My leo setup! (WIP)

[Mutinyofthemind]

Don't have have leo yet, so excuse the lack of substrate (will be paper towels) and gecko.

Two of the "mini black hide boxes" from LLL Reptile, the entrances are just big enough for a juvie it looks like. (If they're not, they're dirt cheap at least)
Fancy Zoo-Med repti shelter for a humid hide + sphagnum moss. Don't have it sitting directly on the heatpad, I've heard heat will cause it to crack.
Cork flats. They're awesome. Yes, the make that 10 gallon look crowded but they do offer hiding and climbing areas. And while I know leos aren't exactly semi-arboreal, it seems that given the chance, they will climb around and explore.
There is a thermostat on the hot hide end, I've dialed it in with an infrared thermometer over a period of 48 hours. I'll likely look into getting a third, high quality, probe thermometer to monitor that temperature before getting a leo.

My room stays in the mid 70s, so don't think I'll need overhead heating. I do have a 40 and 50 watt "moonlight" bulb with a 10" dimmer dome just in case! I get a nice bit of natural sunlight throughout the day as well.

I will likely upgrade to a 20 gallon long after a year or so, re-use what I can.



Biggest decision next is... mack snow, high yellow, or an albino leucistic from reptiles by mack. And then initial purchases of some crickets from a local big name store.

 

[Treefolk]

Get one of these: Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Order 5000 of these and keep them in your fridge (doesn't take up much space): Live Bulk Mealworms

Use coco coir (ecoearth) instead of sphagnum moss.

Don't get an albino from reptiles by Mack because you won't know if it's Tremper or Rainwater (they don't keep track).

 

[cstone]

Personally I didn't like the moonlight bulb (blacklight) that I originally had for night time. It was far too dim to see my Leo at night when she is most active. I got a red light for night since they can't see red light (so it doesn't bother her, but I can actually see her), and now use the moonlight bulb for suplimental heating during the day and allow sunlight from a nearby window to provide the visible light during the day. Your room is warmer than mine so you probably won't need the extra heat from a second light like I do.

 

[lisa127]

If the ambient room temp is 75 I would never put an overhead heat source. You don't need any bulbs at those temps...just your UTH. If you're worried about night viewing put a string of red Christmas lights over the caging so you don't overheat the cage.

For only one gecko I would not order bulk mealworms online. You'll never use them all up and breeding your own just isn't worth it for only one gecko. I have an adult male and a 5.5 month old juvenile male. I only use 150 to 200 mealworms a month. Just easier to spend the $5 a month at the petstore really. 15 years ago I had many leo's as I was breeding and I used to use online ordering then.

Also, one of my geckos eats sphagnum moss and then regurgitates it (the other does not). So I had to stop using it. If yours does you will need to switch to the coco fiber.

 

[tb144050]

Don't get an albino from reptiles by Mack because you won't know if it's Tremper or Rainwater (they don't keep track).

^^ +1. I'm glad I wasn't the first person to say it. If you buy from them, be sure that it will NEVER be used to breed. They are pet-quality only...even says on their website that they don't know "what is what"...just sold by appearance...

 

[tb144050]

I also agree with some of the other good advice listed above:

-Don't NEED an overhead heater if room temp is over 70F. I am also scowering eBay looking for a nice overhead-red light, but I would prefer something smaller than a string of lights.

-I also didn't like the "moonlight bulbs" I tried. They are visibly like having a blacklight in a black room....(in this comparison, only white things would be seen..but under a "moonbulb", you can tell there is a light but it doesn't illuminate anything).

-Don't get bulk food for 1 Leo...the food will perish before any value is seen. Mealworms will "set" in the refrigerator but I have never tried to keep a 3year supply refrigerated. (maybe 10worms/day for first year, then maybe 8-10worms/every-other-day after adulthood)

 

[lisa127]

I also agree with some of the other good advice listed above:

-Don't NEED an overhead heater if room temp is over 70F. I am also scowering eBay looking for a nice overhead-red light, but I would prefer something smaller than a string of lights.

-I also didn't like the "moonlight bulbs" I tried. They are visibly like having a blacklight in a black room....(in this comparison, only white things would be seen..but under a "moonbulb", you can tell there is a light but it doesn't illuminate anything).

-Don't get bulk food for 1 Leo...the food will perish before any value is seen. Mealworms will "set" in the refrigerator but I have never tried to keep a 3year supply refrigerated. (maybe 10worms/day for first year, then maybe 8-10worms/every-other-day after adulthood)

I used a very small string of lights over a crestie enclosure for viewing. Not a long string of tree lights. It was more a small, delicate string for decorating elsewhere which is what I originally meant.

 

[cstone]

ZooMed sells 15 and 25 watt red bulbs. The amount of heat that these put off should not raise temps by much. If your temps get too high you could raise the light a bit off the tank by either hanging it or using a stand. That is what I would get. I found them by searching Google for "15 watt red reptile bulb". 15w were out of stock in the few places I found them, but the 25w was in stock at lllreptile

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[lisa127]

ZooMed sells 15 and 25 watt red bulbs. The amount of heat that these put off should not raise temps by much. If your temps get too high you could raise the light a bit off the tank by either hanging it or using a stand. That is what I would get. I found them by searching Google for "15 watt red reptile bulb". 15w were out of stock in the few places I found them, but the 25w was in stock at lllreptile

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In a small tank like a ten gallon, especially combined with a UTH, a low wattage bulb can still add more heat than you want/need.

I'll tell you what I do for my current situation. I have a separate reptile room. My other herps are all diurnal so it needs to be dark in there at night. Since it's a small room and I keep the door closed it stays way too warm to keep any kind of overhead heat on my leo's. So I keep a small table with a lamp between my two gecko cages and I put a red bulb in the lamp itself. So the red light is between the two cages and is enough for me to view my geckos in the evening when I want.

 

[cstone]

In a small tank like a ten gallon, especially combined with a UTH, a low wattage bulb can still add more heat than you want/need.

I'll tell you what I do for my current situation. I have a separate reptile room. My other herps are all diurnal so it needs to be dark in there at night. Since it's a small room and I keep the door closed it stays way too warm to keep any kind of overhead heat on my leo's. So I keep a small table with a lamp between my two gecko cages and I put a red bulb in the lamp itself. So the red light is between the two cages and is enough for me to view my geckos in the evening when I want.

The OP is already planning on using a moonlight bulb which will only be good for putting out heat. But placing the red light in a lamp next to the tank is another good idea if temps are too high.

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[Mutinyofthemind]

Hey all, thanks for all the replies.

I'll be getting a leo this week (Thursday), getting a 4 year old, 67.4 gram, retired breeder. She is a lavender eclipse, but the breeder isn't disclosing the rest of the genetics ( 3 different recessive traits and 2 polygenic) as she'll be pet only and will not be bred. Diet has been mealworms and dubias, I'll be switching her to mealworms and crickets. I developed an allergy to dubias when breeding them for a bearded dragon. =/

I've just ordered the Hydrofarm MPTRTC coming in Tuesday, which should give me plenty of time to redo hotspot temps. The ReptiTemp 500R is letting the hot spot dip too low for comfort. (80*F before kicking on and warming up to 94*F, then cutting off)

The overhead moonlight bulb brings the temps up a few degrees, cool side stays between 70*F and 74*F, heat is off upstairs during the day and my room dips to 68*F.

I'll be keeping an eye on the sphagnum moss and switch to coco fiber if need be.