First post, couple questions

E

e1evatedd

Guest
Whatsup guys? im new to the forum and i just bought a male albino leopard gecko today. I did a decent amount of research on different reptiles before i decided on the leopard gecko, but now that i own one i have a couple of questions.

I got a UVA light to heat the tank, it keeps it around 90-95 and when i turn it off at night the tank drops to about 74. after reading a couple posts on here though, apparently i should have gotten an UTH.. is the UVA lamp okay?

Also, at night i usually have a cieling lamp on until im going to sleep.. since i dont want to disturb the geckos sleeping patterns its off for tonight, but in general would it be a bad idea to keep the gecko in a lit room as long as its UVA light was turned off? i think if it is going to be a problem i'll move the tank onto a shelf to keep white light out and use an infared light to see him at night.

The last question i have is about providing a separate moist hide. Is it necessary? The guy who guided me through buying everything at the pet store said he mists his leo once a week instead of providing a humid hide. is that a good idea? i dont even think theres humid hides in the desert where there native?

thanks for any help, before this gecko i had a red eared slider turtle that lived to be 10 years old.. theres a big difference between the two though and i got a lot to learn haha
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,275
Location
Somerville, MA
Here are some answers:

UVA light: as you can see, it does prevent the gecko from having consistent correct temperatures, so the under tank heater is best. Some people do heat with overhead lights but there's the night time temp drop problem (not sure how this works for them in the wild, but they seem to do better with consistent hot side temps in the low 90's in captivity). In addition, it's possible that the light will bother your albino's eyes which are more sensitive

Overhead light: my geckos are in the living room and the light is on when it needs to be. They've tolerated it fine for the past 6 years

Moist hide: people say that misting, even once a week, can cause respiratory infections but I'm not so sure about that. A moist hide is easy to make (cut a hole in the side or top of a gladware container and lay some paper towels on the bottom; mist daily or so) and that way the gecko has a choice about when to be in there and isn't dependent on when you choose to mist.

Welcome to GF.

Aliza
 

Mel&Keith

Mod Squad Member
Messages
7,180
Location
Pasadena, TX
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your first Leopard Gecko!

I would definitely recommend swapping the light for an under tank heater.

Having an overhead light on until you go to sleep really shouldn't be problem. They really just need enough light in the day and dark in the night to know it's supposed to be day time or night time. Directly simulating the same day and night light cycles that are going on outside isn't really necessary.

Having a moist hide is a good idea. You never know when your Leo is going to shed and you might miss it if you just mist the tank occasionally. They can shed in the matter of a few hours and it's usually when you're not looking! All you need to make a moist hide is a food storage container with a hole in it. We just place moist paper towels in ours so we can change them out easily and keep things clean.
 
E

e1evatedd

Guest
Thanks for the quick replys, im glad i can turn my lights back on haha

Im a little pissed off the guy at the pet store recommended the overhead lamp. He didnt even mention an UTH, but he did say to avoid heated rocks because they tend to get too hot.. hopefully i can return these tomorrow. I would still use a thermometer with the UTH right? How would i regulate that temperature?

Hopefully ill have something around the house i could use for the humid hide.. what could i use that would be more... visually? pleasing then something like a butter tub?

I'm hoping to get pictures up soon, i wanna let him get used to his new area before i start handling him a lot.
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,275
Location
Somerville, MA
3 ways to regulate temperature with a UTH, starting from the least reliable:

--use tile substrate and a slightly small UTH than recommended (e.g. 1-5 gallon for a 10 gallon). I've tested this and the UTH tends to stay in the low 90's with ceramic tile

--get a "lamp dimmer". Measure your temps on the hot side on the floor by getting a digital thermometer with probe and putting the probe on the floor. Adjust the dimmer. You will have to re-adjust if your ambient temps change too much.

--get an inexpensive thermostat. I recommend Zoo-med, Alife or ESU

Some people cover their humid hides with contac paper, or else, cover it with glue and roll it in sand or some other interesting material to make it look more "natural". Some people use terra cotta pots that they crack in the right shape. Go to a hobby shop and see what strikes your fancy.

Aliza
 

Mel&Keith

Mod Squad Member
Messages
7,180
Location
Pasadena, TX
I'm sure the store will let you exchange the light since it's only been a day. Most of the time they don't really know what's best for each reptile they sell. At least he knew that heat rocks are dangerous!
 
