Hello! I have a few questions (:

[Sunset]

Hello everyone! Im new to the forum and thought Id introduce myself. I'm nineteen and currently in college to major in wildlife biology. Its my hopes that one day I'll be able to travel to south america or africa to work on wildlife perserves and ensure the safety of our wonderful wildlife! Just a quick view on the animals I already have:

*a golden retreiver mix whos about 6 yrs old
*a german shepard mix whos about 7 1/2
*a hedgehog whos hmmm about 4
*And last but not least, a mini potbellied pig whos 1 1/2

Just last month I started reading up on Leopard geckos, as usual, when I really want something I make sure to know everything about them. Within the next month, I really want to get a leopard gecko. We have a local pet store that has an adorable white gecko (I think I read somewhere that its called a "Blizzard" or "Blazing blizzard?") I really want it, but recently quit my job due to the fact they failed to help work around my school. Im waiting to get a job before I dive into getting a gecko.

Now that Im done blabbing, I just want to ask some questions, make sure I got all my information correct, and if not, give me some pointers? :main_thumbsup:

Lighting:
Okay so, they need no basking light. Or no light at all as long as you have an under the mat heater....the hot side should be 85-90 while the cool side 70-75. Is that right?

Substrate:

so I read for babies no sand. So can I get a reptile carpet/liner? Is there anything that works best that you should suggest? From reading different sites it says sands okay for older geckos, is that true or should I just keep them on the reptile carpet (or whatever you suggest)?

Food:

So for juvi babies, should I keep a constant amount of meal worms in the dish so they always have something to eat? Or should I just give them a set amount? Like I read somewhere for young leo's that you give them whatever they can eat in fifteen minutes? And if I use meal worms as the main food source, and only give the leo crickets once a week, is that okay?

Vitamins:

repto-cal...is that okay for dusting crickets / putting in the cage or is there another brand thats better? And if I use mainly mealworms (and I assume there hard to dust/cant really because of there body) can I put some repto-cal in the mealworm dish so they can consume it and wiggle around in it? I know that your also supposed to put so repto-cal in a small lid for the gecko to freely lick up too, right? And for gut loading....whats the best brand to gut load mealworms/crickets? I was going to get flukers high calcium cricket feed. Is that good?

extra stuff

For the moist shelter, peat moss is the best stuff to use? And how many times a week do you mist the whole cage?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure I got my information straight!

 

[BGalloway]

Hi there, welcome to gecko forums! Its great that you're doing the research before getting into leos.

Everything you said about lighting is good, but personally I'd increase the temperatures a little for the basking spot (92-97*F).

I would not recommend sand, some people will say its ok though, really its personal preference and weighing the risks. You can use repticarpet but sometimes leos can get their little nails stuck in it, other options include paper towels, tile, and shelf liner.

My leo only eats crickets because he's a stubborn little brat, but a lot of people feed mealworm only diets or mixed diets. Hopefully someone with more mealworm experience can give you some first hand advice. I see nothing wrong with only offering crickets occasionally if you feed mealworms regularly.

For vitamins I'd say use whatever you buy, brand isn't as important as the content, Calcium without D3 should go in the bowl/lid and Calcium with D3 is usually used for dusting. As for gutloading crickets are different from mealworms, but If you're offering crickets every now and then, they need to be gutloaded and you can use either a commercial diet or just assorted greens and veggies.

For the moist shelter I use wet paper towel, just seems to be simpler, but many people use different things so the "best" is up for debate. I never mist the whole cage, it just never seems to need it and leos do fine around the average household humidity.

Good luck with your future gecko and once again welcome to geckoforums!

 

[rawson5084]

Welcome to GF

 

[Psycho35]

Welcome to GF.

 

[Gecko_Jay09]

Welcome to GF

Glad to see you've done your research! and I'm in agreement with Yvette, basking spot 92-97

Also good luck with job hunting, I know how hard it is as I'm currently looking for work and had no luck!
Jay

 

[Sunset]

Hello everyone and thanks

Thanks for the info Bgalloway!

 

[Shera]

I have never had a juvenile (I rescued my girls) , but I use paper towel as a substrate and love it. It's so easy to just swap it out, and I use a folded over piece of paper towel in their "bathroom" corner, and just change that every 2 days, then I change the whole paper towel when it needs it (every 1-2 weeks depending). I use an under-tank heating pad (UTH) and I also use a 75w infrared above the middle of the tank just to keep the ambient temperatures up high enough. I may not have to use it in the summer though, but it's cold here now.

There are many methods for dusting (with what and how often), and almost everyone does it a bit differently. I use Repashy calcium plus (also sold as Trex gecko dust) to dust at every feed, it adheres pretty well to the super worms I feed (the other vitamin powder I was using didn't). it's a mix of vitamins, calcium and D3. You want to make sure that you use plain calcium in the dish in the enclosure and that it has no D3 in it because while they do need D3 it is toxic at high levels. I try to keep my warm side around 95F and the cool side around 75 (although it's sometimes a little cooler). I use paper towel in my moist hide. I have heard they can eat the moss by accident and become impacted, but I don't think it's very common. I just go with the paper towel because it's cleaner (they don't kick it out and make a mess). I'm not sure about the other things you asked. Welcome to GF!!