48" long setup question

[warhawk77]

I picked up last night a tank 48" long x 12" high x 12" deep. I started drawing out my layout, my plan is to build hides and a 3D background out of foam. But pretty quick I noticed this thing is going to be huge. I'm thinking that might be too much room for 1 Leo and not sure he or she would walk from one end to the other to poop in the litter box.


My plan is one large tank with a hot side and cold side.
HIDES
3 hot hides 6"x4"-6"x5"-8"x4" all 2.5"-3" tall
3 cool hides 6"x5"-7"x5"-8"x4" all 2.5"-3" tall
3 moist hides 6-8" round Making foam "Rocks" and putting cool whip containers inside as they are water tight

HEAT
Under tank heater. I might need 2 under tank heaters as the long so it won't end up being about 1/4th warm and 3/4th cold.

LIGHTING
I don't plan on doing any over head lighting. I have thought about adding some LED lighting but need to research more as I don't want to screw up the sleeping patterns.

SUBSTRAINT
12" tiles (well they are just short of 12" think but 4 fit well). I'm thinking it might be best to put sand under and between them to keep them level.

EXTRAS
Food bowl, water bowl, litter box --These I will buy and build foam around them so they all fit in the setup.

Even with plants, wood, bridges, and other stuff there will be lots of empty space.



My questions are
1-Could I pull off 3 in this tank? Assuming they don't fight and only 1 male. With 3 I would add extra water bowls

2- Are the hides big enough or do I need to go larger?

3-With some playing around with the layout I could get 4 of each hides in there but that is only if I needed extra hides.

4-I have thought about putting the moist hides on top of the hot tides as a second level. But with 2 UTH I would have room on the floor to do the moist hides there.

I hope to start building this weekend so I will take pics as I go for a DIY thread.

 

[mörten]

Sound like a really fun project! I also build all my backgrounds and caves, it is really a fun project
Personally, I don't think 3 geckos will thrive together. I would not house leos together , but with that being said, I don't think that it would be too stressful for two females to dwell together in your tank. Perhaps you could get a seperate tank for your male and let him stay with the female when its time for breeding. I would have one water bowl for each gecko, or one larger one for all to share.

As for the hides, I think they are good sizes! I once tried putting my moist hides on the second level, but none of my geckos found that attractive. Maybe the moist hides did not get warm enough on the second floor.

Look forward to seeing your DIY thread I think it will turn about pretty nice!