Is everything Ok?

H

hazza2k9

New Member
Messages
23
Hi,
my gecko is roughly 6 months old now, when she was 4 months old she was 19g, she is now 28g and seems great. She eats 4/5 medium locast a day i mix up what i dust it with i normally dust calcium-dust one day and nutrobal the next. In her viv i use the calcium-dust in a bowl but i have never seen her lick it. I have a exo rep basking spotlight (45w) on in the morning until i go to bed. She also has a heat mat. The temperatures on the hotside are around 24*- 33* and on the cold side 20*-30*.
Picture of her viv
afafaf.jpg

please give your feedback! thanks
:]
 
Bbugs

Bbugs

Animal Addict
Messages
202
Location
Illinois
My gecko NEVER licked her calcium bowl. I still keep it in there just in case, but if you are dusting your food, everything should be fine. Another thing is, I had a light like yours, and I was told that the light stresses them out. Leos in a natural environment hide in dark places during the day, and come out at night. Having a bright light is very stressful. They also don't bask. They only need a UTH, or under-tank heater. You can pick them up online, or at a pet store.

On a happy note, I really like the look of your viv!
 
H

hazza2k9

New Member
Messages
23
I have a UTH its called a heat mat!
it only stresses them out if it is on at night because everyone body and everything see's sunlight in there life so.....
 
Reborn

Reborn

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574
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MN
hazza2k9 said:
I have a UTH its called a heat mat!
it only stresses them out if it is on at night because everyone body and everything see's sunlight in there life so.....
Click to expand...

chill yo, Bbugs was just telling ya how it is. What point is there that you need the light then with the UTH? Like Bbugs pointed out they dont bask so whats the points in one? Ya know? why waste electrisitcity? great for veiwing yes and the viv is very nice. You asked for oppions/advice so take it.

Mine do lick there calcuim, specally the females. on the other note... that is small for the age IMO. My 7 week babies 23 grams. Ive never had a 4 month old under 40grams(and that was on the smaller side of them).

The temps are right. I dunno about locast as a staple as here in the states you cant get them but i was told by a friend in the UK that they are higher in fat and should be only treats but again i dont have personal experince with them. Maybe mix up her diet and she'll eat more/grow more. there are my thoughts on it.
 
Bbugs

Bbugs

Animal Addict
Messages
202
Location
Illinois
You asked for help, I gave it. Honestly the light should only be used when you want to view your Leo. Think of it this way: If you are constantly in your parents basement with no light, and all of a sudden they storm downstairs and turn ALL the lights on. You would be a little pissed/stressed out.

Morale of the story: Yes you can leave the light on, but it stresses them out. In the wild they hide in the dark during the day and come out at night. They don't need or want a lot of light.
 
H

hazza2k9

New Member
Messages
23
Im not stressing out, sorry if i came across that way. But if i didnt have the light on the temperatures would not even hit 22* with the heatmat on? So that can't be right? Thanks for the advice and once again i am not stressing out so not sure what made you guys think that anyway.
cheers
 
R

roger

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2,438
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Toronto ,Canada
hazza2k9 said:
Im not stressing out, sorry if i came across that way. But if i didnt have the light on the temperatures would not even hit 22* with the heatmat on? So that can't be right? Thanks for the advice and once again i am not stressing out so not sure what made you guys think that anyway.
cheers
Click to expand...

I dont think your heat mat is working properly.u need the warm end between 90-05 deg.if your heat mat is working u should be at the 95 deg mark.is your heat flat against the bottom of your enclosure.?
 
prettyinpink

prettyinpink

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1,838
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Austin, Texas
I personally don't use my lights unless it gets really cold in my room. Are you using a tempature gauge with a probe at the end of it? And are you measuring the floor temp? Where the heat pad would be.
Maybe it's not getting hot enough because of the wood setup you have.

Locusts are not bad as a diet, they do have them in the states.

As for the basking thing you have, they're not like beardies they hide in their hides and that's where they warm up from the floor temps.

I'm not sure if it's just me but it sounds like a lot of vitamins? And I'm not too sure what nutrobal is, I'm assuming a multi-vitamin.

Btw cute setup. :)

Hope this helped
 
Reborn

Reborn

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574
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MN
Errr what kinda UTH needs to be on the INSIDE? Is it a human heat mat? Brand? DEFINALTY not working right if its that low(not to roger UK its in C which is what OP is saying it is not F so 32C is 91F) If its a human mat that dont supprise me but definatly look into getting a better one. A real UTH is suppose to be applied under the tank. A light isnt necessary like mentioned and ive seen/ delt with geckos who had "basking" lights for the main heat source and there skin was SO dryed out.. split even...

