My alternative substrate!

[Musilitar]

Hello all,
Quite a while ago i made a thread to ask if rocks would make a good substrate.
Well, I tried it out and I LOVE it!
It's natural, it's easy to clean, it conducts heat from my lamp VERY well, you see, you people's argument to use UTH is that leopard gecko's need belly heat, with this method, they get belly since the rocks keep the heat from the lamp.
In the pictures you see little stones, well she can't eat em they're way to big so that's not a worry.
Ever since i placed it my gecko comes out alot more, so I guess she likes it too.
Here are the pics, tell me what you think of it !
Oh yeah, don't mind the sand there, I put the rocks above the sand that I used to have, because I thinks she's gravid and thus she has been digging alot, and I didn't close it again because I read that if I closed her digging holes it'll stress her out.
So yeah here are the pics!

 

[Turnip]

Here is a slight problem, wont the gecko's acctuly cut themselves on any sharp corners?
And they are nocternal, so you will need to turn the light off at night, giving them no belly heat at all?

Just my thaughts.

 

[Musilitar]

Actually the edges are not sharp at all, and second the rocks keep the heat all night so that isn't a problem either.

 

[david13]

why don't you just get a uth? i would just go to tile so you don't have a bunch of little worries.
i would get a uth though
tile keeps heat well but not all night i dont think, i never kept checking throughout the night.

 

[slytle90]

wow that looks really really cool. I love how it looks and im sure that your gecko likes it too. Its more like their natural habitat. Anyways...I absolutly love it, the only thing that I would do is either get and undertank heater for the night...or if the rocks hold heat good then just get a night bulb that you can get at any pet store and switch the light at night...thats what I do.

Anyways, I think it looks nice.

 

[Musilitar]

Ah good to see someone actually likes it!
I don't get what Americans have with UTH?!
They live perfectly fine overnight without belly heat!
I keep my lamp, no matter what you say!
The UV lamps were sold to me by a bad pet store, but I read it couldn't hurt so I'll keep those too!
A nigth bulb is no option since it's in my bedroom and I can't sleep with lights.
Anyways, thanks for the positive reaction Slytle90.
You should all be happy actually, I came from sand so I saved my leo thanks to this forum!
Thank you!

 

[T&KBrouse]

Wow! That looks really nice! Very creative.
How many geckos can you house in there?

 

[Musilitar]

Well it's 80x50x50 cm so if I'm right it should be big enough for atleast 3, maybe more.

 

[slytle90]

Ah good to see someone actually likes it!
I don't get what Americans have with UTH?!
They live perfectly fine overnight without belly heat!
I keep my lamp, no matter what you say!
The UV lamps were sold to me by a bad pet store, but I read it couldn't hurt so I'll keep those too!
A nigth bulb is no option since it's in my bedroom and I can't sleep with lights.
Anyways, thanks for the positive reaction Slytle90.
You should all be happy actually, I came from sand so I saved my leo thanks to this forum!
Thank you!

I know how that is....to do something and have everyone say something that they dont like about it. Remember though they are trying to help not be mean. Undertank heaters are good but not the only option, I use one on all my tanks because my house gets really cold espically at night.

And again...nice tank!

 

[Musilitar]

I agree fully: UTH are good, but not the only option! People shouldn't be so narrow-minded even if it's meant good.
My tank stays the right temperature at night so this isn't a problem

 

[slytle90]

Then your baby will be happy and thats what matters.

 

[moosassah]

That's a really nice looking set up. Shouldn't be too hard to clean either.

 

[Leopardbreeder]

I like how you are pretty much, rubing it in our faces that we were "wrong".

Anyway, there is an awful lot of light in there, and no where they can get in complete dark. Just my 2 cents.

 

[LizMarie]

Interesting set up, I've never seen one like that before.

I like it but I don't know if I would personally use it for my own gecko. I like paper towels or slate because it's easier to clean and eases my mind about bacteria and stuff but thats me.

And not to bug you or put you down, but the reason people are pushing the UTH is because its constant heat that can be controlled without any worries. And since geckos are suppose to be nocturnal and more active at night they should be getting the recommend amount of heat to help them digest their food, but if your way works by all means use it.

 

[Musilitar]

Hi all, thanks for looking and for leaving some comments!
At Leopardbreeder: I was not trying to say you're wrong, I was trying to show it can be done differently too. I did not know they need dark spots ?
Well it's completely dark in my Reptile-Den from Exo-Terra so she has a dark spot. Again not trying to proove you wrong, just trying to point out it's actually there.
At Lizmarie: That is indeed a good reason for an UTH, and I might be doing it completely wrong, but so far my gecko seems fine, and I agree i have alot to learn since this is my first gecko, but everyone says different things so it's VERY hard to find the right things.

Just trying to clear things out, trying to defend my lil cage abit, and trying to learn from it aswell.
Greetings Musilitar

 

[goReptiles]

Lode, they're nocturnal reptiles, so it only makes since that they would need dark spots... It can stress nocturnal reptiles out by not having enough places to hide, so only having one or two dark spots, can stress it out. You have plenty of room, why not adde a few more hides to include a humide hide, which appears to be missing.

