Geckos & heat mat question.

[clive 82]

Hi guys. I got a new Madagascan ground gecko ( pictus gecko ) at the weekend.
I use a heat lamp during the day which I turn off at night combined with a heat mat. The heat mat is controlled by a thermostat.
I have the heat mat set to 75 degrees F.
During the day with the lamp on the hot spot reaches around 88 degrees.
At night when the mat reaches 75 degrees it obviously automatically switches off. My question is should the heat mat ALWAYS be on or is it ok as long as its in the set temperature range?
I hope that makes sense? This is my first lizard so sorry if it seems like an obvious question. Ive kept corn snakes before but found finding the right temperature easier to achive.
Loving my gecko, wish I had got one sooner!
Thanks in advance

 

[The Snark]

It seems that you should research this animal in it's native habitat. One very common pitfall with synthesized environments is drastic shifts common in the natural environment don't happen. Some of these shifts as changes in the temperature are what triggers events in the animal's life cycle. Dormancy, breeding inclination and altering it's metabolism can depend on these shifts.
One common severe problem that arises is maintained consistent temperature and humidity forces an animal to maintain a given level of metabolism. This can severely affect the lifespan of the animal. It can lengthen it, and often does, but in breeding stock it can adversely affect the reproductive ability and duration. IE Can produce an unthrifty animal that turns into a display piece but usually wouldn't be alive in the wild, a hazard that would normally be removed from the gene pool.