My Gecko Setup

[Facers]

Hey, first time poster here. I had a lot of reptiles as a kid and recently after reading about what great pet Leopard Geckos make I decided to get one. However, i'm a bit unsure about the setup, I originally had this calcium gravel as substrate with a couple flat rocks to make for hiding spots. I did a lot of reading after getting my gecko and quickly found out that the substrate which was recommended to me at the pet store is quite dangerous for my gecko.

So anyways i've decided on a new setup however even with this i'm unsure if it's adaquete or not. Basically I got several large flat stones and embedded them into the calcium gravel so that make up a flat stable surface covering the entire bottom of the tank. I then stacked up a lot of other stones on top of that surface which makes up a series of small caves and all in all about 6 good hiding spots. There is a small amount of sand which peeks out between the cracks of the stones that form the base (a moderately large part in the middle as seen in pics below). I'm guessing/hoping this isn't really enough for my gecko to accidently eat as 90% of the bottom of the tank is made up of stone? Also i'm a bit worried that because there's so many rocks in there maybe it's a bit too chaotic and can be a stressful environment?

Also I don't have any heat pads or anything, just a lamp which was recommended to me at the pet store. Is that enough? I was thinking about getting a heat rock or something later on, but my apartment is extremely warm year round, especially in the summer, and the surface of the rocks stay nice and warm for a good couple of hours after turning off the lamp.

I've attatched a couple photos and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[clarkee_04]

You should really have a UTH, and no hot rocks!
What are your temps?

RC

 

[snakegirl]

Welcome to gecko forums first off! your setup is "Ok." but here is a few pointers on how to make you and your gecko happy and Safe!

you dont want to use any kind of sand. (even the pet shop kind) Yes this is true it can be very bad for geckos! So for bedding you can use

tile,reptile carpet, Or even paper towel!

Now with heat your heat lamp is fine. Dont use a heat rock. this in any reptile cage is bad, this can Burn them. So do not use a heat rock. You Can... use a UTH "under tank heater" But you must buy other items to control the heat. so i would throw that idea right out the window as well..But its up to you!...You heat lamp will do Fine..but i see the light is in the cage, Now me...i would get a Lid for the cage and a dome heat lamp and let it sit on top of the cage or hover over it. Since if the light is in the cage you MUST make sure that gecko CAN NOT touch that light.

Now with will the sticks and rocks around you can have that in there...but leopard geckos normally don't clime. And one wrong move...will turn your gecko in to a pancake.. So if it was me i take the Stones Out...Again you call the shots though!

As for new cage ideas without rocks, you can get little pet store stuff, Log hides,fish tank little houses, the list goes on..that coconut hide you have can stay!

other then that you need 2 or 3 little bowls water bowl,food bowl,Calcium bowl. Now i dont know if anyone told you this..but geckos Need there Calcium. you can buy this at the pet shop. I will show you more on this a little later.

Now you might think am running your bank account dry with all this stuff!! However pretty much all this stuff is a one time buy. You will not have to keep getting this stuff. Here are some ideas of a gecko cage!

And about that Calcium, You always need to have a dish in the cage of pure Calcium with No D3 (Green jar)......then out of the week pick 2 days apart from one another and that day dust the food with Calcium with D3 (pink jar)..the blue jar is just Vitamins any other day they can have this. Or you don't really need it.

if you need anymore help with geckos feel free to Pm me or just post around! GOOD LUCK!

 

[Facers]

In the day time 32 on the warm side 28ish on the cool side, in the night i've never seen it lower than 26 but my thermometers are pretty cheapo so that might not be exactly accurate

 

[Facers]

Hey thanks for your quick reply. As for the rocks in the cage, I know in the pics it looks pretty chaotic, however I took a lot of time and care to make sure every single rock is completely stable and wont budge even a little bit. What i'm mainly worried about is that whole "sand issue" and if the little bit of that stuff which is accessible inbetween the cracks of the stones is a large enough amount to endanger my gecko. As far as the rocks accidently falling on my gecko i'm not really worried about that because I'm 100% sure they are stable, unless my gecko has some superhuman strength I don't know about

The lamp in the cage is high enough so the gecko can't have any contact with it, but I like your idea with the lamp on the top so thanks for that and i'll get that rigged up asap.

As for calcium and feed dish, i've just been hand feeding my gecko mealworms and dusting them about every other feed. He eats a good 10 worms or so every other night.

 

[snakegirl]

Ok good, Yes the sand isnt good for them. sure many people have had geckos on sand Nothing has happened...but its the few that the gecko has licked the sand..and died from it. So again it would be great to replace it something else.

Glad the rocks are stable, make sure they don't get too hot. or they can do the same thing a pet shop fake heat rock could do...Burn them. the "feeding by hand" Thats nice but it would be best just to have a bowl in there anyway. They will lick it up when they need it...this is to Keep them from getting MBD! or however you say it..if they don't get the calcium they need...Trust me it's heart breaking to watch a reptile with MBD...and many times they end up dieing. search around on this site for anything else you need or Pm me. good luck!