My new 50gal colony tank in progress DUW!

[astronut1885]

I just jumped from a 20 L set up like this:

To my new 50gal setup, that currently looks like this:

I've got a few more hides and features coming in for the 50. I just ordered a turtle elevated basking platform (I know they don't bask, but they will use the extra horizontal space at night), a Zoo-Med repti-cave humid hide (right now it's the large exo terra hide in the corner with damp sand under it), a large exo terra magnet hide (love these things), a small exo terra waterfall (not all of the geckos will go to the standing water dish, this thing is like a trickle from the faucet, but the movement should get them to it). Eventually I want to add some better flat cliffs onto the pre-fab exo-terra walls. Not sure how to do it and keep the "real" look, but I'll come up with something. Everything in there is faux except for the driftwood. The large rocks in the middle are actually a 1 piece exo terra rock outcrops with a cave system in the back. My plan is to maximize the usable space in there, which means adding some levels down the line. It currently houses the 1.5 colony in my sig, but eventually will end up somewhere around 1.7 in there.

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

WHOA WHOA dude okay your doing several things terribly wrong!!

The trickling water may add to much humidity but I don't know about that one, that one wasn't really a big concern of mine

but the sand is a MAJOR no no, sand, even if the leos are over 6 months old, is a hazard because over time they lick the sand, even if not on purpose, they get it in their systems and it can cause impaction, the damp sand is another eeh because it might encourage them to lick it more, and it's more solid and undigestiable,

Even if it's calcium sand it's still no good at all, that encourages to lick it even more.

Now please get a second opinon on that sand thing but I'm pretty sure all of that is correct, well I know for a fact the impaction part is correct


nextly, the rule of thumb is 1 male to about 5 females, but even then it should be 10 gallons per leo, having more someone may get bullied or not get access to certain things, it actually stresses the gecko out because even though they live in colonies in the wild, in captivity they don't have freedom to roam wherever they are limited to a small space therefore it is not the same as in the wild

Now I must say that is a cool setup though! I wish I had room for a 50 gallon! Awesome composition

Okay moving on

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

oh also, do they have an UTH? If not that is something else you should think about getting, I saw you had a lamp so I wasn't for sure

also if the lamp is a UVB then you should take it out, leos can't absorb what the UVB puts off so it's only bothersome to their eyes, try a red light or just natural indirect sunlight, that is the best

 

[rhino43grr]

yeah i agree on the sand/uth part. i don't know that i'd have any kind of water feature either for humidity reasons.

 

[astronut1885]

Multiple UTH, hot side is about 90*, cool about 78 in the cool hide. I've used repti-sand for over 8 years of herping, and I've had zero issues with it. I provide plenty of pure calcium in the worm dish, and I supplement often. I've yet to even suspect impaction in any of my colonies. The waterfall will do nothing to the humidity, trust me. I have a large screen top, and I live in an old-as-rocks farmhouse with forced hot air. The air is so dry, I can leave a full waterdish in there in the AM and it'll be bone dry by nighttime. I've seen one running in person, there's no mist, no spray, it's literally a trickle down into the dish at the base. As far as my m/f ratio, for now I'm settling at 1.6. Once I add more usable volume, it could be increased. I monitor all my animal's health and weight, I keep food readily available, and I monitor for cagemate aggression. So far, so good, same in past colonies I raised and then eventually sold. So, I don't think I'm doing too much wrong.

 

[astronut1885]

The light is a multi-spectrum Exo terra unit. I know that the leos don't need the UV, it's actually left over from my Beardies. I use it because living in this old ass house also means living in a cold ass house lol. Without that, I can't maintain ambient temps above the 60 range. All my geckos have plenty of hides which have no light exposure. In fact ever since I added the light, they all seem to like going into the Rock outcrops hide that sits under it, since it gets nice and warm on one side. As soon as that thing goes out, I put a 50w nighttime red bulb on, and they all gather under where the daylight bulb was and absorb the left over ground heat. The cave in the back left corner is in fact a ceramic heated unit that maintains about 85* on it's own, but doesn't really radiate to the substrate around it. I've had it since I got my 1st leo, and despite being skeptical after reading up on heat rocks, I've never seen it get too warm or witness any injury to whoever was living in it at the time. All these temps are comfirmed with an automotive infrared temp gun BTW.

