? about tank setup/heat light, etc *long*

[tnkruss]

I'm a newbie to Leo's and have figured out how easy it is to get hooked on these little cuties!

Here's the deal-
DH and son bought a juvenile from the local petstore but the poor baby looked sick from the get-go. He never ate the whole 5 days we had him and his tail was always stick thin. I finally took him back but sadly he died on the way there. I returned home with the one they *should* have gotten in the first place. He's (she?) real cute and my son has named him Leroy.

The first thing Leroy did when I got him home was throw up in the plastic cup. Oh... cute..he's car sick... I thought. We put him in the cage and he was so different from the last one- very curious and not too skittish. (btw- we cleaned out the cage and threw away the carpet thingee the other one was on.).

The thing that worries me is this- Leroy has thrown up several times in the 6 days we've had him (at least I think it's throw up). We initially fed him 2 crickets a night but the 3rd or 4th night he was fed 4. That's the first throw up I found. The next night he got 3 and threw up later again. So far it hasnt been every night but I'm worried and dont want to lose him.

My questions-
How many small/med crickets should a juvenile eat a day?
Am I following the proper light/heat procedures?

The crickets are fed Flukers orange cube and dusted with ReptoCal (Cal & D3) each feeding. Do I need to dust with vitamins or put an additional sm bowl in the cage? Should I go back to feeding 2 crickets a day and see what happens?

For heat/lighting over a 10g I have a ReptiLite Super UV Daylight tube and a 75w Basking heat lamp, both on for 12 hours in the day. Daytime temp is about 96 and the cool about 86. Nighttime both sides go to about 86. I dont have a sensor temperature thing. I have a UTH (that came with the 'kit') but was told I didnt need it, only needed the two lights. I've read many articles on the internet that say UTH only, as the leo's need belly heat. But do I need to add that AS WELL as the other lamps? and what do I do when it gets cold?

Is he throwing up because he doesnt have belly heat to help digest?
Sorry ya'll... lotsa questions but sometimes it seems the more people I talk to or the more I read I get conflicting information. Any advise would help! I feel like a new mommie worrying about her baby.

Karen

 

[tnkruss]

Here's some pictures- the tank and Leroy.

...lets see if this works...

 

[Nastynotch]

i keep my gecko in a ten gallon tank. with a log, a tree ,and a large water bowl. hes probably also a little bit bigger than the leo though.

i also have a heating pad with double bulb over head light.


since hes little im guessing he'll eat depending on growing patterns. though i dont know much.

 

[PaulSage]

Karen, if s/he is throwing up, it will look like a wad of cricket parts if that's what you're feeding him/her. Several things can cause a gecko to regurgitate, including excessive heat, eating too much, and parasites in the digestive system. 96* is too hot for a leopard gecko, I would shoot for 90* on the warm end, and room temp on the cool end. 12 hours/day is fine for the UV light, but leopard geckos should have a 24-hour heat source. If you choose to continue using the basking lamp approach to heat the enclosure, I would recommend switching to a nocturnal bulb as opposed to a white one, as constant light can be stessful to any reptile. Personally, I prefer an under-tank heat source over a basking lamp for geckos.

I would suggest reading the care sheet that Marcia @ Golden Gate Geckos has on her site. You can find it here: http://www.goldengategeckos.com/careleopard.html It should answer most of your other questions much better than I can. I hope that helps, and good luck with the little one!

 

[tnkruss]

Thanks Paul- the light really seems like it's too much but as I said I'm getting conflicting info. I'll ditch the heat lamp for the uth, but what about the UV? When the lights go out he immediatly leaves his hide! I'm also going to get a probe temp sensor so I can know for sure what the temps are.

 

[PaulSage]

I don't give my leopards a UV light, but there has been some discussion over whether or not it's beneficial to them. I don't think many breeders or keepers use a UV though.

 

[tnkruss]

It's been a few days, and Leroy's eating only 2 crickets a day. I put 5 small mealies in a bowl with a slice of carrot and he's ignoring it. I even held a wiggling one in front of him but he wasnt interested.

I now have the UV light off but the basking light on (12 hrs). It heats the ambient temp on the warm side to about 94. I put a probe on the repticarpet and with the basking light on as well, the surface temp shows 92. With the basking light off the temp (on the repticarpet) drops to 84. Is that sufficient? Should I ditch the carpet and put down tile?

I continue to worry that he's not eating much. The first day or two we had him he eagerly chased down the crickets. Now he wont eat them while we're in the area, so I typically drop them in and after an hour or two I check and they seem to be gone.

 

[GeckoMandi]

I had 5-6 fish tanks for many years and never ditched the tanks, so that's what I use and plan to use in the future, except for my soon to come hatchlings.

I would go with the UTH it's really helpful for leo's to have bellyheat, and I'm not sure basking lights provide it.

 

[KiwiSF]

I'd recommend ditching the carpet ^^;
Their toenails can snag on it and even break, which can cause infections and things like that.

Tile's good, but even plain newspaper is fine.

 

[alexwilson]

Hi

just looking at these responses, My soon-to-be set up wil have a basking light and a smallish heat pad. Is this ok? also, do the heatmate go under the cage or on the side?

 

[g man]

i really think that it is better to use an under the tank heater because they are easy to use and go to just about 88-90 which is perfect. I would use thins also because geckos are very sensitive to light which is why they are nocternal. bright lights may stress them out causing them not to eat so i suggest that you get a 10 gallon heat pad and then try and feed him i think u might see a difference in a couple days.

 

[kart]

I'd like to add a question. I bought a 10-20 gallon UTH, the girl at Petsmart said it should be fine for my 20 gallon. However, with my probe, I only get about 77-78 degrees on the warm end of the tank. The air temp inside the humid hide is 78 or higher. Is this a decent temperature? Should I get a bigger UTH, or add an overhead light?

 

[KiKi]

reptile carpet is fine i have mine on the same kind you have and have no problems, also belly heat is best

 

[KiKi]

we also use a infared heat light and that helps with the heat

 

[gothra]

I'd like to add a question. I bought a 10-20 gallon UTH, the girl at Petsmart said it should be fine for my 20 gallon. However, with my probe, I only get about 77-78 degrees on the warm end of the tank. The air temp inside the humid hide is 78 or higher. Is this a decent temperature? Should I get a bigger UTH, or add an overhead light?

Are you measuring the ground temp or the air temp on the warm side? Optimal ground surface temperature is 90-92F.

 

[Kotsay1414]

For heating I personally use Heat Lamps. I got the Night Vision Bulbs though... the Purple Light. They keep my tank warm and the geckos seem to be very active with that light compared to my old regular heat bulb.

 

[kart]

Are you measuring the ground temp or the air temp on the warm side? Optimal ground surface temperature is 90-92F.

I am setting the probe on the tank floor. I dont know if this is the exact temp, as only half the probe can touch the floor. I would assume the actual for temp is at least 80. I think just to be safe, I might add a couple of 50 watt bulbs. One for the day, and one at night.

 

[Wretched]

As nobody has brought it up. It really is recomended that you use Under Tank Heaters. They need belly heat more than they need heat from above. I have a number of tanks where I live. if the room they are in has good lighting then you really dont need any lighting from above. I have a lot of overhead lamps, equiped with red heat bulbs that I use during the winter when it gets a little colder, but for the most part, the UTH's sre ample heat all around, and are a lot easier on the electric bill.