Hi I'm new to leos but not reptiles

[Leporard Geko Keeper]

ok thank man and i will i was using the light as a heat source during the day, do you not use it??? do you just need a heat pad and thats it???

 

[lovelovelove135]

Welcome to the forum!

Usually you won't need anything other than a heat pad for a heat source all day and night. Just a warning though, I have a 20 gallon long and I was about to get the Zoo Med 10-20 gallon heater, but I looked at it and it seemed a bit small so I got the Zoo Med 30-40 gallon heater. Its good I bought the 30-40 because people bought the 10-20 for their 20g and they had problems getting the heat up. So make sure you get the 30-40 gallon UTH for your 20 gallon long tank. Other than that, the Zoo Med UTH works perfectly for me; although, not without the thermostat, of course! Don't forget that! It keeps your temps from fluctuating and getting too high. I use the Zilla Temperature Controller and it works great. I suggest getting it off amazon because it's A LOT cheaper there than pretty much anywhere else.

Also, I don't know if you already know or not, but make sure you get a 20 gallon LONG tank. It gives the leos more floor space.

Hope I helped, and good luck!

 

[Leporard Geko Keeper]

Thank you and yes I know to get a twenty gallon long and where do you guys suggest buying leopard geckos from and you were help

 

[lovelovelove135]

I strongly suggest buying leos from reputable breeders at reptile expos. At expos, you have so many to choose from and it's awesome seeing all kinds of reptiles there! Plus, you'll know the gender of your gecko, the day it hatched, it's less likely to have parasites and other icky things, and you can get them for great prices. If you can't get to a reptile expo, then you can get them online from a reputable breeder (there's an awful lot on the top of geckoforums under where it says "site sponsers" ) and it's kind of like going to an expo in the sense that you'll know the gender, day it hatched, etc. The last place I would tell you to go is a big chain store. Most of them just don't take very good care of them. I'm not going to say that if you get one from there it's not going to be healthy, but there's more of a chance you may have problems. I got my leo from Petco, but she's perfectly healthy <3 However, the one I got her from doesn't use sand, and from the hundreds of times I've been there, I've never seen a severely emaciated gecko. I did, though, see a gecko with severe MBD, but other than that, they all seemed pretty healthy. But I would never suggest a big chain store as the first place to go buy a gecko.

 

[Leporard Geko Keeper]

Ok well I thank you for the advise, and I will take that into consideration