 

[GatorGirl286]

i think i am going to agree with everyone on the sand thing. the fact that you haven't had any problems in the past doesn't guarantee that you won't in the future. i just don't see the point in taking the risk just for a nice looking tank. tile can look just as great with all the textures and colors out there now (not to mention ceramic tile is a pretty good heat disperser) and it removes any risk of trouble from the sand. plus the sand is much harder to change out and clean and can hold more bacteria.

to each his own i guess. nice looking setups otherwise.

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

Well that's cool dude glad you keep your babies in such good check!
So could I put a waterfall in my aquarium *looks hopeful at the awesomeness of it*

I will still stay firm on the sand as well as heat rocks, but whatever you choose to do I see that those geckos are spoiled rotten.

Goodluck

 

[astronut1885]

I'm considering a switch to tiles. That would allow me alot more freedom for multiple vertical levels. The sand is hard to get high/low, it all kinda settles. I might have to go look at home depot and see what they have. I'd prefer something textured, or atleast that looks like real stone, but we'll see.

And yeah, they're spoiled bad. They own me lol. Every time I see a nice piece I could add that they'd like, I buy it. And every time I see a nice new cagemate, I can't help myself either. It helps being an RN in that I have a little spare $ to spend on the hobby. This is by far the nicest setup I've ever had, I used to have basic 10gal tanks with like 2 1/2 log hides. Now I'm going for "chunk of Pakistani mountain in my room" reality.

 

[astronut1885]

Yeah, I'm gonna go root around the leftovers from the redeco my father did in the kitchen and see if I can find some tiles... I do agree, better safe then sorry, plus, burying their hides back into the sand every time I moved them was a P.I.T.A. I can't stand for things to look out of place in there, I'm a bit OCD about it.

 

[astronut1885]

Now sand free. My dad had some nice white stone tiles left over, so I used them. For now, they're layered the best I could with a little sand under a few to make them overlap steadily. Eventually I want to add dimension with some woodwork and tile. Thanks for the motivation guys.

 

[GatorGirl286]

that's great. i think tile looks awesome! and i bet your leos will like the second level. plus it will be much easier to clean! post pics so we can see what it looks like!

 

[astronut1885]

Well, the bathroom tiles weren't fitting right, and they looked kinda bland, so I made a late night Home Depot run last night and got some 6x6" tumbled travertine tiles. They kinda resemble tiles made of white coral. Looks a LOT nicer. I'll eventually work out a multi-level setup, but for now they seem happy, and it's safe Pics in the AM

 

[Zynx_Keekeio]

awesome! I would love to see some pictures!! I bet it's tight!!

 

[astronut1885]

With the Travertine. It looks alot like sand or natural rock from a distance, the heat dispersion is better, and I don't have to be all anal about evening out the sand or not leaving 'finger tracks' in it when I bury the hides back in. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I want it to look as perfect as possible. I'm still waiting on the waterfall to come in, hopefully I'll be installing it Friday, and I'll update pics then.

 

[RepBex]

that looks really good

 

[astronut1885]

I'm going to get a little bag of polished stones for along the back. I cut the rock wall shorter last night when I stacked the bigger tiles, and now that I've got one flat row, you can see where it's short. It also allows the crickets to get behind it where the provision is for the cord. I figure the stones will look nice and mask the transition to the wall.

 

[nats]

That 50g setup looks great.
I'm glad to see you got rid of the sand

I wish I had the room for a 50

 

[LizMarie]

Loving the tile!!! its looking great!

 

[astronut1885]

I barely have room for it, but I'm making it work. Once my girl and I get our own place, I want to set up a herp room where I can get a few nice colonies going, maybe even a few AFTs. That's one downside here, is that I can only have 1 male, and I've got the one I took from my dad because he wasn't really taking care of it properly.