E

e1evatedd

Guest
3 ways to regulate temperature with a UTH, starting from the least reliable:

--use tile substrate and a slightly small UTH than recommended (e.g. 1-5 gallon for a 10 gallon). I've tested this and the UTH tends to stay in the low 90's with ceramic tile

--get a "lamp dimmer". Measure your temps on the hot side on the floor by getting a digital thermometer with probe and putting the probe on the floor. Adjust the dimmer. You will have to re-adjust if your ambient temps change too much.

--get an inexpensive thermostat. I recommend Zoo-med, Alife or ESU

Some people cover their humid hides with contac paper, or else, cover it with glue and roll it in sand or some other interesting material to make it look more "natural". Some people use terra cotta pots that they crack in the right shape. Go to a hobby shop and see what strikes your fancy.

Aliza

I appreciate the tip of getting the smaller UTH, it was like $10 less and it heats just the right amount of the tank to 91.5. What is the highest temperature the ground should ever reach?

I'm sure the store will let you exchange the light since it's only been a day. Most of the time they don't really know what's best for each reptile they sell. At least he knew that heat rocks are dangerous!

The guy who helped me said he owned 3 geckos and a couple snakes, so he was giving me information more based off of his experience then what the Pet-co care sheets and what not would recommend. I guess it would be pretty hard for a place like Pet-co to have somebody who knows everything about all the different frogs geckos lizards and snakes they have though.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

gitrdone0420

Gotta catch 'em all!
Messages
2,664
Location
Jacksonville, Fl
Welcome to GF! it looks like you have gotten some fantastic information thus far. As far as the high temp goes- My temps usually stay around 94-97. Mid 90's is ideal for their temp setting.
Yea, I have an issue with chain pet stores- They do not seem to try to train their employees on the care of the animals they sell. its sad. But that is why you come to us and we set you up right! =]

Anyways, congrats on your new leo. I hope to see pictures soon!
 
E

e1evatedd

Guest
ok so now that ive had a little time to get used to this new UTH, ive got a question about that. I only have the Zilla repti carpet as the substrate, i put the thermometer probe touching the ground and it reads between 97-99 for the most part, but as my room gets warmer in the afternoon its reached 103. When im home and notice i'll unplug it for 10 minutes around 101 to keep the temperature in the 90s, but for the most part Tiger (finally named him) sleeps in his converted butter tub moist hide which has a lid underneath him, and is well.. moist, so it shouldnt be as hot on that. My question is though, what temperature is TOO hot? i have faith in Tiger that if he gets too hot he will know to move to the cooler side, but i definitely dont want to burn his belly while he is sleeping or something.

thanks again!
 

Mel&Keith

Mod Squad Member
Messages
7,180
Location
Pasadena, TX
Personally, I feel like 96 is the max for the warm spot. Maybe a couple of degrees cooler if the cool side of the tank isn't that cool/the room is warm.

You have 2 options for controlling the temperature of your UTH. A rheostat (for example) for around $15 or make your own with a dimmer switch from the hardware store for even less. There may be threads on making your own, you'll have to search around the Housing section. Or for around $30 you can buy an inexpensive thermostat.

The difference is that you have to turn the rheostat up and down manually, a thermostat regulates itself.
 
E

e1evatedd

Guest
Personally, I feel like 96 is the max for the warm spot. Maybe a couple of degrees cooler if the cool side of the tank isn't that cool/the room is warm.

You have 2 options for controlling the temperature of your UTH. A rheostat (for example) for around $15 or make your own with a dimmer switch from the hardware store for even less. There may be threads on making your own, you'll have to search around the Housing section. Or for around $30 you can buy an inexpensive thermostat.

The difference is that you have to turn the rheostat up and down manually, a thermostat regulates itself.

im going to check some pet stores tomorrow and hopefully get that rheostat, thanks. that pad couldnt heat up enough to burn his belly, could it?
 

Mel&Keith

Mod Squad Member
Messages
7,180
Location
Pasadena, TX
I don't have any experience with overly hot UTH's since we've got thermostats on all of our racks but if you're worried you can just unplug it for a while. As long as your room is staying above 60F your gecko will be totally fine for short periods with our the UTH.
 

Visit our friends

Top