Heating geckos cage?

[CourtneyZach]

Hey everyone! I'm getting a baby leopard gecko this Friday, and I am doing my best to educate myself on everything! I really want to take the best care that I can of him. I think I'm pretty good so far, but I need help on the heating part.
So first, should I use a lamp or heat pad? Should I use both? If I use both what should the wattage be on the lamp?? Also, how can I take the temperature of the ground to make sure it isn't too hot?
I have decided to go with reptile carpet since I have heard horror stories about sand. However, then someone said the gecko could crawl under the carpet and get burned on the glass! That would be horrible!

Also, he is just a tiny little thing and the cage is really big. The cage he is in at the pet store is very tiny. Will it be too big of a difference? Should I split up the cage so he isn't overwhelmed for the first little bit until he is bigger/gets more comfortable? I don't even think he is 6 inches yet.

Also, I am confused about the misting. He is a baby, so should I mist him? I read something about that but only on one site. No others said so.

Sorry for all the questions, I just love him so much already and I really want to be the best mom I canbe for the little guy!

 

[tgolden]

Heating wise I use a under tank heater on a lamp dimmer so I can control the heat. Get a prob thermometer and put it in the hide as that will be your hottest spot. I use a red bulb as well mid tank to help keep the air warm 25 to 40 Watts. I would not go bigger then a20 gallon tank. Hope this helped

 

[Jetfire]

What size tank are you planning on using? if the Leo that you're getting is about 6" total length,(like you mentioned earlier), you want somewhere in the 10gal-20gal long range; a minimum of a 20gal long for a young adult. unlike snakes, giving a gecko too much space can be detrimental to it's well-being

 

[Jetfire]

And it's a Leo, so misting shouldn't be an issue, unless the air in your house is super-dry from the ac running nonstop or something.

 

[Amanda1]

If you're worried about your gecko getting under the carpet (which I've never heard of happening), you could use slate tile. I would invest in an infrared temperature gun. They are super handy and not that expensive (~$30); I use mine all the time for all my cages. Also, remember to put in several hiding spots for you leo. One should have moist paper towels or moss to make a humid hide, which will help your gecko get their skin off when they shed.

 

[CourtneyZach]

Heating wise I use a under tank heater on a lamp dimmer so I can control the heat. Get a prob thermometer and put it in the hide as that will be your hottest spot. I use a red bulb as well mid tank to help keep the air warm 25 to 40 Watts. I would not go bigger then a20 gallon tank. Hope this helped

That actually helps a lot! Thank you! So you use the under tank heater as well as a lamp? I'm thinking that is what I am going to go with too. It says they need light also and my room is very dark when I turn the light off, even in the day. And since it is winter it is even darker! Then I want the red lamp too so I can see him move at night.

Thank you very much! That helps a BUNCH! xo

 

[CourtneyZach]

What size tank are you planning on using? if the Leo that you're getting is about 6" total length,(like you mentioned earlier), you want somewhere in the 10gal-20gal long range; a minimum of a 20gal long for a young adult. unlike snakes, giving a gecko too much space can be detrimental to it's well-being

I have a 10 gallon right now! I've heard that is a good size for one gecko, but he is still quite tiny and is now housed in a REALLY tiny tank with one other juvenile at the pet store... I don't want all the new room to affect his health.

 

[CourtneyZach]

If you're worried about your gecko getting under the carpet (which I've never heard of happening), you could use slate tile. I would invest in an infrared temperature gun. They are super handy and not that expensive (~$30); I use mine all the time for all my cages. Also, remember to put in several hiding spots for you leo. One should have moist paper towels or moss to make a humid hide, which will help your gecko get their skin off when they shed.

Where can I get an infrared temperature gun? That sounds REALLY perfect and I work a lot so money isn't too much of an issue. Thank you, I will remember all the hides. I'm worried because he's tiny and at the pet store there is only one hiding for him and another gecko... and they're on sand! And they're still really tiny. I'm worried about him being unhealthy, but his eyes were really alert, he had all his toes, and there were no crusties or anything of sort on his mouth. He was really fiesty. I know it's better to get from a breeder but I live in a small town and we hardly ever get geckos at the pet store even! And we definitely don't have a breeder

 

[Jetfire]

Most decently stocked pet stores should carry them; also try hardware stores, commercial kitchen supply companies, etc. and there's always online shopping, try LLLReptiles,I know they have a couple different models.

 

[Caleb C]

Where do you plan on getting your leo?
A heating pad works fine by itself most of the time, but I use a bulb during winter, since it gets a little colder.
I've never heard of them getting under reptile carpet, and I highly doubt it will happen, only downside to it is that they sometimes get their nails stuck in them.
A 10 gal should be fine until it grows up, it's best to get a bit bigger tank for them when they grow up.

 

[CourtneyZach]

Where do you plan on getting your leo?
A heating pad works fine by itself most of the time, but I use a bulb during winter, since it gets a little colder.
I've never heard of them getting under reptile carpet, and I highly doubt it will happen, only downside to it is that they sometimes get their nails stuck in them.
A 10 gal should be fine until it grows up, it's best to get a bit bigger tank for them when they grow up.

Thank you!! I'm going to get the temperatures right before I bring him home. That helps a lot, thank you. I hope he doesn't get under the carpet! When he is older/ I have more money- I want to switch to tiles. They look great and are really easy to clean! So is the carpet, but you're right about the nails. I don't want that for him!
I will invest in a bigger one for when he is bigger. I plan on getting him at our local pet store. I know it is risky, but I looked every where for geckos in town. No one sells them or even has them! Everyone who does bought them at the pet store. The lady is NOT taking good care of them at all, but they are new and he looks really healthy to me. I just want to save him from that bad environment.

 

[Josh2]

You may be able to find tile for cheap at stores like Home Depot. A lot of time they will deeply discount or give away broken tile. If you get enough pieces, you can put them together to cover the bottom! More reusing!

 

[tgolden]

That actually helps a lot! Thank you! So you use the under tank heater as well as a lamp? I'm thinking that is what I am going to go with too. It says they need light also and my room is very dark when I turn the light off, even in the day. And since it is winter it is even darker! Then I want the red lamp too so I can see him move at night.

Thank you very much! That helps a BUNCH! xo

yeah I use both. My house stays cool and the red light helps keep my temps stable. One of my greco tanks is in a dark room of my house so I use a low wattage light during the day do he knows its day time.

 

[Geckomaster743]

I use Lights but some geckos are aggravated by the bright light. UTH is important because they need belly heat to digest better. Carpet and tiles are fine though they may try to eat paper towel some times if the ends are sticking up. Other wise those 3 substrates are good. Don't use sand it causes impaction. The lighting source i would use is the UTH and not the lights because i got lights before i knew UTH's were good and then theres always the problem with buying new bulbs with are about 20$ a piece. Make sure to put some thing Non - flammable under the UTH because it will get hot or you get a Thermostat and plug the UTH in to the Thermostat so you can control temp.

 

[CourtneyZach]

Wow thank you so much everyone, all that information is great! I have a light and a under tank heater now. With the light, the hot side gets to 92 degrees! I turn it off at night and the warm side still stays at about 87-88. The cooler side is just room temperature.
Thank you everyone! You have helped so much!

 

[Caleb C]

Just curious, what light are you using?

 

[CourtneyZach]

Exo Terra brand daylight basking spot! It is 50W. I was going to go with 40 like was previously said on here, but where I live it gets COLD. Like to the minus 40's. And it already is really cold so I went with the higher W incase.

 

[Geckomaster743]

Exo Terra brand daylight basking spot! It is 50W. I was going to go with 40 like was previously said on here, but where I live it gets COLD. Like to the minus 40's. And it already is really cold so I went with the higher W incase.

Its always good to be ready in the winter, Just don't use UV lights because thats what i used to do and i found out recently that they cause blindness and its not good for this species any way! Good choice with moving up 10 wats. I normally use 60 - 70 Watts and i live in Texas!

 

[Caleb C]

I don't think that uvb can cause blindness in leo's in general. It's pretty much the same with albino humans, albino irises allow more light to enter, so it's more harmful, and nocturnal species aren't used to prolonged exposure to uvb, but plenty of people use uvb lights on their leo's with no problem, it has to do with how strong the uvb is. They usually close their eyes, and they reopen it around a week after you take the uvb light out if they have

 

[Styx]

I use Ultratherm heat mats on my reptiles with a thermostat.