Lots of questions regarding my first Leo (LOTS of reading)

[Im-Perfection-xo]

Alright. So I'm currently in the process of looking for a Mack Snow that I like. I'm not too concerned about the breeding aspects right yet. I want to make sure I can take care of one before I start my breeding project.

But here are my questions. (It's long. Pace yourself.) ^^

1. I have (I think) a 20 gallon tank. It's plenty big for a Leo to be in, as my boyfriend currently has his Tegu in it (but we're moving him to a bigger tank cuz he WON'T STOP GROWING!! ). So I was wondering how to clean the tank so my gecko won't smell the Tegu. Also, same goes for cleaning the new bigger tank for the Tegu. It's from a friend of mine, and smells like furry rodent. We don't want the Tegu smelling the other animals on it and driving himself mad. I WILL NOT USE BLEACH!! I read on some random site that's the best way to clean the tank thoroughly. But I'm a strong believer in using the least amount of chemicals possible. Not just for my animals, but for myself as well.

2. What should I outfit my tank with? I've read in many places it's ideal to have 2 hides. One in the cool end, and one in the warm. But other than that, what should I put in it? I don't want to use tupperware or crappy quality plastics. Goes with the no chemical thing.. What would you suggest? What type of plants? Can I use real potted plants, or are fake ones better? What kind?

3. Feeding. From what I've read, it's meal worms and crickets. And I've been told the rule of thumb is usually not to give a reptile anything bigger than its head. Truth or fiction?

4. Supplementation. What exactly do I need? I've read on the forums already Calcium with and without D3. Some give multi vitamins, some don't. Any recommendations on what brands I should use, and how I should administer it? I know I need to dust the food with it, but how often? And I read something about leaving some in a dish in the enclosure.

5. Dirt. I see alot of people using ceramic tiles in the photos in one of the threads. I read on a site somewhere, I don't remember which, that top soil would be good. I'd be using organic, NO CHEMICALS, which is always much better. I know never use sand, it'll cause them problems. Recommendations?

6. Lighting. What type of light fixtures? Metal or ceramic? What type of bulbs are best? What wattage and what type of light do I need?

7. What should the temperatures be in the tank? Hot side, and cool side, and I've read about nighttime temps. What's the best way to regulate this? The lights will probably end up on a timer, as my boyfriend keeps strange hours. Does it matter what time of the day they think is day or night? What is the best type of thermometer to use? I'd like a digital read-out, so what brand do you recommend?

If there's anything else you can suggest, please do. Thanks!

 

[Paco]

You have a lot of questions there. let me just say all the answers are in this forum some where. Just do a search at the top of the page on the subject you are most interested in and you will get many post's with answers to your questions. Not that I don't want to answer your questions i don't know if I have the time. LOL Good luck on your search for knowledge.

 

[acpart]

I'll do my best (some of these answers can be located by searching the forum, but I"ll be brief)

1.Cleaning the tank:
Many people wash it out, then spray with hydrogen peroxide and wait 30 seconds, then wipe it out and spray with vinegar. You can also use "Healthy Habitat" a natural cleaner (www.naturalchemistry.com)

2. What should I outfit my tank with? I've read in many places it's ideal to have 2 hides. One in the cool end, and one in the warm. But other than that, what should I put in it? I don't want to use tupperware or crappy quality plastics. Goes with the no chemical thing.. What would you suggest? What type of plants? Can I use real potted plants, or are fake ones better? What kind?

2 hides, food dish, water dish, humid hide. Most of us make the humid hides from tupperware but you can also use a shard of a terra cotta pot, or I guess you could glue slate, tile or other rock type stuff together to make one.
Succulents might be good as plants. I don't use any plants because I don't want to have to light them or water them (I have other planted tanks and don't want to have to do more). Fake plants are fine. Take a look at other people's set-ups and you'll get some ideas.

3. Feeding. From what I've read, it's meal worms and crickets. And I've been told the rule of thumb is usually not to give a reptile anything bigger than its head. Truth or fiction?
Truth. Don't worry about it too much, in my opinion. They usually spit it out if it's too big.

4. Supplementation. What exactly do I need? I've read on the forums already Calcium with and without D3. Some give multi vitamins, some don't. Any recommendations on what brands I should use, and how I should administer it? I know I need to dust the food with it, but how often? And I read something about leaving some in a dish in the enclosure.
2 methods have been used generally:
a. leave a small dish with plain calcium in the cage. Dust feeders with calcium with D3 weekly and with vitamins weekly
b. (this has been recommended by Julie of GeckoRanch and I'm considering switching to it): don't leave calcium in the cage. Dust feeders each time with either Repashy's Calcium Plus, T Rex leopard gecko dust (reputed to be the same thing), or a 50-50 mixture of RepCal calcium with D3 and Rep Cal Herptivite.


