I might be getting a leopard gecko this month so I need help!

Do they need a light bulb or can they just have a heat pad?

well I hope you can help me!!

They do not require a UV bulb as some lizards do but adding light won't do any harm, I would suggest a light tube as these don't emit as much heat as a bulb.

You will need a heat mat but I would also have some sort of ceramic heater to heat the air.

Most importantly, you need thermostats, one for the heat mat and one for the ceramic heater.

Is it a young gecko you're getting? If it is you will also need to supplement their diet by dusting the crickets in something like Nutrobal once a week.

Our gecko is on a substrate of childs play sand. He has a hidy hole and bed. Also he will need something big enough for him to bathe in. A gauge to moniter the temperature in his viv and also a gauge to moniter the humidity in his viv. Echo has a heat bulb rather than a tube.

__________________

well I don't know what I'm getting because my parents have to agree on What they need and Stuff but basically I'll get whatever is @ petland if I like it!! But If I GET ONE I'LL PUT PICTURES ON HERE!!

Right, leos don't need light. But me, for instance, I have my champ on lights for about half a year. My friend suggested I use very little lighting as well such as r-zilla tropical 25 series. However, I decided to up it a bit and use fluorescent tubes from their desert series 50. There are no problems with the light I like how compatible they are with my leo. I mean even the box says they are intended for leopard geckos. You could even use MegaRays, reptisun10.0s, etc.
As for substrate, this can get complicated. I have never had problems with sand or particle subs, but I will warn against them. You can honestly just use whatever you want, but if you notice that your leo starts snacking on it, remove it immediately and try another substrate. Now a days people just want to use tiles or carpet.

Leopard geckos absorb much of the heat required for thermoregulation through their undersides so you will need a heat mat, which does not cover more than one half of the enclosure, preferably 1/3 giving a warm end, cool end and a temperature between the two in the middle. You will also need stats to maintain heat and humidity levels.

Heat lamps are not completely necassary although they do provide a natural light cycle which can be somewhat beneficial as well as (depending on what type of bulb you use) produce small amounts of UV rays which can actually encourage activity within the gecko. Although Leopard Geckos are nocturnal, their skin is highly sensitive to UV rays so they only require small amounts to benefit from it. I use Exo Terra sun-glo basking light for mine and have noticed they do enjoy basking in it on occasions, infact I see them out more often then I did before I used a heat bulb!

A hide on the cool end and a hide on the warm end which can be your humid hide (a hide filled with a damp absorbant material such as vermiculite or sphagnum moss which the gecko will enter when preparing to shed).

Water dish and food which my include crickets (brown or black) locusts, mealworms, cockroaches, phoenix worms, butterworms etc wax worms are a treat only as they can be highly addictive and are very fattening. A varried diet is more beneficial then just feeding it one species of insects, mine are eating mealworms and locusts at the moment though occasionally get given a different species of insect to eat.

Insects will need to be gutloaded (fed nutritious foods) such as dark leafy greens, carrot (carrot contains beta carotene which is converted into vitamin A in the body, something which insects generally lack), apple, oats...things along those lines though it's best to avoid citric fruits/veg such as orange or tomato as these can give insects diarrhea resulting in dehydration. Insects will also need to be dusted with a vitamin supplement and calcium supplement every other feeding.

Although there has been some success using sand as a substrate I would personally advise against it, after all, Leopard Geckos naturally live in areas where the ground is hard baked, not loose and sandy! Slate or tiles can be used as well as kitchen roll or reptile cage carpet.

You may also want to add rocks for basking on and as a point of interest for the gecko as well as fake leaves to make the habitat a little more anesthetically pleasing.

I realise you only asked about the heating but I get carried away sometimes and can be foolishly thorough!

__________________

Good, informative post cat001