Crested gecko thermal gradient guide

Getting heating and UV lighting right is genuinely the single most important thing you can do for a reptile — the majority of common illnesses, from metabolic bone disease to respiratory infections, trace back to incorrect temperatures or lighting. For crested geckos specifically, thermal stress is a real and often overlooked issue. To give you the most useful advice, can you tell me: how old or large is your gecko, what size is the enclosure, and what heating or lighting do you currently have in place?

Good that you're thinking about this early. Crested geckos are one of the more forgiving reptiles, but 'forgiving' doesn't mean they have no needs — it just means the consequences of getting it wrong are slower and subtler. They need a thermal gradient of roughly 22°C on the cool end and no more than 27°C on the warm end. Juveniles are especially sensitive to temperature spikes, which trigger stress responses that suppress the immune system over time. What's the typical room temperature in the space where the tank lives?

Yes, 19°C is a bit low — you want the cool end sitting comfortably at 22°C even at night. The key thing with crested geckos is you don't want radiant heat from below or from a bright basking bulb; they're arboreal and naturally warm from above, and they're crepuscular, so heat needs to be gentle and controllable. What I'd recommend is a low-wattage ceramic heat emitter paired with a pulse proportional thermostat. The thermostat is the non-negotiable part — without it, you're guessing, and temperature fluctuations are exactly what causes the chronic stress you're trying to avoid.

The Microclimate Evo Lite is what I'd go with for your setup. It's a pulse proportional thermostat, which means it delivers smooth, consistent heat rather than cycling on and off — that steady consistency is exactly what prevents the temperature swings that stress juvenile geckos. It handles up to 600W but works just as well with a small 40W ceramic emitter, has a clear digital display, and the probe placement is straightforward. It's been a staple in the UK reptile hobby for years and it's reliable in a way that cheaper dials simply aren't. Pair it with a 40W Exo Terra Ceramic Heater mounted at the top of the enclosure, set the thermostat to hold 24–25°C at the warm end, and your gecko will have a stable, stress-free environment from day one.

Crested geckos were historically kept without UV and survived, but the current evidence — and the consensus among reptile vets — is that low-level UVB does benefit them, particularly for juveniles still developing their skeletal structure. A 5.0 or 6% UVB tube on a 12-hour cycle is worth adding. It doesn't need to be intense; an Arcadia Forest Canopy 6% or the Exo Terra Repti-Glo 5.0 compact for a tank your size is plenty. More importantly, it removes any risk of metabolic bone disease entirely, which is exactly the kind of preventable problem you're trying to avoid. The thermostat and ceramic heater are your immediate priority, but I'd add UV within the first month.