Need some advice

[moonieass13]

Hello,

I am looking into buying a leopard gecko or 2 tomorrow and I have been reading lots about them and what not but there is some stuff I am not 100% sure on and would love some questions clarified.

I am looking at getting one of those starter type things with most of what you need for your gecko ( I havent seen it... my parents did) anyways I think its about a 20 gallon tank, comes with 2 lights i believe a night and day type set up and some other stuff

1. Is it likely these type of starter "kits" will come with a heating mat? if not will I need to get one? or will the lights keep the temps right? ( I know its a stupid question)

2. What type if substrate should I use in the moist hide... if it doesnt come with anything

3. How often should I be misting the tank

4. What are adviseable temps for warm side and cool side?

Most of my questions are housing questions however I have a few others I will just throw in here

5. should I just feed mealworms? if so what should I feed the mealworms to 'gut load' or should I also be feeding dusted crickets

6. Should I leave a calcium dish in the tank 24/7

7. If I buy the tank tomorrow how long will it take for it to heat up so I can bring the gecko home (given a 20 gallon tank ) or will the gecko be able to survive for a couple hours if the tank isnt quiet at 80+

Thanks I know its long winded, but lots of info is either one or the other so I would just like some advise on what you guys think

 

[Angel]

lol ok hope i can help .
most of the time the starter kits dont come with mats so you will need one they need the belly heat to digest food so uth are the best option , you most likely wont need the lights unless your temp are too low if its cold in your house.
You also need to make sure you get a thermometer to check your temps a probe one works great and are fairly cheap i got mine for under $10.
substrate in your moist hides can be coconut fiber, paper towel, spaghnum {sp?} moss ect just look up hides for more info or ideas and you dont need to mist you tank just the hide.
temps on the warm side should be high 80's to mid 90's i keep mine around 91-92 but that could be debated as people have very diff opinions on that.
For food variety is good, meal worms, super worms if your gecko is big enough and crickets are all good and silkworms, remember to dust them with cacium and d3.
pure calcium without d3 is to be left in a small dish for them 24/7
if you buy the tank tomorrow i would set it up atleast the day before but yes they would be ok to go without the proper temp for a few hours but its always nice having a nice warm home to come home to the move can be stressful on them.
make sure you have 2 or more hides available for them plus the moist hide.
hope this helps a bit and post pics when you get your new addition would love to see him/her. =)

 

[moonieass13]

thanks for the reply.... so if I get a probe thermometer should I attach the prob to the bottom of the tank? like on the floor? and should I do the same thing on the cool side?

Pretty much cant wait for my parents to get home to go shopping

also should i be feeding once or twice a day? if twice would I dust with calcium once a day... or every other day

 

[Angel]

yes place the probe on the ground one on each side is best. for feeding i dust every feeding with calcium and d3, then i once a week i dust with vitamins. I usually feed mealies or supers and i put about 10-20 mealies in a dish or 5-8 supers and my adults are usually good a couple days with that however I have 2 that go through that in a day so i feed them daily. I feed crickets occassionaly but make sure they eat them you dont want those left in the tank they can bug your leo {not to mention the chirping at night is annoying}. but you only need to feed once a day or 2 depending how much your leo eats.

 

[moonieass13]

alright cool... I just got home from picking up the tank so we are gunna set it up.. the guy at the store suggested some moss stuff and wet it down and wrap it in paper towel.... for the moist hide... that a good idea?

also what should to floor temp on the cool side be?

and is 91-92 what the floor temp should be or air temp

 

[Tommy13b]

Nah id skip on the moss, just use paper towls, it will save you some $. The warm side should be 90-95 floor temp.

 

[moonieass13]

http://img25.imageshack.us/i/questionfb.jpg/

so this is the tank as of right now... I still need to put my food dishes in tho... however I was wondering should I have another hide on the warm side WITHOUT the moist stuff in it?? or will it just chill on the moist stuff on the warm side or on the cool side

 

[StopperExotics]

I think you're fine with the hides you have there. When do you get your new geckos?

 

[Angel]

ya i use paper towel its cheaper and easy to clean out and start fresh when needed. yes the floor temp is in the 90's the cool side in my tank is about 82 but i heard people say they have theres high 70's , so maybe someone else could chime in on this one.
also what are you using for substrate? if your getting a young leo id suggest just using paper towel for now but tile, rep carpet, work well also. I use a fake turf kinda rug i got from home depot its all natural and no loops and i use paper towel in a different tank and in my breeders tank im putting tile. just stay clear or walnut shells , and Id say sand but some people like it i just think its a risk that doesnt need to be taken.

 

[moonieass13]

he/she is waiting at the store for me to go pick him (hopefully) up I am hoping for a male but cant be sure cause its still little. had to set the tank up first

we are leaving in about 10 minutes go give my sister a ride to get her lip pierced then we are picking up the little fellow... pretty much cant wait

and the substrate is just some sort of reptile carpet... I got a starter kit type thing and then a heating mat and stuff, I might switch to sand when he gets older

 

[Angel]

never mind on the substrate i just seen your pic , looks good. i personally would put another dry hide on your warm side they dont always like using the moist hide i have moist and dry on my warm and then some more hides on my cool side, all in all it looks good though . when is the new arrival arriving?

 

[StopperExotics]

Don't switch to sand if you can help it. The reptile carpet will be much better, and if you don't want to spend a bundle on vet bills for impaction, or want your gecko to have a long life... I'd steer clear of it. IMO of course. I use paper towel for the young ones, and my breeders are all on coconut husk.