5. Dirt. I see alot of people using ceramic tiles in the photos in one of the threads. I read on a site somewhere, I don't remember which, that top soil would be good. I'd be using organic, NO CHEMICALS, which is always much better. I know never use sand, it'll cause them problems. Recommendations?

ceramic tiles probably best. Eco-earth (bed a beast, coconut fiber) may be OK although people worry about them eating that too. I use it for my lay boxes and also have it in a planted tank for a fat tail gecko. It gets very dry and dusty if not wet frequently and leos like it less humid than fat tails. I use ceramic tile and clean it as I described in answer to your first question.

6. Lighting. What type of light fixtures? Metal or ceramic? What type of bulbs are best? What wattage and what type of light do I need?

Unless you have succulents, you really don't need lighting since they're nocturnal. If you have plants, get a light that's good for the plants.

7. What should the temperatures be in the tank? Hot side, and cool side, and I've read about nighttime temps. What's the best way to regulate this? The lights will probably end up on a timer, as my boyfriend keeps strange hours. Does it matter what time of the day they think is day or night? What is the best type of thermometer to use? I'd like a digital read-out, so what brand do you recommend?

Under tank heater with either thermostat or rheostat (this will need constant adjustment) to keep temp on hot side at 90-92. Cool side will be cooler. Unless your house is a refrigerator, don't worry about temps. As long as there's some natural daylight, don't worry about lights (or about room lights on at night; they adjust). My digital therm. with temp probe is made by Oregon Scientific

If there's anything else you can suggest, please do. Thanks!

Do more searches and you'll find lots of nice stuff.

ALiza

 

[fallen_angel]

Great job answering his questions Aliza!!

(this has been recommended by Julie of GeckoRanch and I'm considering switching to it): don't leave calcium in the cage. Dust feeders each time with either Repashy's Calcium Plus, T Rex leopard gecko dust (reputed to be the same thing), or a 50-50 mixture of RepCal calcium with D3 and Rep Cal Herptivite.

Could you elaborate on this - what are the cons to leaving Calcium in the tank? I may decide to switch to

The lights will probably end up on a timer, as my boyfriend keeps strange hours. Does it matter what time of the day they think is day or night?

We keep pretty strange hours, too, since I work from home and my fiance works late nights. Our babies can't tell the difference because they have no lighting besides the natural lighting that floods the room (and I turn on a room light during the evenings). Our "backwards schedule" has affected our adult leos more - they are mostly active at dawn/early morning instead of early evening.

 

[Halley]

?1. I would say to clean the tanks, just use good old fashion, soap and water, with a sponge.

?2. I would use two hides, on the cool, and one on the warm side. I would also make a moist and a dry hide, put the moist on the cool side, so it stay moist longer, and the dry on the warm side. For the moist hide I would put in moss, and the only good looking moist hide I can find for leopard geckos is in this link. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+10931+15416&pcatid=15416 By the way the products on this site are like half the price they will be at Petco.

Then for the plants, I would use fake, I think that this will be the safer way to go, and will also cause you to have less maintains.

?3. Yes mealworms and crickets seem to be the staple; however I would recommend supplemented the animal’s diet with a few other prey items. Such as waxworms, Superworms, phoenix worms, silkworms, and hornworms. You don’t have to use all of these, but it would make your geckos life more interesting. But for the most part mealworms, and crickets are a good staple, just make sure to gut load them first. THAN YES DON’T EVER FEED A FOOD ITEMS BIGGER THAN THE GECKOS HEAD, THIS CAN CAUSE THE GECKO TO CHOCK AND DIE.

?4. I use repti-cal with D3. I think that this is a good product. I have also had good experience with leopard gecko dust, made by T-REX, which is more of a multivitamin, and specially formulated just for the leopard gecko diet. You may have better luck if you mix them. I don’t ever dust my feeder items. I just have a dish in the cage filled with calcium; this allows the geckos to pick the calcium up, whenever they need it. Which makes dusting the food items unnecessary, they knows what they needs.

