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RedBlaze

New Member
Messages
33
Location
Indiana
Hi everyone, I'm Mike. Yesterday on my birthday the greatest thing happened to me! My girlfriend took me to purchase my first Leo!

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Now I'm not entirely new to reptiles in general many years ago I owned a Chinese Water Dragon. I am however a newbie when it comes to Leos. I have done much research and I know most of the basics but I was interested in any pointers anyone may have.

This is the Viv that I purchased and set up yesterday:

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It is a 20 gallon Long tank with carpet currently, I read here that many people recommend tile...as a college student that may have to wait a bit. There is a UTH under the lighted side of the tank along with a decent sized hide. On the other side I have a hide/water bowl combo with moss inside.

Behind the shade plant is a small bit of moss, from what I remember with my Dragon the easiest way to manage humidity was to have easily accessible moss close to the warm side but not directly under the light.
 

LZRDGRL

Active Member
Messages
2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
Welcome! Your tank looks great (and the little fella, too); the only thing is that leopard geckos don't need bright daylight, and you could exchange that bulb for a red light or a black nite light. ;)

Chrissy
 

fsbulldog24

New Member
Messages
85
Location
Cali
Only other thing i see is that you need a thermometer with a probe so you can measure the surface temp of the warm side of the tank. They are about $10 at petco. Welcome :)
 

RedBlaze

New Member
Messages
33
Location
Indiana
Welcome! Your tank looks great (and the little fella, too); the only thing is that leopard geckos don't need bright daylight, and you could exchange that bulb for a red light or a black nite light. ;)

Chrissy

I keep reading that Leos are nocturnal, however I've been told that if you work with them you can get them to be active during the daytime and sleep during the night.

What is the best way to achieve this? Or should it not be done?
 

LeopardShade

Spotted Shadow
Messages
1,001
Location
Western Montana
It is in my own opinion that this practice should not be performed. I wouldn't like it if someone was training me to sleep during the day and be awake at night. It's just not what I'm used to.
I would ditch the bright light and use a red or black bulb if you need or want to use a light.
 

rickmoss95

New Member
Messages
391
Location
north east ohio
first off welcome to the forum, there is alot of great people here who know alot about reptiles, and especially leopard geckos. the fact that they are nocturnal, is instinctive and their bodies(and eyes) are designed to be that way...so no matter how hard you try to train them, it will be in vein. they are going to always be nocturnal. you can better enjoy them by using a red or blue bulb for night time viewing. i would also reccomend using an under tank type heater(with a regulating device, thermostat/rheostat) for the main heat source(getting a very low wattage bulb for viewing). leopards do alot better when they can lay directly on the heat, so they get belly heat. they are nocturnal as mentioned above, so they get thier heat by laying on warm rocks in the wild(not basking in the sunlight). i would also suggest getting some type of tile or a paper type substrate(NO SAND). they can get thier nails caught in the carpet and rip them out. this is just a heads up, as i know others may use this. your enclosure does look very nice though, and your little leopard is beautiful! take those couple small steps and your leopard will be very happy and you will too. something else to look into, is a infra red temp gun. they are great and you can check every inch of your enclosure, the water temp, the animals temp, cool and hot spots, hides, ect...and you only need one no matter how many leopards you get...because these things are more addictive than crack, at least i think they are
 
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RedBlaze

New Member
Messages
33
Location
Indiana
the fact that they are nocturnal, is instinctive and their bodies(and eyes) are designed to be that way...so no matter how hard you try to train them, it will be in vein.

i would also reccomend using an under tank type heater(with a regulating device, thermostat/rheostat) for the main heat source

i would also suggest getting some type of tile or a paper type substrate(NO SAND). they can get thier nails caught in the carpet and rip them out. this is just a heads up, as i know others may use this.

something else to look into, is a infra red temp gun.

because these things are more addictive than crack, at least i think they are

I assumed it was best not to try but you never know until you ask someone other than the petsmart employee that told you that you could!

I currently do have a UTH, although it came with a start-up kit it seems to work just fine, I have a probe resting on the carpet just behind the warm hide and it reads 92.7 with the basking light on and about 88 at night with a nighttime bulb. I was curious, is roughly 88 degrees a suitable temp at night, or should it be lower?

A tile substrate is in the works, its a matter of money. Also I was looking at natural stone types of tile and the store near me offers Ceramic, granite, limestone, marble, slate, tumbled stone, travertine, and porcelain. Porcelain might not be an option due to its highly smooth finish. When choosing I was hoping to get a type that would closely mimic the course natural stone they are accustomed to and be easy to clean and also look great to boot!. I have read here that many people prefer ceramic because it is an excellent thermal conductor.

I was thinking about getting one of those temp guns! Is there a type/brand or some other special quality i should look for? Of course without breaking the bank?

One other question...my little one is of course just that....little. About when and how can I go about determining the sex? If I find myself with a female I can house two together correct? I would so love to get another.


So many questions! I have more but I will go in search of an answer before posting it here. Thank you for the help!
 

rickmoss95

New Member
Messages
391
Location
north east ohio
there are alot of really good temp guns on the market. i have a couple pro exotics(tempgun.com) PE2 models and a raytek. the PE2 is only fifty, and you can get the PE1 for like twenty five bucks. they are really good. i have used three hundred dollar guns, and i am just as happy with my PE2's. and as far as sexing them, you will probably have to wait untill it gets a little bigger if it is that small, or find and experieced leopard keeper to tell you. you can keep females togeather, and even one male with a few females if you are ready for the females to lay eggs. never keep two or more males togeather. and any time you get a new animal, always quarentine it for at least sixty to ninety days. good luck and let us know if you have any more questions. and i REALLY LIKE your bird skull replica, that is AWESOME....where did you get that?
 
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