What morph did you get?

 

[moonieass13]

alrighty thanks... I did my research on the subject about hides, but I wasnt 100% sure.. and my parents were like "no you dont need a heat mat... the lights are enough" and I was like... "Just take my word, we are getting one " so I will pick up another medium sized hide for him when I go out

anyways again hes coming home today! its more exciting than christmas haha

I am bad with morphs... I will post a pic when I get him home and you guys can tell me my parents actually picked it out so ya I will post some pics when I get home and if my camera doesnt die on me

 

[StopperExotics]

Yeah, you definitely need an UTH heater, they need belly heat to digest their food. So you're right on the button with that one.

Can't wait to see pictures! We got three more for Christmas too, and I'll post pictures of them soon!

 

[moonieass13]

ya I told my parents that.. I decided that doing research and coming here was better advice than pet store people haha

 

[StopperExotics]

Hahah, yeah, quite frequently, but not in all cases, pet stores have no idea what they're doing with herps. I've seen a lot of mis-labelled morphs, genders, and even breeds, at pet stores.

 

[Tony C]

and my parents were like "no you dont need a heat mat... the lights are enough" and I was like... "Just take my word, we are getting one "

Tell them the heat mats are 10-20 times more energy efficient than lights, they'll like the idea then.

 

[LizMarie]

Wish I would have noticed this earlier but I didn't and I'm too lazy to read through all of the replies, lol.

1. Is it likely these type of starter "kits" will come with a heating mat? if not will I need to get one? or will the lights keep the temps right? ( I know its a stupid question)

- Ditch the starter kit it's cheaper and easier to just buy the supplies separatly because they either don't come with what you need or not enough of what you need so you end up spending a lot of more money. I personally bought one when I purchased my first leo 5 or 6 years ago and it was a waste of money I have non of the so called "supplies" now because they were useless.

-If you would have posted this a week or two ago I could have given the website ReptileSupply.com VERY affordable supplies and shipping is pretty cheap so don't buy anything from local pet shops I go straight for the net because I end up saving a lot of $$$/

2. What type if substrate should I use in the moist hide... if it doesnt come with anything

- I like using Coconut Fiber because it's so affordable, retains humidity and that one little brick can make a crapload. I the ONE BRICK I broke is going on a year and I change out the substrate in the humid hide weekly and have another 4-6 months worth of fiber left.

3. How often should I be misting the tank

-You don't need to mist the tank because Leopard Geckos don't need very high humidity you can mist the humid hide every 2-3days depending on how your medium retains humidity.

4. What are adviseable temps for warm side and cool side?

-This is a BIG debate but I use Gregg Maddens "Gecko Philosophy"
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=54138

-I personally keep my cool side 80-82*F degrees which depends on the temp in my apartment because we tend to get a lot of heat during the day but goes down at night and like to keep my warm side around 94-95*F since I've done this I noticed more activity, brighter colors and no winter slow down.

-5. should I just feed mealworms? if so what should I feed the mealworms to 'gut load' or should I also be feeding dusted crickets

You can feed either/or both are fine staples. I personally feed roaches. I gutload my feeders with progeckos gutload and for moisture I use Fruits/Veggies and water crystals. Other people just use oatmeal and fruits/veggies or some other commercial gutload. If you look online you can find gutload receipes.

6. Should I leave a calcium dish in the tank 24/7

- Yes. You should have PLAIN CALCIUM in the tank at all times.

7. If I buy the tank tomorrow how long will it take for it to heat up so I can bring the gecko home (given a 20 gallon tank ) or will the gecko be able to survive for a couple hours if the tank isnt quiet at 80+

- Good UTHs from my experience heat up rather quickly in around 20-30minutes so I advise you to have a thermostat because I've experienced UTH's reaching 100-115*F on their own without being controlled.


P.S. From my own experience I vote for UTH's OVER Bulbs. Bulbs tend to go out more and you have to turn this one off to turn that one on when UTH's are pretty much Set it and forget it and last longer.

 

[LizMarie]

he/she is waiting at the store for me to go pick him (hopefully) up I am hoping for a male but cant be sure cause its still little. had to set the tank up first

we are leaving in about 10 minutes go give my sister a ride to get her lip pierced then we are picking up the little fellow... pretty much cant wait

and the substrate is just some sort of reptile carpet... I got a starter kit type thing and then a heating mat and stuff, I might switch to sand when he gets older

Do I like sand NO. One it's too expensive, seems unhygenic and most people buy the calcium stuff that is not absorbed and clumps intestine which can cause impaction but is it always the case no..

I personally would stick to Slate/Ceramic Tile, Reptile Carpet, Kraft Paper, Shelf Liner and a few endless possibilities.

If you FEEL YOU MUST use sand make sure your gecko is an adult, that is houses correctly of a good weight and your using a fine playsand that's been washed out (removing the dust).

 

[moonieass13]

thanks so much for all the replys guys!

I will be posting another thread of the pics I took.... had to take em quick cause I didnt want him running for cover as soon as we put it in the new tank.

My next question....

Meal worms.. I got some and some people say they should be kept in the fridge? is this true or not.... as for gut loading em.... what should I put the mealworms in to gutload and how long before I intend on feeding them should the mealworms be gut loaded?

Thanks so much for all the help!

as for my UTH... we put a thermometer in and I have the probe on top of the subsrate on the warm side.... and its holding steady at about 94.5 without the lamp on... so I will monitor the heat over the next couple days to make sure its not getting too hot