ground temp and air temp

Question
Diane, i have a quick question. For leopard geckos, what is more important, the air temperature or the ground temperature. This is because i have a thermometer hanging on the glass and it read 86 degrees farenheit. But then, i put the thermometer on the ground and it read 110 degrees! I was really scared i might have burnt my leos so i moved my lamp to the other side. So now, the ground temperature reads 93 but my air temperature reads 80 degrees f. Should i switch the lamp back or is this fine? Thanks

Answer
Hi Chris,
Makes ya crazy, doesn't it???   I worry about the ground temps...its one reason why I like using the slate tiles on the sand...it insulates and distributes the heat from the undertank heaters.  The air temp is important also....so you may want to go to a lower wattage overhead light....the lower the wattage,and also bulb color(the frosted, or other household bulbs that are the less bright work well for daylight...also, using a flood instead of a "spot" helps.
For night time...if they have the warm "ground" in the warm area, thats enough.
Remember...you need to have that cool end for daytime..