How Many Per Container for Growout?

[leopete]

I have 12 Eggs incubating right now with the first 4 going to hatch in mid May. I have a few small tanks with heat pads all setup to be Gecko Tanks. I 'was' going to buy a nice portable rack to grow them out and still am. But I was let go in a recent round of layoffs from work a couple weeks ago and the wife isn't big on any expenditures right now and rightfully so. These are incubating at a low temperature and should all be females. How many can I begin the grow out process with in the same tank/container? Keeping in mind that I will 'hopefully' find work in the next month or two.

Thanks,

Pete

 

[thestack510]

It's always best to grow them out separately. If you're going to put multiples in one tank make sure they all get a decent share of the food provided and watch to be sure no one is being bullied. Remember, temperature sexing isn't 100% accurate. Get them separate a.s.a.p.

 

[snowgyre]

With babies up to 1-2 months old I keep in pairs in Rubbermaid sweaterbox containers. After that, I keep them individually in sweaterboxes. You can house babies individually in shoeboxes, but that's an extra expense for me since I don't generally use that size tub.

 

[leopete]

What do you use as your heat source for the sweaterbox containers? This will only be temporary until I find another job.

Pete

 

[snowgyre]

I use 3", 6-watt/foot flexwatt heat tape. It's incredibly easy to set up and I've found it doesn't require a themostat if you keep the lengths below 2 feet. You can go HERE to learn how to wire it yourself. It literally takes longer for your soldering iron to heat up than it does to actually connect everything.

You can buy flexwatt heat tape from a number of vendors. Go to www.kingsnake.com classifieds to find a supplier.

 

[acpart]

I keep my hatchlings in groups of 1 or 2. Each space is about 10"x12" because it's 1/3 of a divided 20 gallon long with heat cable running along the length in the back. I keep clutchmates together and separate if there is bullying (rare) or if a significant size discrepancy develops (more common). I have "mixed and matched" hatchlings based on size with no problems.

Aliza

 

[LG-Geckos]

I prefer individual hatchling cages.

They grow and eat better and are not so stressed...

 

[radar357]

In Ron Trempers book, Herpetoculture of leopard geckos, he says no more than 5 or 6 in a 22x 16 container. And to seperate by size every 2 weeks. Also i would advise feeding mealworms, since crickets put them into a feeding frenzy. Good luck with the geckos and finding work.

 

[stewy84]

i put mine in there ouen 6 qt shoe box with 10watt/1ft heat tape with a thermostat and they grow like weeds. never tryed keeping them together so cant help you much out on that. the tubs i use are only a buck at walmart and flex watt is cheap.