?5. I would use either tile, or cage carpeting. Both are attractive, however cage carpeting is much easier to clean. I would recommend getting 2-3 sheets of it. It also comes in pre-cut sizes. I think that this stuff is great, as well as being affordable. Here is a link. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+18934+13990&pcatid=13990

?6. For the lighting, I would not use lighting as the primary heat, source, in fact I wouldn’t use lighting as heat sources at all. Leopard gecko need belly heat, which is best given to them with an Under tank heater (UTH). As well as a thermostat to control the heat. He is a link to both. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+11148+6545&pcatid=6545
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+11148+6544&pcatid=6544 This is a very budget friendly thermostat, but a light dimmer would work just as well. I would recommend Helix Controls, which are automatic, and adjust the temperature for you, although a little more expensive. Here is a link. http://www.helixcontrols.com/DBS1000.htm

Then for the actually lighting, if you do decide to light the enclosure, I would use soft florescent lighting, as leopard geckos are nocturnal, and do not enjoy bight lighting. Room lights might do the trick for you though. You may even consider putting the lights on a cheap digital timer you can get from the hardware store, to help automatically control the day night cycle for you, which makes the up keep of you leopard gecko enclosure a little bit easier.

?7. Okay I think I explained most of this question, in my answer to your last one. As I didn’t read this one first. However I would put the hot side between 88-90. Then let the cool side be room temperature. I wouldn’t drop the temp at night, but if you want to, the helix has a night drop system so it can be one temp for so long, and then another temp for another period of time. However I would recommend letting the cage stay at a constant temp. As leopard geckos are nocturnal, they bask at night, so if you take away the heat, this could make it harder (they actually lay on rocks when the sun goes down, when the rocks start releasing the heat the soaked up from the day, in the wild). I also don’t think it would matter to much what time the leopard gecko though was night and day, as long as it has a schedule to follow.

Other Recommendations
I would also recommend reading a few care pages on the internet that deal with their basic care. I will also recommend these two books. The Leopard Gecko Manual (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Leopard-Gecko-Manual/Philippe-De-Vosjoli/e/9781882770625/?itm=1
And The Herpoculture of Leopard Geckos
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...rev=/images?q=ron+tremper%27s+book&um=1&hl=en
If you can only read one read The Herpoculture of Leopard Geckos, It is much more in-depth, and should explain all of your questions.
Then since you said you where looking for a mack snow. I thought I would help you out with that as well. These are some of the best mack snow leopard geckos I have ever seen. I think they will be worth the price. This is also a really good breeder from what I hear. However I can’t make a personal recommendation because I have never bought an animal from him. Just make sure you are sure all of your research is done, and that your gecko’s home is fully set-up and working great, before you big the little one home.
http://www.geckosetc.com/htm/available_mack_snow.htm#MackSnow
I personally really like this one. Just for my opinion on things. He is still for sale as well
http://www.geckosetc.com/images/avail/Available Pictures/BSSM2_2220_7_600.jpg
Hoped I helped you out, a little.

 

[acpart]

Could you elaborate on this - what are the cons to leaving Calcium in the tank? I may decide to switch to
QUOTE]

I was basing my comments on the thread about supplementation that has been going around. Julie from Gecko Ranch talked about overcalcification and the potential dangers. As I said (or tried to) in the thread, I'm thinking of switching over to having no calcium in the tank, although some of my geckos don't eat their feeders right away so I don't know if they'll get enough calcium.

Aliza

 

[Halley]

I would put calcium in their cages. This allows them to take the calcium whenever they need to get, it. They know when they need it, and as far as I know there has never been a calcium overdose in a leopard gecko. The pros of the calcium dish, far out weight the cons.

 

[Tanner505Geckos]

I use Dawn antibacterial dish soap and a soft sponge and it gets rid of any smell

 

[bubblez825]

?5. I would use either tile, or cage carpeting. Both are attractive, however cage carpeting is much easier to clean. I would recommend getting 2-3 sheets of it. It also comes in pre-cut sizes. I think that this stuff is great, as well as being affordable. Here is a link. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+18934+13990&pcatid=13990

She said it all. Just if you use carpet, you take the risk of leaving bleach residue in the carpet after cleaning it, as that is how you are supposed to clean it. Also, carpet holds bacteria, so even when you clean it, there is still some bacteria in the fibers. What I use is paper towel. Easily affordable, and so easy to clean. And ity isn't reusable, so no need to clean it with chemicals, just replace it with a new sheet every few days or when you see number 1 and number 2. Changing it when you see restroom doings is better for the gecko, as it won't be sitting in its own poo.