First Time Owner With Some Questions!

Hello!
I just recently purchased my first leopard gecko!!!
I have everything set up in a 10 gallon tank, 3 hides (warm, humid, and hot), some decorations, and food and water dish. I wanted to know if i have too many thing in the tank. I'm not sure if leos can get overwhelmed, but I also don't want the little guy to get bored.
Also, i purchased a dessert tank starter it so it came with overhead lamps, ones for the day and one for the night. Are under tank heaters better? I'm also having a hard time keeping the humidity down, I live in a naturally humid area and have no A/C in my apartment. It varies from between 50-65%. I've tried a fan but it drops the temperature down to low, any ideas?




One last question. When I first tried to put him/her in the tank on day 1, he hissed at me and scared the crap out of me. I know she was probably stressed and terrified and he hasn't shown any other signs of aggression, should I be concerned that he wont be friendly/tolerant of handling in the future. And are there any body language

*Sorry for the swapping of gender words, I don't know the gender yet!
Thank you in advanced!

Well dear.

1. Under tank heaters is something that you need with a leopard gecko. They digest their foods through belly heat so it's best to get one.

2. The lights will just annoy the gecko and could maybe even cause damage to the skin.

3. Have a lot int he tank is no issue as long as you have enough space for the little one to walk around. Which from what I can see, your set up is fine.

4. The humidity reader you have in there is very very faulty. I would look into getting a digital. I used to have one just like yours and it was big time broken.

5. A good thing to have is a temp gun so you can read the ground temps of your tank which is most important.

6. Don't worry about the little one hissing and scaring you. When they are they small they always seem to do that. My Blizzard did that to me when I tried to put her in her tank as well. Just make sure to give her about a two week time period of no handling so she can get used to her new place. Once she is settled in handle her every day for short times. Once she is pretty used to you, you can have her out for longer. Also handle in the early early mornings or the late late evenings. If you can try handling her during the night.

7. In the future I would look into moving her off of the repti carpet. While it's a much better choice than sand, I have had issues with my little ones biting the carpet when trying to catch a cricket then getting their teeth stuck in the carpet where they then struggle to get them free. Tile, paper towel, small amounts of eco earth. I tong feed all my animals and all of their cages have eco earth. I tong feed as to not risk impaction even though eco earth breaks down in water and would do so even more in stomach acid.

8. About the humidity. I live in a tropical area too. With a humidity of 50-100% every day. My tank stays in a constant 20%. I have dry eco earth, which sucks the moister out of the air which I think is what is keeping the humidity down for me. I was even able to put a water fall in my gecko tank and still have the humidity at a constant 20%. I'm not sure what else you can do to take away the humidity. Try getting a digital reader first to see if that is truly the humidity.

Welome to GF. I don't think it's worth worrying about the humidity. In the winter when you're running the heat, the humidity will be low. I'm in New ENgland with no AC and high humidity some of the time and my 30+ leopard geckos are all fine.

Aliza

Thank you! I will look into going digital and into something other than the lights and carpet!! I appreciate the quick and friendly responses!!
If I get and under the tank heater, do I need any heat lamps for the tops?

Usually, heat lamps are not needed with a UTH. If the room where your tank is becomes cold in the winter (< 65 F or so), then you might need to consider getting a ceramic heat emitter to keep the air temperature from dropping too low.

Awesome! Thank you everyone. I got a digital thermometer and hygrometer and it says the humidity is at 42% right now, while the old one I have says its 65%! I guess having the right equipment made a huge difference.

Yes, digital is good! I hate those little dials and wish they would stop selling them... lol Not accurate at ALL.

I think 40-60% is fine, honestly, and if it spikes even higher now and then, your gecko will probably even like it. Although they are a desert species, leopard geckos are pretty bad at retaining moisture. A lot of mine camp out in their humid hides constantly.