NEED ADVICE

[usarmy0101]

im going to a reptile show this week end and plan on bring home 2 leapord geckos, now these will be my first. getting them from a breeder i will know what the sex is so is there a certian sex i want to put in the same cage for example a female and another female (would they fight). also witch sex is freindlyer male or female i want to be able to hold him every now and then.
this is the cage they will be in together

 

[tokayok123]

add more hides of if your getting 2 they need alot of places 2 hide, if your getting 2 get 2 females as 2 males will fight

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

I agree with the fact that you need to add more hides. But also, (1.) you can get rid of the lamp and get yourself a heat mat. The heat mat should be at one or the other end, be regulated to about 90 degrees f, and have a hide located directly over it. The other thing is (2.) put the thermometers one inch off the surface of the tank. Because leopard geckos are terestrial, they'll be spending the majority of their time on the ground surface of the enclosure.

In closing, Happy Keeping!!! :main_yes:

 

[usarmy0101]

well i dont trust the heat pads becouse of my dresser could catch on fire

 

[Hacksaw]

If you have something that allows air flow between the dresser and heater, you should be good. I use Exo-Terra Heat Wave brand heat mats and they give you them to lift your tank about 1/2 inch.

 

[nats]

well i dont trust the heat pads becouse of my dresser could catch on fire

A UTH can not get hot enough to start a fire.
They only get up to 100F, not much different then body temp., and you
dont go around starting fires with your body, do you!!??

You would need a thermostate to control it.

Also, put a sheet of styrofoam under the UTH. This does 2 things; it directs
the heat to radiate up, to the terrarium, instead of radiating on both sides. Also, it protects your wood furniture.

Have fun at the show, and I hope you score some nice leos :main_yes:

 

[usarmy0101]

yea i want 2 but i might get 1

 

[usarmy0101]

so i should get rid of the light I DoNT neED IT
>???????????????? im a bit confused lol
with the 100w light on its about 80-90 deg

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

Most here will tell you that belly heat is slightly better for your leo, me included.

 

[hondawingsfly]

belly heat is much better, raise the light a foot or so above the cage and get a low wattage red light bulb for night veiwing (the geckos cant see the red light)

 

[Nigel4less]

Definitely toss the light, IMO they are Junk for Leopards. Leopards NEED belly heat in order to properly digest. You have a better chance of starting a fire with a Lamp that cannot properly controlled, and can easily exceed higher temperatures then a Heat pad ever could. Plus most Heating pads should be controlled by a thermo/rheostat. Also I would recommend you get 1 or 2 more hides for your guy/gal. Honestly I never recommend people starting out with more then one Leopard. The more animals you have, the higher risk you have of something going wrong.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[usarmy0101]

yea im only getting one and plan on getting a heat pad tomaorw my tank is about 29 gal so is this a good heat pad http://www.********.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752461

and here is my new set up

 

[usarmy0101]

http://www.********.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752461 idk why the link to ******** is not working

 

[syntheticreality]

link is not working, but a small - med exo-terra heat mat should work.

I like the lego hide. Funny stuff.

Also, I think this thread needs to be moved away from the "show of your leos" forum

 

[usarmy0101]

sorry im new here but ill take a picture of him tomaorw

 

[Nigel4less]

Those Heat Pads are fine, but I would definitely recommend you get some sort of Thermostat to control it.

 

[usarmy0101]

what should the heat pad read on the thermostat

 

[Mel&Keith]

Here's a link that works to the UTH you were trying to link to- http://www.t-rexproducts.com/products/lighting/cobra-heat-mats-30-40-gallon-terrarium-size/
The other link wasn't working because this forum automatically turns the names of those 2 big pet supply chains into asterisks.

The only thing I wonder about this particular mat is if it can be controlled lower than 100F. I'm not familiar with them so maybe someone who has used this T-Rex Cobra mat can comment on it's running temperature. It says it's designed to run at a constant 100F which would burn a Leo is it couldn't run lower controlled by a rheostat or thermostat. Oh, the surface temp on the warmest spot should be 92F.

If you decide on 2 Leos, make sure they're similarly sized and aged females. Most breeders will allow you to hold larger Leos so you can see their temperament before you buy. Babies tend to be pretty fast and wiggly so it can be a little dangerous to uncup them at a show to handle them. Good luck picking one (or two) out!