Lots of questions. please help :)

[NickK95]

ive been an owner for around 10 years (cant quite remember when i got my gecko) im thinking i was around 8 when i got him. my mom and i went to the pet store.. we had no idea how to raise a gecko so my mom asked an employee from a few different stores (a few big stores and a locally owned petstore who raised lots of reptiles). she asked what we needed and all stores said that you need sand, a heating pad, a place to hide and a water dish and of course a tank (which is 10g). we bought it all and he's lived happily ever since... well 4 years ago we moved and so did my gecko.. well just a few weeks ago he wasnt able to shed completely on his head so i got worried and read up on the problem. well turns out he needs a moist/humid hide.. i looked into that and read all about them and more on what to do with your geckos tank. like.. you need a water dish humid hide heat source carpet/sand another hide or two... so now tomorrow im heading to the store (only chance ive got) to get everything i need for him. so now comes the questions.. i know this sounds crazy but copy and paste the question you answer i really hope i dont miss anything important. (willing to take tips) oh.. and i understand some of you will say that sand is bad and can cause impaction. but as all the stores said.. use sand.. we did. and im afraid to change my geckos habitat 10 years in.. i feel like that would be bad.. and of course do something bad to him. ok! so back to the questions. these might be out of order questions.
and im sorry if i repeat any questions im tired right now..

1. how many hides should i have? i read that at least 3 are needed (1 humid 1 on warm and 1 on cool sides)

2. i understand you need a cool side and a warm side. since i have a heating pad (with a coconut on top) can i put that on the warm side and then a new bought hide on the cool side

3. which side should the humid hide go on?

4. if the humid hide goes on the warm side how can i heat it up with a heating pad?

5. i have a heating rock and a heating pad. do i need a heating light? (i also heard that heating rocks are bad and they can cause the gecko to burn without it even knowing.. so im definitely taking that out)..

6. are heating pads safe? or should i get a heating light?

7. should i buy a uth and get rid of my heating pad. (i think thats what its called)..

8. if i get repitcarpet stuff.. and change most of his habitat.. will that cause my gecko to freak out and cause something bad to happen?

9. how often do i feed him? and how much? what types of food? (thinking crickets or mealworms (not super because theyre huge and people at the pet store said they can possibly scratch his eye))

10. i saw alot of people use humid hides with a temper wear by cutting out a hole on the side of it (making sure it isnt sharp by sanding it down) is this safe? or should i buy a humid hide.

11. i also see alot of people use paper towels moistened with water for the humid hide. is this safe? i read that paper towels have bleach in them and im worried that could be harmful to my gecko.

12. im currently using bone aid calcium-sand pure natural calcium carbonate substrate. like i said earlier im using sand which i understand completely that it is harmful for my gecko.. but im worried if i change to carpet he will freak out for some reason and bad things will happen.. i read that the geckos will eat the calcium sand for calcium yet i never see him eat it.. i now also understand that you should feed geckos in a different container.. i usually just feed him in the same cage (not knowing due to lack of information of course).. anyway, he occasionally gets a little bit of sand in his mouth but spits it out which leads me to think that (with this gecko i currently have) is it ok to use the sand for the rest of his life?

13. (like i said out of order) if i use a heating pad under my hide on the warm side (if its safe of course) should i put some sand on top of it? or (put it under the repticarpet (if i get it)).

14. another thing about humid hides.. people use pet store moss or whatever its called.. i read a post where this persons gecko was shedding in the hide.. ate the skin and ate some moss on accident so the owner pulled out the moss and there was alot of moss.. should i just stick to paper towels (as long as its safe)

15. one last thing regarding humid hides.. my friend uses temper wear with moss in it and paper towels on the top so they dont eat the moss. is that better to do? or again should i just stick with paper towels?

im thinking that thats the end of my questions. again sorry if theyre out of order and hard to understand. but please try to help as i dont have forever to change it and im really getting worried about the skin on his head.. its currently covering his eyeball :/
and please! if im missing anything be sure to type it and let me know! i need all the information i can get thanks for the help guys

 

[NickK95]

READ THIS: i understand most of you will look and say.. oh.. lots of reading to do.. and that i can look at all of these questions myself.. but i dont have time since im going to the store early... so please. try to answer as many questions as you can. thanks again

 

[indyana]

Whew, yes, lots of questions... I'll try to be helpful, since you need advice quickly, but the best way would have been to research before planning the trip to the store.

Answers to #1-#7:
Yes, three hides are the best setup: warm hide, humid hide, and cool hide. Humid hide usually goes in the middle somewhere, but people put it different places. The most important thing is having one.

For heating, I highly recommend an Under Tank Heater regulated with a thermostat so it keeps the warm side floor temperature around 90 F. You can use a heating pad too, but I don't have any experience with those. You do not need a heat lamp. If you're house gets below 65 F in the winter, you could consider adding a ceramic heat emitter.

While you can continue to use sand, I find that things like paper towel, brown paper, or tile are much easier to keep clean and have a much lower risk of contributing to impaction or stuck shed. If you're going to chance stuff up, you might as well do it in one go so your gecko adjusts once.

#8: Yes, your gecko may get a little stressed out, but it will be temporary. Do all the rearranging, put him back in, and then try to minimize stress and handling for a few weeks. He may hide for a bit or stop eating, but this is a normal reaction to being in a strange, new place. Once he settles in and checks out all the new stuff, his behavior should go back to normal.

#9: For adults, most people feed every other day or twice a week unless they need to gain weight. I like to feed as much as they will eat in one sitting, but I know other people limit how much food because their geckos have gotten too fat. Mealworms, crickets, and superworms are all fine, and if your pet store carries things like roaches, silkworms, and hornworms, you can try those too. The only thing I don't recommend is waxworms. Superworms can bite, and the solution to that, if you would like to use them, is to grab them with tongs and crush the head before feeding to prevent injury.

#10: Homemade hides are perfectly safe. The only reason to buy a hide is if you don't want to make one or if you really like the way the store one looks.

#11: Yes, paper towels are safe. Just don't get the perfumed kind. While paper towel material was bleached, there should not still be bleach in them. (If they smell like bleach or something, that's weird. Don't buy that brand.) If you're really worried, go for the all natural/recycled ones.

#12: See above. You can totally switch off sand, and I recommend it. While some people keep geckos on sand and never have a problem, I'm the type of person who likes to minimize what can go wrong and avoid the issues of the gecko eating sand or getting it cemented on their toes, etc. I use just plain brown kraft/butcher paper or paper towels personally.

#13: Can't give advice on the use of a heating pad, as I've only ever used UTHs regulated with thermostats.

#14-15: People use paper towels, moss, or EcoEarth in humid hides. Nothing is 100% safe, as the gecko could theoretically eat anything. Up to you what you want to use, but a lot of folks avoid moss because the pieces are about the right size to be swallowed and cause digestive issues.

 

[NickK95]

thank you for all the help heading to the store shortly. getting rid of my rock (right now) worried thats bad like my friend said it was. although on the back of the rock heater box it says there are no hotspots so im not sure if its safe to keep it.. probably just going to get a UTH not sure how big though not sure if i need one for half the cage.. or if i should just get one for a hide in the warm spot. again thank you for all the help i really appreciate it

 

[indyana]

I would ditch the heat rock. They are difficult to regulate to the correct temperature. If you get a UTH, you are going to need a thermostat or dimmer to keep the floor temp around 90 F. Those heaters can be very hot (up into the 100s) if you do not control them somehow.

The UTHs are usually marked with the tank size they are intended for, but a general rule is for it to cover about 1/3 of the tank length.

Hope you made out all right at the store! Let us know if you have any other questions.