or clump of plant matter, but they will find whatever they can that is a bit warmer. While ignoring food, they will still search for fresh water.
If the body heat of a crested gecko drops too low, it will die.
Steps For Keeping Your Crested Geckos Warm in the Winter
Even with modern heating and cooling, changes in the weather outside impact the inside of homes.
It surprises many people, but when the thermostat for the whole house is at one consistent temperature, only some of the rooms are the same. Drafty windows, exterior walls, exposure to sun and shade, and being close to a door that goes outside can change how cold a room gets in the winter.
Several helpful things can be done to minimize these issues, but before changing anything about the tank, let’s look at its location.
Move the enclosure
The most effective strategy to keep a pet lizard’s tank warm is to place it in a warm room.
Keeping the tank warm in a cool room takes much more work than moving it to a different place for a while. The ambient air temperature in the room with the tank makes a difference. Heat transfers through the glass or plexiglass to find equilibrium.
While this is easy to say, it can be challenging to do.
Warm the room
If moving the tank isn’t an option, try turning up the heat in the room or adding a space heater.
Unfortunately, this only sometimes works as intended. Often there is something else preventing a room from warming up.
What else can you do? Look at how the room may be losing heat. Weather stripping around windows, drafty doors, or a blocked heating vent could all contribute to a room not getting or staying warm. An old air filter, leaky ductwork, or a faulty furnace might be the cause.
This option is listed after ‘move the tank’ because many of these steps take time, money, or expertise to get fixed. These changes have benefits beyond keeping the enclosure warm and are worth exploring.
Add a heat lamp
If warming up the air outside the tank doesn’t resolve the issue, it is time to focus on adding warmth to the tank.
The perfect time to consider getting a heat lamp is when the ambient temperature is too cold for your crested gecko.
A heat lamp is a term that encompasses several types of devices with a similar goal. Ceramic heat emitters use a bulb to warm up a terrarium section and create a basking spot where the crestie can warm up. Because the heat isn’t evenly distributed, a temperature gradient is created. Ceramic heaters are not an essential piece of equipment for most crested geckos, but they are the perfect tool when you are trying to keep your crested gecko warm in the winter season.
Install a ceramic heat emitter focused on one spot of the tank (so your crestie can warm up and cool down as needed) and monitor with a digital probe thermometer.
Avoid other heat sources if possible. Heat pads and heating rocks are not ideal as they need to provide proper heat where crested geckos look for it in the wild. Providing additional heating is more critical than emulating their natural habitat in an emergency. Don’t ignore a heat mat or heating pad if they are the only options for extra heat.
Too much heat can cause problems (including heat stroke), so pay careful attention to the thermal environment as you change it.
Cover and Insulate the Enclosure
Once you have started warming up the inside of a tank with a heating source, you must find a way to keep the heat from dissipating.
Start by surrounding the sides of the tank with a blanket or towel. These will reduce heat loss through the walls of the tank. Some enclosures, like a glass vivarium, are more susceptible to this problem and will benefit more from this solution. Some gecko enclosures are made from plastic, which retains warmth better. These crested gecko tanks won’t respond as well to this fix, but it doesn’t hurt.
Do not cover the ventilation holes! These openings might be obvious, like the spaces on a wire mesh lid, or less clear, like tiny slits on plexiglass. Leave air flowing.
While the tank will cool down because of the air movement out of the air holes, sealing the enclosure will cause a build-up of carbon dioxide and humidity levels, which can be just as dangerous as the cold.
Please keep your pet’s tank insulated and well-ventilated, so they get all the fresh air they need without mold!
How To Keep Reptiles Warm During A Power Outage
It is one thing to keep a crested gecko enclosure warm during the winter, but something entirely different during a power failure when it is freezing outside.
Depending on how you heat your home, a winter power outage dramatically reduces your heating options for your pet’s enclosure. You might have a wood-burning fireplace or gas stove that can generate heat, but losing power in wintertime leaves no way to warm up your home for many of us.
If you lose power in the winter, there are some steps you can take to buy yourself some time.
- First, seal off the room where your pet gecko lives. Cover the windows with towels or blankets and block the bottom of the door to keep warm air in the room.
- Surround the entire tank with a quilt or thermal blanket but leave space for airflow. Consider placing hot water bottles wrapped in towels against the outside of the tank. Monitor your digital thermometer to see if the tank gets too cold.
- Add a water bowl for them to drink from (and spray occasionally) but don’t worry about food- they can go several weeks without eating and be fine.
- Pay attention to notices from the power company and be ready to leave with your pet if you need to evacuate. Use a simple carrier or a temporary housing unit instead of moving a complete tank.
Once the crisis is over, give your pet time to readjust before worrying about them returning to their regular eating habits. Even once the home is back to normal, it can take time for your pet to relax.
Conclusion
It is necessary to have a good plan to keep your crested gecko warm in the winter months.
If the temperature in the tank drops too low, turn up the heat or move the tank to a warmer room. If that doesn’t work, add an alternative heat source (like a heat lamp) and wrap the sides of the enclosure with blankets for insulation.
Keep an eye on it; you don’t want it to get too hot or cold. If the temperature drops too low, it can be dangerous or deadly for your pet.
Want More>>> Crested Gecko Temperature Guide
References
de Vosjoli, P. (2005) Crested Geckos. Advanced Vivarium Systems.
Kubiak, M. (2020) Handbook of Exotic Pet Medicine. Wiley-Blackwell.