New Gecko Setup

[fOOlsgOld]

Hello,

This is my first post on the forums so if its a bit long I'm sorry
I'm new to Leos and am wanting to get some advice/tips on starting out with my set up.
I have a 45gal reptile aquarium (36"W x 17"H x 18"D) with a screen top. I was going to use floor tile from a hardware store for the substrate. The other option I was considering was reptile carpet (washed) but there seems to be some conflict over if the carpet is safe or not.
A 11"x17" UTH (Exo Tera) for one side of the tank, a wet and dry hide on that side and at least 2 more dry hides on the cool side. Should I get a probe thermometer (seen them recommended) or a laser thermometer? I was leaning towards the latter as I was going to use tile substrate.
RepCal ultra fine calcium with D3 to supplement and Dubia roaches and silkworms or crickets.
Let me see... what else... I'm only going to be getting females for now as I'm not ready to breed them ... I would like to put a few small live plants in the tank too, good idea or no? Also going to add a top platform for them to climb up on.
I haven't picked out my geckos yet. I was happy to find a breeder here in town that has some new babies ready to go and is sending me pictures before he even updates his site. For a 45Gal tank 3(females) would be ok correct?
Also getting a scale so I can keep track of their weight along with when they shed and what they are eating (and any changes).
Been lucky enough to find 2 vets with in 20min of me that own and care for reptiles.
Please ask me anything that I haven't covered. Point out anything that I may be screwing up. And let me know anything I haven't thought of. I've been reading all that I can find about Leos and their care for the past 2 months and want to get this right before I get them and risk screwing something up. My daughter and I are both very excited about this.
Thanks for any responses,
fOOlsgOld
Leo noob

 

[Mel&Keith]

It sounds like you've been doing your research! I personally prefer probe thermometers because you can see the temperature constantly and it's always takes from the same spot. You'll also want to get a rheostat or thermostat to plug the UTH in to.

 

[nats]

I have both kinds of thermometers.
A digital one w/ probe for constant monitoring, and a laser for spot checks.

With a thermostat, you would only need one other thermometer at the cool end since the thermostat already has a probe.
Dont forget to place your probes on top of the substrate so you arent just monitoring the air.

Also, unless your room temp NEVER fluctuates, I do not recommend a rhreostat to control your UTH.

 

[fOOlsgOld]

Another question I forgot to ask....

The tank I have is used, in great shape but used, and has what looks to be a water mark on the front side of it. I've tried vinegar/water and a scrubby sponge but after it dried the water mark was back. Any ideas how to get that off? Also just want to confirm that 3 geckos would be fine in the tank.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it:main_yes:

 

[nats]

Hmmm! I dont know what else to clean that water mark with.
The vinegar thing is what I would have done too. Good luck on that one.

Yes, 3 females in a terrarium that size is fine as long as there are plenty of hides (moist ones too) for all 3 of them. Just keep an eye on them. They may compeat for food and favorite hiding spots. If they are different sizes, watch out for intimadation and stress. A bullied leo will stress and not eat. They will also continually try to escape. Just look for signs of bullying in their behavour.

They may get along fine, and even huddle in the same moist hide together :main_yes:

 

[fOOlsgOld]

Thanks Nats appreciate the confirmation about how many the tank can house. Yes I believe they should all be about the same size.

 

[fOOlsgOld]

Well decided to just dig up my old post instead of starting a new one.....
I got the ExoTerra UTH from Petstupid that I had posted about and yes it was a pos... neither one of them heated up hardly at all so I took them back.
So now hear I am with another question.... What UTH seems to be the best? Also, I was looking at Flexwat. It doesn't seem to be hard to hook up. Any suggestions? Just go with hooking up Flexwat or get a better UTH?

 

[nats]

Well decided to just dig up my old post instead of starting a new one.....
I got the ExoTerra UTH from Petstupid that I had posted about and yes it was a pos... neither one of them heated up hardly at all so I took them back.
So now hear I am with another question.... What UTH seems to be the best? Also, I was looking at Flexwat. It doesn't seem to be hard to hook up. Any suggestions? Just go with hooking up Flexwat or get a better UTH?

What do you mean buy "they hardly heated up"?
UTH's dont get very hot. They should only feel a little warm. A little warmer than body temp.
Did you put a thermometer prob on it? It only needs to be 90 or 92F.

 

[fOOlsgOld]

I didn't put a thermometer on the one I plugged in (waiting for it to arrive) but I had ordered two, plugged one in and after over an hour it was barely warmer then the one that wasn't plugged in.
I helped a friend of mine set up his Ball Python racks and install the flexwat when he moved to a new house so I have some experience with flexwat and know how warm it felt when we were hooking them up (about 92-95F is where he kept the warm side). The ExoTerra UTH just didn't seem to be working, maybe I got some bad ones idk.
What kind of UTH's do you use nats?

 

[nats]

I didn't put a thermometer on the one I plugged in (waiting for it to arrive) but I had ordered two, plugged one in and after over an hour it was barely warmer then the one that wasn't plugged in.
I helped a friend of mine set up his Ball Python racks and install the flexwat when he moved to a new house so I have some experience with flexwat and know how warm it felt when we were hooking them up (about 92-95F is where he kept the warm side). The ExoTerra UTH just didn't seem to be working, maybe I got some bad ones idk.
What kind of UTH's do you use nats?

I use Ultratherm mats from The Bean Farm.

Sorry for the late reply, almost forgot about this thread, they do tend to get buried.

I dont like to rag on manufactures products, but Exo Terra and ZooMed are two of the most unreliable mats on the market (dont sue me please!!).
We have experimented with all the brands.

 

[fOOlsgOld]

Awesome nats, thanks for the info. I've decided to go with felxwatt especially since hubby can help me with them to make sure I don't fry the gecko or something like that :main_laugh:
Already got my roaches ordered so they will be set up and ready to go when I get the geckos! I'm going to wait till mid October to have them shipped to me since I'm going on an extended weekend the start of October and don't want to leave them alone with my husband for 4 days :main_lipsrsealed:

 

[GatorGirl286]

hey. one thing i noticed in your first post: you said you have calcium with D3. Make sure you also have pure calcium (withOUT D3). Too much D3 can be toxic to them. I dust with pure calcium three times a week and calc+D3 two times a week. just wanted to mention it since no one else did! good luck with your leos!

 

[fOOlsgOld]

I've decided to go with Repashy Calcium Plus and from what I understand that is all you need to use correct? And you don't have to put in a dish of calcium when you use the Repashy is that right too? Or is there something else I should use (alternate) with the Repashy?

 

[nats]

I've decided to go with Repashy Calcium Plus and from what I understand that is all you need to use correct? And you don't have to put in a dish of calcium when you use the Repashy is that right too? Or is there something else I should use (alternate) with the Repashy?

That is correct :main_yes: