20g long.

[danibug23]

i am getting a leopard gecko baby at the end of this month or next and was just hatched this month also. i bought him a 20gallon tank will this be to big for him??? also how much of the flooring should the under the tank heater take up???

also I'm still confused about the lighting. should i have a a blue bulb on his tank during the day and night?? how do you do your lighting

 

[hrford]

I'm pretty new myself so please if anything I say is incorrect let me know. The UTH should cover about a third of the tank. So NOT the one that says 10-20 you want the next size up. Get a thermostat for that and set it around 90 degrees. No overhead lights are needed just the UTH, it probably won't hurt if your house is cold but it isn't necessary. Then you have your 3 hides, one on the hot side one in the middle and then a moist hide on the cool side. Calcium (no D3) at all times along with water. For my young one I keep mealworms available all the time. Substrate should be paper towels, butcher paper, or slate.

Think that about covers it.
R

 

[LeopardShade]

A 20 gallon should be fine for a juvenile.

The UTH should cover about a third of the tank. So NOT the one that says 10-20 you want the next size up.

I'm sorry, but this is incorrect. The UTH should only cover about 1/3 of the tank. If it took up a third of the tank, too much of the enclosure floor would be too hot. The gecko wouldn't have a substantial cool side, and would have great difficulty thermoregulating - moving where it feels comfortable (moving to the cool side when it's too hot). The 10-20 gallon size is perfect for a UTH.

No overhead lights are needed just the UTH, it probably won't hurt if your house is cold but it isn't necessary.

I agree. You do not need an overhead light, only a UTH with a thermostat to regulate it.

 

[hrford]

Umm I don't understand 1/3 = third . . .

 

[coker101]

lol...yeah hrford said "The UTH should cover about a third of the tank." which is the same thing as 1/3.

I just bought a 20 long as well for an adult and her mate at some point. I had to buy the one that said it was for a 30-40 I believe because the one that said it was for a 20gal was too small.

 

[hrford]

yes the one that says 10-20 is for a regular 20 not a 20 long. If you buy that one you will not get a good temp. gradient to the cool side, I tried it, it gave me way too small of a gradient and the glass was reaching 70 degrees within half of the tank. Thus why I went up to the one that says 30-40 and have a nice gradient and very happy geckos.

 

[Dimidiata]

Hey leopard shade.... 1/3 is a third. ??? was up.

 

[LeopardShade]

I do apologize for my foolish mistake. For some strange reason, as I was writing out my horribly confusing previous post, as well as reading hrford's, my brain was thinking in fourths (1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4). So when I saw "the UTH should only cover a third of the tank", I immediately and inaccurately thought that meant 3/4's of the tank. That, and the fact that my brain does not think mathematically, are the reasons for my incorrect response.

hrford was correct, as are all of you, I apologize once again.

 

[Fencer04]

No lights. Belly heat (using a UTH) is the key to success.

 

[hrford]

No offense taken LeopardShade, just couldn't figure it out in my head is all.

 

[acpart]

I'm sure the 30-40 gallon size UTH is fine with a 20 long, but I've also done fine with the 10-20 gallon size.

Aliza

 

[Dimidiata]

I can relate here, i bought a zoomed UTH that was labled for 10-20 and put it on my 20, its held the heat fine.