First Time Leopard Gecko

[daniel]

Hi all,

I brought home my first ever leopard gecko yesterday and I was looking for some critiques/suggestions for my setup. He is a baby/juvenile, about 3 or 4 inches, so I was also looking for some feeding tips.

I currently have him in a 10 gallon tank with a hide on each side. Along with that, I have the basic water dish, food dish, and calcium bowl. The substrate I am using is reptile carpet. Temperature wise, the warm side of the tank is in the high 80's (88-90) and the cold side is in the high 70's (77-78). Most of the heat is from the heating mat but I do have a ceramic heater that I turn on during the day and turn off at night to simulate the temp. discrepancies. At night the temp. usually falls to about 70-80. The humidity in the tank is about 46%-50% and probably more in the moist hide. Is this within the correct range?

Food wise, I fed him 4 small mealworms(coated with calcium powder) last night at around 7. I am not quite sure if this is enough but he stopped eating at 4 so I just stopped there. How much should a leopard gecko of his size be eating?

In terms of behavior, he does move around when I am out of the room(I set up a camera) but most of the time he has been in his hide. I am thinking of letting him settle in for a week or so before trying to pick him up.

Also, I tried using a moist paper towel and sphagnum moss for his moist hide but he ended up pushing all of the moss to the side and lying down on the paper towel. Would it be a good idea to get rid of the moss entirely?

Here are my questions as a first time owner, I appreciate your replies.

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[scm133]

Hi Daniel, congrats on your new Leo.:main_thumbsup:

Your set up sounds good. But I will be glad to make a few suggestions.
Try and give him three hides. On the warm side, put a moist hide, and a dry hide. On the cool side offer him an additional dry hide.
Watch the reptile carpet...it has been known to tangle tiny toes, plus it can be a pain to clean. I suggest paper towels for substrate.
You should be getting all the heat needed from the UTH. The UTH should only cover 1/4 of the bottom. I would not use the ceramic heater. Warm side should stay constant @ 90 degrees 24/7.
Don't worry too much about humidity readings. I would just use the moist paper towel in the humid hide, and get rid of the moss.
Great he is eating for you! Just offer mealworms, small crickets dusted every day.
Post a picture of your setup and new little one....we love pictures!!!

 

[eavestroughtoro]

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[scm133]

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I am so sorry, but I don't understand what you just said. Sorry

 

[daniel]

Here are some pictures of my setup. It has been getting pretty hot recently so I've stuck to only using the underneath heater. I don't know if I can fit a third hide, the one on the left is pretty large, how about putting up a branch with some leaves as an overhead shelter? He ate really well tonight so I'm hoping he can keep that up! The little guy is still a little shy and isn't too willing to come out of his hide. I will post pictures as soon as he feels comfortable coming out!

Thanks,

Dan

 

[scm133]

Looking good!!! Yes, a climbing branch would be nice. Glad to hear he is eating. They will be timid for the first few weeks, while acclimating to the new surroundings. Do you have your UTH on some sort of thermostat/dimmer?