Prettyinpink- i didnt know that! ill have to look around harder to find them>.>

it does sound like alot of vitamins but then its small...28gs at 6months is small. Even my MBD rescued gecko is 35 grams
 
H

hazza2k9

New Member
Messages
23
Im not sure what the heat mat is but i know that it is a reptile heat pad. I will get a new one as it sounds like that isn't working properley. Also i have read on many other sites saying if u have a wooden viv keep the heat mat inside it as when it is outside the heat doesn't rise through the viv because it can't get past at the bottom which means it will be even colder?
thanks :]
 
Reborn

Reborn

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Location
MN
Hmmm i know they cant heat wood very well. But is it at all possible to cut out a section on the bottom and place glass? We did this with my custom enclosure. I dunno if its safe to have a heat mat on wood since your blocking its way of "cooling" down with wood. Im no expert with electircal things lol but id be worried of a fire. that or the geckos finding the cord for the UTH and climbing out(yup mine are smartical like that...devils...) but first things first definatly get a new UTH and that should boost it quite a bit. Is there anything seperating the UTH from your gecko? like anything over it?
 
H

hazza2k9

New Member
Messages
23
Yeh there is reptile carpet over it so its not like its being stopped in anyway but i will definately get a new UTH.
Cheers for the advice guys :]
 
Z

ZooKeeperKarin

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Messages
291
Location
Canandaigua NY
Reborn said:
Hmmm i know they cant heat wood very well. But is it at all possible to cut out a section on the bottom and place glass? We did this with my custom enclosure. I dunno if its safe to have a heat mat on wood since your blocking its way of "cooling" down with wood. Im no expert with electircal things lol but id be worried of a fire. that or the geckos finding the cord for the UTH and climbing out(yup mine are smartical like that...devils...) but first things first definatly get a new UTH and that should boost it quite a bit. Is there anything seperating the UTH from your gecko? like anything over it?
Click to expand...

Yikes, I'd agree. I'm super paranoid about fire, but wood butted up right against a heat mat is scary. Could you cover that part of the wood with heat foil tape? You can find it in home supply stores and it will say right on the roll what temp it protects up to. That may even be enough to bounce some of the heat back up. Maybe the heat is all being absorbed into the wood?
 
Reborn

Reborn

New Member
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574
Location
MN
ZooKeeperKarin said:
Yikes, I'd agree. I'm super paranoid about fire, but wood butted up right against a heat mat is scary. Could you cover that part of the wood with heat foil tape? You can find it in home supply stores and it will say right on the roll what temp it protects up to. That may even be enough to bounce some of the heat back up. Maybe the heat is all being absorbed into the wood?
Click to expand...

Good point! I competely forgot about that! I agree the wood could be absorbing a good amount of the heat. And the foil tape is a very good idea. Aluminum foil tape. It will make the heat bounce off the wood and back up. Even aluminum foil will work anything to get that UTH off that wood and less of a fire hazard.
 
LZRDGRL

LZRDGRL

Active Member
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2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
Have you read the instructions on your heat mat? They are NEVER to be used on wood or plastic; ONLY on glass tanks. That was a good idea to cut out part of the bottom and replace it with a thin glass plate. Then, you can stick the heat mat to it (from the UNDERSIDE of the tank; never inside as the geckos could burn themselves. They crawl under reptile carpets and paper towels, and they won't get up when their belly gets too hot; they'll simply burn their flesh).

Here are good things to get: http://www.herpsupplies.com/subcategory.cfm?id=11&sub=33

Buy two light domes and one infrared heat light, and one blue Zilla nite light. Put them both on top of the mesh of your wooden cage. I have wooden cages, too. They look like this: http://lzrdgrl.com/info.aspx You can see the light domes on top of each cage (the middle partitions that are covered with wood on the outside also have two light domes of each kind; they are open in the back for changing light bulbs).

Your viv looks very nice, but it's not all about the looks. With a little modification, you'll have a perfect reptile enclosure. Get rid of the bright white day light, buy an infrared heat lamp and a zilla nite light, and they'll heat up your cage enough. I use the 75W; 60watts don't make it hot enough, and 100W in my opinion is too hot. It depends on how high your cage is. If one light bulb doesn't make it hot enough, leave both on during the day and switch off the red one during night. Those lights will use up more electricity than an 8W or 16W heat mat from Zoomed or Zilla, but that's what is safest for wooden tanks. You don't want your house to burn down...

Get some spare bulbs, in case they burn out... happens every few months.

Chrissy
 
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