40 gallon tank for one leo?

[zet]

Hi, my leo is about 3 months old (~6.5") and it's currently in a 10g tank. It seems a bit small as I have large hides in there and I'm thinking of upgrading. I found a 20g (30x12x12) tank online for $20, however, my friend who used to own leopard geckos has either a 30g or a 40g tank he could give me for free. If it is a 40g, would that be too big for my leo? I read that if the tank is too large, they don't utilize it fully and go over to the other side for water/dish bowl or what have you.

Thanks in advance

 

[Jusselin]

do you plan on adding more leos?

i have 3 currently in a 40 breeder and they run all over that thing, i too have some large hides in it I have a heated side to the tank and an unheated side...i keep the water on the un heated side and the food in the middle =] the utilize it very well...also is yours male or female? you might want to get him/her a friend....obviously not another male if its a male thoguh!

 

[reps4life]

Hi, my leo is about 3 months old (~6.5") and it's currently in a 10g tank. It seems a bit small as I have large hides in there and I'm thinking of upgrading. I found a 20g (30x12x12) tank online for $20, however, my friend who used to own leopard geckos has either a 30g or a 40g tank he could give me for free. If it is a 40g, would that be too big for my leo? I read that if the tank is too large, they don't utilize it fully and go over to the other side for water/dish bowl or what have you.

Thanks in advance

The more space the better. As long as you have enough hides. My leo is in a 55 gallon and is doing great. Your able to get a better temp gradient, gives him more options and allows space for exercise.

 

[Jusselin]

^ THIS!!!

 

[scm133]

If you have the space, get the 40g. I would put all dishes like food,water, calcium close to his main hide. That way he will be able to find it in that BIG place!!

 

[zet]

Great, thanks everyone! It's still a juvie and I'm still unsure whether it's a female or male yet (however it looks female to me..). But if it's a male, I of course wont be getting it a playmate, but if it's female then I definitely would!

Thanks!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Take the big tank for free! Until your gecko is ready for an upgrade, you can simply set the 10 inside it.

 

[Desdemona]

I would so go for the free tank! Like they said before, just put everything close. Depending on what you have in the tank you can even close off part of the tank with the toys (not truly closed off of course) so that he'll still have the comfort of everything close but can venture forth if he wants. I did this with one of my girls when she was young and it worked well for her. She was only in a 20, but she really seemed to like the setup. I had a long log hide that I use to help close off part of the tank but of course she could go through the log and get to the rest. She ended up using the backend of the cage as her poop spot.

 

[Dimidiata]

Dont forget you may need to purchase bigger supply(UTH and such) but yeah, go with free lol.

 

[zet]

yeah I will be getting a new, larger UTH and leaving the old one on my 10 for quarantine if I ever get new leos I'm gonna get the free tank tomorrow and go tile shopping do you guys recommend sand on the bottom of the tiles? do all tiles (I'm going for slate) have uneven bottoms? if so, what sand will be best to fill gaps if need be? thanks again everyone!

 

[Pinky81]

grats on the 40 gal! I have my two females in the 40 gallon and they move around more in that larger viv then either moved around in the smaller! Im a big believer in the bigger the better!! You leo is definitly not too small for this size viv!

 

[zet]

Here's an update for you guys. So I took the free tank. It's 36wx11dx16h I switched from carpet to tile. My friend gave me the two hides on the left so more cold hides for him/her. I had a half log/bonsai tree that I don't need to use anymore. Carlos kept climbing on the tree and falling off so I bought it a new shorter warm hide

Also, I'm new to morphs, but I'm thinking this is a normal morph? If anyone can help out that will be greatly appreciated


Anyway here are some photos. I'm still DIYing my screen top, but this is where I'm at right now!

[/img]

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Nice looking tank.

 

[M_surinamensis]

It's 36wx11dx16h

That's not forty gallons. It's... just shy of twenty seven and a half gallons, although it was probably manufactured as a thirty. They used to nest tanks to ship them, so many of the sizes are more like generalizations and names than actual measurements of capacity.

 

[Dimidiata]

YUP. the good news is that its still ok for the leo.

 

[zet]

That's not forty gallons. It's... just shy of twenty seven and a half gallons, although it was probably manufactured as a thirty. They used to nest tanks to ship them, so many of the sizes are more like generalizations and names than actual measurements of capacity.

Yeah, he wasn't for sure, but told me it was about 36" long so I assumed it was a 40gal. When I finally got it and measured I knew it wasn't, but still a nice upgrade from my old 10gal

 

[artes]

It looks nice! I would totally live there.

 

[zet]

hehe. just got a background and some leaves for a some finishing touches