NEW LEO OWNER! :D Just a few questions...

Greetings fellow Leo owners,

I just bought a Leo a few days ago, my first one, so I'm new to the game. I am extremely excited about my new pet but I have a few questions, just to be sure I'm doing things as correctly as possible. I did my research prior to buying my Leo and based my judgement off of what I learned. Here's what I have so far:

My Leo (Zuki) is a baby/juvenile still. I'm using a 10 gallon tank right now, but I will definitely upgrade to a larger tank when he gets bigger. I am using white paper towels, since everywhere I've read, including this forum, has said that that is the ideal substrate for young Leos.

I have a rock-like hide from Petco over the UTH, and a humid hide made from a Tupperware dish with a hole cut in the side and filled with moist sphagnum moss.

I gut-load small crickets for feeding, but I also have a dish with small meal worms inside the cage. I have a stone dish for water and a shallow plastic Gatorade cap filled with Reptivite calcium with D3.

As mentioned before, I am using a UTH rated for a 10 gallon tank as the primary heat source. Zuki seems to really like the heat pad, so I did not bother purchasing a thermometer with a probe. I know that Leos do not need UV radiation as they are nocturnal, but I have a 60 watt Nightlight Red bulb for some additional heat, as well as giving me a good view of it's habits while active. I read that red lights are okay because Leos cannot see the red light of the color spectrum, and therefore should not disrupt it's natural behavior.

The temperature on the warm side sits between 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit, but here is my slight concern: the humidity is at 25%. Is that ok? And how can I fix that if it should be higher?

Also, how moist does the humid hide need to be, and how often should I replace/re-moisten the moss?

And finally, any other inputs are welcome and encouraged, as I would love to have some insight from more experienced Leo owners.

I look forward to seeing what you have to say!

Thanks!

Matt

U did ur homework Matt.. I would just switch to calcium w/o D3 and u should buy a thermometer with a probe to be sure of ur temps. A heat pad is more likely to produce enough heat so maybe u should use a lower wattage light. I was using a 50w sun glo exo terra light in a 10G and I had good temps (93-94f and without any UTH). If u want to watch ur gecko at night just buy a 25w night bulb and you'll be set..!

If ur gecko doesnt poop in the humid hide u can keep the moss for a pretty long time. Just re-moisten when it gets dry..

Phil

Phil said:

U did ur homework Matt.. I would just switch to calcium w/o D3 and u should buy a thermometer with a probe to be sure of ur temps. A heat pad is more likely to produce enough heat so maybe u should use a lower wattage light. I was using a 50w sun glo exo terra light in a 10G and I had good temps (93-94f and without any UTH). If u want to watch ur gecko at night just buy a 25w night bulb and you'll be set..!

If ur gecko doesnt poop in the humid hide u can keep the moss for a pretty long time. Just re-moisten when it gets dry..

Phil

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Thanks Phil, I'll definitely look into a lower wattage bulb. I feel that my apartment is colder than average, so I got the 60w bulb to compensate for that, because I was unsure how the temperature of my apartment would affect the temperature of the cage. Do you think 25% humidity is adequate?

Hello Matt welcome! I have used Reptical calcium+D3 in a bowl in the tank since mine were juvies with no issues. There are two views on the D3..that too much D3 can cause issues, but like i said Mine are almost a year old and all I use is calcium+D with no issues. I use Replashy Gecko Vit to dust my feeders everyother feeding. Also your temps are alittle low. Your hot side should be 90-95 so I would definitly get a digital temp with probe so you can be sure what your temps truely are on the FLOOR of your viv, not the air temp.

I too use a infared bulb mostly for extra radient heat due to the low temps in my apartment. Geckos are not suppose to see infared light..but some on here have leo's who dislike the light, mine seem to pay no attention to it..and infact I find my female laying on her rocks right under it, and my male will climb his hide and lay under the infared light as well. So its your leo's preference. My Infared is a 50watt so before you go out to get a different light..I would invest in a temp probe and find out if the light is raising your temps too much...if not keep using that bulb. (those suckers are pricey )

As for the humidity if you have one of those round humidity readers..toss it it will just make you worry...if the only moist place in the viv is the moist hide then your fine. I spray my moist hide every couple of days...no need to saturate just make sure its moist.

Good luck with your new friend, and good on ya for doing your research!!

Pinky81 said:

Hello Matt welcome! I have used Reptical calcium+D3 in a bowl in the tank since mine were juvies with no issues. There are two views on the D3..that too much D3 can cause issues, but like i said Mine are almost a year old and all I use is calcium+D with no issues. I use Replashy Gecko Vit to dust my feeders everyother feeding. Also your temps are alittle low. Your hot side should be 90-95 so I would definitly get a digital temp with probe so you can be sure what your temps truely are on the FLOOR of your viv, not the air temp.

I too use a infared bulb mostly for extra radient heat due to the low temps in my apartment. Geckos are not suppose to see infared light..but some on here have leo's who dislike the light, mine seem to pay no attention to it..and infact I find my female laying on her rocks right under it, and my male will climb his hide and lay under the infared light as well. So its your leo's preference. My Infared is a 50watt so before you go out to get a different light..I would invest in a temp probe and find out if the light is raising your temps too much...if not keep using that bulb. (those suckers are pricey )

As for the humidity if you have one of those round humidity readers..toss it it will just make you worry...if the only moist place in the viv is the moist hide then your fine. I spray my moist hide every couple of days...no need to saturate just make sure its moist.

Good luck with your new friend, and good on ya for doing your research!!

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Sweet, thanks for the tips. It sounds like I'll definitely need to get a thermometer with a probe. I do, in fact, have one of the circular humidity dials, and you're right, it has had me worrying a little, so I'll scrap that as well. Is the calcium+D3 ok for dusting too, or should I pick up an additional vitamin supplement?

My Leo also likes to climb his hide and get some direct heat from the light

Thanks!

I'll tell ya the truth I used just reptocal for the first 6-7 months, then I got the repashy. So honestly IMO again you don't have to go run out and buy more vits. Reptocal does have other vits in it..its not just calcium and D3 so i think your fine. Spend the $$ on one or two thermo probes one should be directly on the hot side floor and maybe if your worried about ambient temps with the light put a probe onto the cool side to make sure your not running to warm all over with a 10gal.

I have a 20gal long and get a great temp graident with the light and UTH.

Pinky81 said:

I'll tell ya the truth I used just reptocal for the first 6-7 months, then I got the repashy. So honestly IMO again you don't have to go run out and buy more vits. Reptocal does have other vits in it..its not just calcium and D3 so i think your fine. Spend the $$ on one or two thermo probes one should be directly on the hot side floor and maybe if your worried about ambient temps with the light put a probe onto the cool side to make sure your not running to warm all over with a 10gal.

I have a 20gal long and get a great temp graident with the light and UTH.

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Your opinions are greatly appreciated. I'm always open to new ideas and other peoples' insight. I was planning on getting a 20g long for my next tank, so I'm glad to hear your temp. gradient is good. I'm going to go get a probe thermometer tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes.