My alternative substrate!

[Musilitar]

Ok, thanks for answering my questions
I will see what temps I have tomorrow when I get a decent thermomether.
So there is no chance that the UV lights have ANY effect on my gecko's behaviour?

 

[david13]

i don't really know, i dont think the UV lights would do much to a leo besides give it light.. second opinion or a fact would be nice.

 

[goReptiles]

I will also be adding other filling stones, gonna use rounded ones.

* This will be great to help reduce the amount of sand that is visible.

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?

* Highly possible. I would remove the UV lighting.

I have those UV lights because the pet store guy said ALL reptiles need UV.

* Don't always believe what a pet store employee tells you. Usually they're wrong. But, as they are nocturnal, leopard geckos don't needthe UV. It won't hurt them, but they don't need it. I'd just turn them off, you're using excess electricity and light that you don't need.

No i've not taken her to the vet, is that neccesary? I didn't know at all? Why should I take her ?

* Vets are good to help make sure that a new gecko is parasite free and not sick. I'm not sure how long you've had the geck (maybe I missed it), but making sure that you have a reptile vet is always great to know. An initial vet trip is always a good thing to do just to rule out any illnesses.

But isn't 3 hides enough for one gecko?

* Yes, but you just have so much extra room, sometimes they can get stressed with excess room, but watch out as they can get stressed with clutter.

Would she have enough darkness without the UV lights?

* Taking away the UV will help your electricity bill, and it will cut down the lighting in the enclosure.

I was wondering perhaps she wouldn't have enough light then since she's in my bedroom and it's very dark there?

* They really don't need light except to simulate a day/night scenario. I don't use lights in my enclosures, just UTH. I find them unnecessary and the cords are too many and in the way. I can get appropriate temps with just an UTH. But most of my leos are in racks. I just have a few pet leos in tanks. In my tanks I'm able to get the day night scenario with the regular lighting in my room through my windows (don't put the tank in direct sunlight).

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.

* You can keep the heat lamp, but I'd wait to decide if you want to add the UTH after you test your temperatures. You may need to add the UTH to creat appropriate temperatures for the geck. Too low temps can cause health issues, as can too high.

TIP- Put the heat lamp in one side and not the middle of the enclosure. You'll create a hot and cool side.
Also, you may want to check out my hub- Native Habitat of the Leopard Gecko & Setting up a Natural Enclosure, it may give you some more advice towards the natural setup similar to what you've got going.

 

[Musilitar]

goReptiles thank you sooooooooooooooo much!
Very clear, and good answers!
The UV lights are going off starting now!
I will let you all know the results in a few days
Greetings Musilitar!

 

[goReptiles]

Glad I could help. Yes, please let us know what the results are after you've tried the digital thermometer with a probe. If you can't find one in the reptile section, sometimes ESU markets one in the aquatics section or most petstores. The Fluker's thermometers also reads the humidity, but the ESU ones are cheaper b/c they only read temps.

Let me know if the hub helped any. I'm still tweaking it.

 

[Ipsl]

Im not saying he/she needs a vet at all I was just making a point and incorrectly I might add. But definitely keep us updated.

thats my slate cage. The heat lamp was for the winter and there's several uth's

 

[Musilitar]

Very pretty tank Ipsl!
I see quite often that American's use aquariums with a lid on top, that's very uncommon here in Belgium.
Mine is full-glass with sliding windows, which also makes difference in temperature.
I know experienced an other problem: my mom!
I told her about that I will stop using the UV, changing stuff etc, but she doesn't me believe me! She says: put the petstore guy told us differently, he is a Biologist so he should know!
And I can't convince her that my gecko DOES NOT NEED UV light!
I know this petstore guy "personally", he is a Biologist, but his animals in the store look terrible!
How can I prove I'm right?
Going to petstore in a few hours normally.
Greetings Musilitar

 

[slytle90]

From what I know, UVB light helps with the absorption of calcium, and reptiles that are not nocturnal defenitly need it. My bearded dragons have two different lights in the tank. (1 being UBV). Most spot lights are UVA not UVB so you also have to make sure your getting the right light. Geckos are naturally nocturnal so they don't need the rays because in nature they would not be out in the sun to get them and have adapted. It wont hurt them to have it although its better eto get one that isnt so bright due to the fact that they do not like bright light.

One thing that you can do instead of having a UVB light is to bring them outside for a little bit each day. The sun has UVB rays so they can get it the natural way and you wont have to buy the lights.


Here are some answers from a couple other places...


"Most do fine without it, but it definately doesn't harm them. If you do go for UVB, I would suggest a compact UVB bulb (they make these now) instead of a strip. Because leopard geckos are noctural they don't appreciate bright light, so a nice compromise is to get a bulb to light one side of the tank (maybe the side that doesn't have the heat lamp/emitter/pad) with UVB, allowing them to escape it if they'd like"

"I keep mine with UVB, certainly cant hurt. i use a compact uvb bulb like ren said. and even though they're nocturnal mine still comes out during the day and you should always have a hut or hide out of some sort for them to get out of the light, anyways"

"They do not need UVB lights if they have the right supplements."

"For the love of god, don't use a compact UVB bulb. These exert not only UVA and UVB but deadly UVC rays as well. many animals have died just by being exposed to these compact fluorescents.
"



Hope this helps?

 

[goReptiles]

Lode, it's in just about every leopard gecko reference book that they don't necessarily need the UV lighting. If you have a book, can purchase one, or can get one from a library, that will prove to her that they don't need it.

Also, as Sierra mentioned, only diurnal reptiles REALLY need UV to help them absorb calcium, nocturnal animals don't usually get the rays in the wild, so they must have other means to absorb calcium.

Make sure to supplement correctly with calcium on most days, but do include a vitamin supplement, and a calcium+D3. The D3 will help the gecko absorb the calcium.

Just because he's a biologist, it doesn't mean that he's fluent with all reptiles and animals. I've known zoologist that have NO clue about certain reptiles species when kept as pets. Usually biologist and zoologist are fluent in wild species and their habitats, not captive born/raised species with captive habitats.

Becuase there's a big different between wild leopard gecko habitat and a 10 gallon aquarium, the husbandry is going to be slightly different, as we can't simulate everything that the wild supports in a small aquarium.

If he's a biologist, why doesn't he have a job being a biologist versus working at a pet store? That could give you another clue as to his true experiene being a biologist. Maybe there's a reason as to why he's not actively using his learned skills, but working at a pet store. I know if I spent years to get my doctrine to be a true biologist, then I wouldn't be working at a pet store.

If he has a biology degree, that's different than a biologist. Not to knock the guy, but I don't think a true biologist would be working at a pet store unless he's a retired old man and wants to work with animals... Just my opinion.

(PS you never told me if you checked out my article and if I could add anythign to make it better.)

 

[Musilitar]

Alllrightee-o!
Just came back from the petstore! And hooray for my gecko: for now she has a decent thermomether! Digital, with 2 probes!
Also bought some feeders, including crickects to vary her diet.
Well he has a biology degree, specialisation in animals. When I wrote it I couldn't remember how to say he had a degree.
In this petstore they also have books, and my mom looked in them to proove her right.
Well the books said they don't need it, but it doesn't hurt.
I do have 2 UV lamps actually, but my mom keeps consistent on me keeping them on!
An other factor is the heat that they make, without them the cage is alot less warm.
Hmmm, I think this is bad news. Under the spot it's 45,5 degrees Celcius, in the cold area it's 24 degrees Celcius.
This means 75,2 Fahrenheit in cold side, and 113 Fahrenheit right under the spot.
I guess this is really bad ?
Please let me know!
Greetings Lode

 

[Airilith]

113F!?! That's much too warm. The range for the hotside should be between about 90-94F. The cool side is good, though.

And why don't you try getting your mom on GF. Maybe after she reads a few threads on her she'll realize that your hot temps are way off.

 

[Musilitar]

Gonna put in a lesser lamp ASAP!
May this be a reason that my gecko never comes out during the day and that she's very psycho from every sound and touch?
Could she have damage from this ? Neurological?
Ah man I feel guilty ! Poor gecko!
Thanks !

 

[LizMarie]

I think you need to print out a really good Caresheet and present it to your mom. Just because that man is a biologist does not mean he knows about every single reptile.

I believe high temps can cause burns and brain damage (but im not to sure), but maybe your gecko is being smart enough and staying out of that area so it wont affect him much. As for the light at the moment you have to put more distance between the surface and the light. With lights it's kind of hard to keep constant temps through out the day.

 

[Musilitar]

Ok new lamp is in and i'm getting 77F cold side, 89.6F hot side, this might rise because lamp hasn't been in long but it was time to put the light out so will know better tomorrow.
Yeah will show my mom a good care sheet, one from Golden Gate Gecko's for example!
Are the temps oké now ?

 

[goReptiles]

Lode, I'd definitely give the new bulb some time. You want to keep the temps around 90F. Aren't you glad you purchased the digital thermometer with the probes? ;-)

Overheating can cause brain damage, but if I remember it has to be severe heating. I don't think that 113F for short period would do too much harm. I'm not sure how old the gecko is or how long you've housed it this way, but I'd assume that you haven't done much damage to it...

I'd jsut try to keep temps at 90F from now on. Also, as for the UV let you mom think what she will, but as you've said a man with just a biology degree doesn't mean that he knows everything.

As I mentioned most people in that field are fluent with wildlife and their natural habitats, not captive pets. There really is a difference in most cases. Also, I've looked into a biology degree, and from what I saw, most of the classes where environment and general animal anatomy classes. I could be wrong, but that's the gist of what I saw when I looked into. These courses really wouldn't prepare you to captive animals.

The UV isn't going to hurt the gecko, but it's unnecessary, and as you've mentioned it's adding to the heat that you're already trying to get down.

 

[Musilitar]

Yep, very happy that I purchased it!
And it wasn't even so expencive, 9,95 euro!
So the temp are near ok now, thanks!
Wel, the thing is, it wasn't a short period!
It was 5 months :s
Ah well, from now on it will only get better for my baby
I want to thank you all for helping me through this, I think we can agree that it is quite a good enviremont now with the new thermomether, new temps, and without the UV?
Again thanks all, and greetings
Lode

 

[david13]

your welcome, it sounds a lot better to me

 

[LizMarie]

P.S. I saw your have a lot of free empty space, if you don't want to add more hides. You can get some nice plastic hanging plants for your gecko to get some shade while walking about.. Just an idea.

Plus I believe they had a little kick with the extra color and all

 

[goReptiles]

LizMarie, I already mentioned that. It was taken into consideration.

 

[LizMarie]

LizMarie, I already mentioned that. It was taken into consideration.

sorry, this post grew kind of fast and I didnt read through all of it..