Belly heat is probably the best way to provide heat to a leopard gecko. Even though the rocks hold heat at night, do you know how much heat they keep? I didn't see a thermomter either. The little fish thermomter that you have hanging in the air isn't the most accurate thing to base temps on, and it doesn't tell you what the temps are on the surface of the tank, where the gecko actually gets the heat.

My 2 cents... I like the layout, but really think you need to invest in more hides, a UTH, and a real thermometer.

 

[johnnyboy4783]

Yea you need to check surface temp not ambiant air, and do you have a humid hide ( need one of them). i would invest in a prob thermostat and lets see a pic of you happy leo.

 

[Ipsl]

I find it a little disturbing that you say this is your first Gecko but dont care to hear what people are suggesting. Now I have my big male on slate with caci sand filler. I like it Im always for more natural look. Not to seem like "that guy" but have you taken your leo to the vet? If not than you can't really say he/she's doing great. Hardy lil animals can survive in less than ideal conditions. Do you have a pic of your lil mama's / mansy? I like and wouldn't change anything except the a UTH. But my reasons are a little different than the ones previousely noted.

UTH's use less energy so are cheaper in the long run.

thats it but dude I really like it and if you want I'll show you my slate setup. that does have a light and a uth. The light just for photo period and actually uses like minimal energy.

 

[Musilitar]

Allright thanks for the suggestions!
First off: my reptile den is the humid hide.
Don't worry she sheds perfectly fine, and yes i check everytime for shed that didn't come off
I will buy a digital thermomether with a prober for good temps, thanks for the tip!
I will also be adding other filling stones, gonna use rounded ones.
Could it possibly be, that my gecko is very very scared of me, would never let me pick her up and only comes out when lights are out, all because of the overdose of light?
I have those UV lights because the pet store guy said ALL reptiles need UV.
If that is wrong i WILL remove them.
At Ipsl: I'm not trying to go against good advice, but I will keep my heat lamp if the temps turn out okay.
No i've not taken her to the vet, is that neccesary? I didn't know at all?
Why should I take her ? Nearest herp vet is 1h30 drive, reptiles aren't very well represented here in Belgium ...
I'm gonna stick to this setup, but will adjust if needed for gecko health
At goReptiles: Ah ok, I see now thanks for explaining! But isn't 3 hides enough for one gecko? Would she have enough darkness without the UV lights? I was wondering perhaps she wouldn't have enough light then since she's in my bedroom and it's very dark there?
As said before: will get digital thermomethre with probe to check temps, will let you know! Going to store tomorrow.
Could you answer all my questions asked in this post, keeping in mind I really, really wanna keep my HEAT LAMP and that they actually work also,
That i AM getting a decent thermomether, that there IS a humid hide.
Thanks alot for all the help i'm getting, I really do this for the healthy being of my gecko!
Greetings Musilitar

 

[david13]

Allright thanks for the suggestions!
First off: my reptile den is the humid hide.
Don't worry she sheds perfectly fine, and yes i check everytime for shed that didn't come off
I will buy a digital thermomether with a prober for good temps, thanks for the tip!
I will also be adding other filling stones, gonna use rounded ones.
Could it possibly be, that my gecko is very very scared of me, would never let me pick her up and only comes out when lights are out, all because of the overdose of light?
I have those UV lights because the pet store guy said ALL reptiles need UV.
If that is wrong i WILL remove them.
At Ipsl: I'm not trying to go against good advice, but I will keep my heat lamp if the temps turn out okay.
No i've not taken her to the vet, is that neccesary? I didn't know at all?
Why should I take her ? Nearest herp vet is 1h30 drive, reptiles aren't very well represented here in Belgium ...
I'm gonna stick to this setup, but will adjust if needed for gecko health
At goReptiles: Ah ok, I see now thanks for explaining! But isn't 3 hides enough for one gecko? Would she have enough darkness without the UV lights? I was wondering perhaps she wouldn't have enough light then since she's in my bedroom and it's very dark there?
As said before: will get digital thermomethre with probe to check temps, will let you know! Going to store tomorrow.
Could you answer all my questions asked in this post, keeping in mind I really, really wanna keep my HEAT LAMP and that they actually work also,
That i AM getting a decent thermomether, that there IS a humid hide.
Thanks alot for all the help i'm getting, I really do this for the healthy being of my gecko!
Greetings Musilitar

leos do not need UV but it doesnt hurt to have them. I live in the US and there isnt a herp vet that where close to me either, i havn't brought mine to a vet yet and probably not going to unless im really concerned about something. 3 hides is enough for one leo (2 normal, 1 humid). Thats ok to just have a heat lamp but try one night and see if the basking spot is hot enough at night because they are nocturnal so thats when they would come out to geth the heat the most. If there is a window in your room then you don't really need any lights but it doesnt hurt. When you use a heat lamp ( at least for me) i had to place it in a perfect spot, otherwise the temps. just kept rising and risng and rising. If you hook a thermostat up to a heat lamp the lamp just keeps turning on and off and thats really annoying so thats why a UTH is so nice