Quote Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
With temps that low your best bet with just one animal is to have 2 heat pad and one or 2 t-stat (depending on the one you buy)

One heat pad will need to provide temps for the hot spot (86/88) while the other temp for the cool end (76/78)

Energy wise heat pad will be more efficient and there will be less heat loss then when using a bulb.
I don't think his friend is going to want a bunch of money dumped into his tank and come back to everything changed up. Just wrapping the tank in cardboard would keep some more heat but I would only do that if we find the other side is getting alot colder than 79.

Another cheap fix is changing the day bulb out to a night bulb and running them both 24/7.

I would do both of those if the second thermometer shows an issue.