50 Gallon Reptile Room

[FrosTyy]

Hello. My name is Jack, I'm 18 and from Detroit. Here are my leo's and their tank.

I've got too many pictures just to upload, but here they are on facebook. I promise you, it's worth the look!

Full Set:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234858656632896.50183.100003262905482&type=1

I have a larger hide on the left side now.

Blizzard

Tremper Albino

Can anyone determine this morph? Is it a regular Albino?

 

[Daylight_Thieves]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

I'm sure you don't want to be told as soon as you come on that there some issues with your setup, but I know SOMEONE on here will mention them and they can be more harsh about it than I hope to be.

1. The sand/ loose substrate you have can be a danger to your leos especially if you feed them in the tank. The risk of impaction is high with any loose substrate. Also, I see that there are pieces of the substrate in the water which is not great for them either. I cannot force you to change it but a nice alternative that can also look naturalistic is slate tile. Leos are from the mountain area of Pakistan and therefore rock is a safer choice than sand. They don't know what to do with sand and some may eat it for the added calcium (leos aren't very bright sometimes).

2. Please tell me that the worms in the dish are not wax worms. Wax worms are highly addictive and do not contain any real nutrients other than fat. An alternative is superworms or giant mealworms- both of which are semi-fatty but also have protein.

3. What are the weights of your leos? Some of them look noticeably larger than the others. This can be an issue and could lead to bullying. I would hate to hear that one of your leos got hurt because another got aggressive.

4. Do you know the gender of your leos? Make sure they are all female so you don't have 2 males fighting or accidental eggs.

5. If you do have that many leos in a tank, it is advisable to have 2 hide per leo in case of territory issues and they should be one hot hide and one cool hide. You could also use a couple humid hide spots to ease with shedding.

6. How are you heating your setup? It looks like you have overhead lights. Most people on here use under tank heaters because leopard geckos need belly heat to digest their food. Also, make sure that your probe thermometer is measuring the ground temps because those are ones that matter to leos. The temps should be 88-93 on the hot side and down to 75 on the cool side.

Please do not take my advice as bashing or saying that you are a bad owner. I merely want your leos to have the longest and happiest lives possible. I hate coming on the forum and reading that a leo got hurt from bullying or has an impaction.

Again welcome to the forum and thanks for the pictures!! Your leos are quite cute!

 

[FrosTyy]

I know sand can compact them, that's why I either put their food inside of a dish where they cannot strike the sand and impact themselves, or I hand feed them.

Yeah, they are wax worms. I feed them a mix of all sorts of things from crickets to superworms.

They're all within the same age, but yes a few are larger than the others. But they've all been in the tank for roughly 4-5 months together now and all get along fine.

All females.

I do have 2 hides.

I have a heating pad on one side, a heat emitter on the other, and a 10.0 UVB fluorescent bulb.


My dad has owned a petstore for 40 years now, and I've worked there for 3. I'm not ignorant to everything you've said here. I have a 20long reptile room right below in which I have the green turf where I usually take them out and feed them.

 

[Russellm0704]

2 hides per gecko? Sorry the link to your pic is not working very well. And geckos will still lick the sand since they naturally lick everything.

 

[FrosTyy]

2 hides per gecko? Sorry the link to your pic is not working very well. And geckos will still lick the sand since they naturally lick everything.

Well they haven't gotten compacted yet. The next time I do clean it I will be using the calcium substrate stuff.

The green turf stuff, however, is extremely unsanitary.

 

[Russellm0704]

Are you talking about calcium sand? Calcium sand is much worse than regular playground sand because it encoruages the gecko to lick it. Calcium sand also is not digested as easily as playground sand. Reptile carpet is sanitary if you clean it but the babies can get their nails stuck. Tile is probably the best. Paper towel and newspaper also work.

 

[Russellm0704]

You also need 2 hides per gecko. And is there a humid hide?

 

[FrosTyy]

You also need 2 hides per gecko. And is there a humid hide?

Yeah I just didn't have it in there at the time of the pictures. However they don't seem to be going into it.

The sand I have them in is, and has been, perfectly fine now for them. I haven't had a single problem. It's mainly a concern when they're very little.

 

[Russellm0704]

Ya you are right. Since they have been okay up to now, it will be fine. The potential risk of impaction is not a worry because they have not become sick yet. It would be best for the gecko to continue living on a loose substrate.

 

[FrosTyy]

Ya you are right. Since they have been okay up to now, it will be fine. The potential risk of impaction is not a worry because they have not become sick yet. It would be best for the gecko to continue living on a loose substrate.

In the event that one of them does become compacted, I have Cod liver oil pills, (I think that's what they are, the name's slipping my mind right now). If you break it open and get a few drops into their mouths, it's like a laxative sort of thing and it cleans out their bowels, which will help them relieve being bound-up/impacted.

 

[Russellm0704]

This is the last time i will post on this thread as you will only take the advice you want to hear. When it all comes down to it, you do not have enough hides, it looks like you are using lights which stresses geckos out, not sure if you have an UTH, and instead of ultimately preventing impaction you are going to justify it by saying you have a cure for it when it does happen. Hope you reconsider your husbandry for your animals. Take Care

 

[FrosTyy]

"It looks like you are using lights."

Which I'm not. It's a heat emitter, with a very dim UVB 10.0 (Might be a 5.0) fluorescent bulb.

I do have a UTH on the tank. AND IT'S ON THE HOT SIDE, DON'T WORRY. -_-

Thousands and thousands of people around the united states probably use sand in their tanks. You think that every person uses papertowel in their tanks? Probably not.

I infact DO care if they get impacted, and I'm not "justifying" it because I have a cure. They would've become compacted by now if they hadn't already.

You sir, sound like the one who is all impacted. Everyone's on here to show off their gecko's, their housing, and here to ask questions.

YOU are here to make sure that everyone knows they're not as smart as you are when it comes to geckos.

 

[justinadavid1104]

i believe the term you are looking for is impacted not compacted

 

[FrosTyy]

i believe the term you are looking for is impacted not compacted

Impacted, compacted. Tomato, tamato.
Everyone knows what we're tryin' to say.

 

[metal-otaku]

i think your setup looks nice. my geko has been on sand since i got him and where i got him. and he hadn't gotten sick. he just got a new setup today without loose sand as the base substrate. but i still have a box of it in his tank though. cause he loves to dig.

his tank now is foam coated with grout. but he has already tossed sand around a bit.

and i only have one lizard, and he has 1 humid hide and 1 hot hide plus 3 other hides. but just out of what he shows as preference when i let him run around the house. then it goes in his tank. he claimed one of my action figure boxes as his new favorite hide. mostly i think cause he can drag it himself wherever he wants. and he does. you know your animals, and how they like things. plus in no pic are you gonna see a uth. and lights don't seem to bother my geko either. he's in the main room with the over head light on all day. it bothers him not and he just sleeps through it.