New to Leopard Geckos

[April0684]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the site and new to geckos as well. I've been looking into getting a leopard gecko sometime soon and was just trying to do some research into them first. I'm trying to get a list made of the things I would need for its habitat. I have already searched through some threads on this forum and have learned quite a bit from it. I do still have a few questions though that I didn't see the answers for. This is what I have gotten so far:

10g tank for 1 gecko
Screen Lid
Under Tank Heater
Repti Carpet or Tile for substrate
3 Hides; one on hot side, one on cool side, moist hide in the middle with paper towels or moss
3 bowls; one food, one water, one with Calcium Supplement
Thermometer with Probe
Thermostat or Light Dimmer or Rheostat
Calcium Supplement
Food; Crickets or Mealworms
Temperature; Hot side 92-95 F, Cool side 70-80 F

Please let me know if I have missed anything or if something is wrong. Now for my questions. For the under tank heater is there a good recommended brand that most everyone uses? For the thermometer with probe is there a good recommended brand? I saw a link in one thread to a Top Fin Digital Aquarium Thermometer sold at Petsmart so I'm guessing that one would be ok? For the thermostat or light dimmer or rheostat is where I get really confused. I understand that they control your heat source but thats about it. I'm not sure what the difference is between them or which one is the best and what is a good brand? For the calcium supplement which brand is recommended? I hear about dusting your crickets or meal worms and is that the same brand of calcium that you have in one of your bowls for your gecko or a totally different brand? If different what is the brand recommended for that? Last question, for food is it recommended to stick with just crickets or just mealworms or to switch them up for some variety?

I'm so sorry for all of the questions. I did want to say thanks for this site and all the information on it because I came here not knowing one thing about geckos and feel now as though I have gained alot of knowledge on the subject and am well on my way to knowing what I am doing to owning one correctly.

 

[geckogirl3]

the list is perfect you didn't miss anything

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Go with Zoo med UTH, it's the most popular brand. For a 10g buy the small version. It should cover 1/3 of your tank.

Any digital thermometer with probe will work, brands don't matter. I've seen no less than 4 different brands of them, but they are all made in china and look & function exactly the same. So chances are they are the same things just rebranded differently on the outside.

You want a thermostat, that's the one where you can set your temperature and it'll shutoff your UTH when it gets too hot. Rheostat is a dimmer. If you are going to spend money on one of these, go with a thermostat.

Most people leave a bottle cap or dish full of calcium without D3 in their tank for their leopard geckos. Look for one without D3, as for brands Rep-cal, Repashy foods, and Zoo Med are popular brands. This is what I use, it's such a huge bottle I don't think I'll run out for a couple of years.

As for dusting, you want to look for a multi-vitamin supplement. Zoo med reptivite, Rep-cal herptivite, repashy foods calcium plus are all good supplements to dust with.

There are successful breeders that feed primarily on mealworms, some crickets, others dubia roaches. So find what works for you. I personally can't stand crickets, so I'm keeping both mealworms/superworms and dubia roaches on hand for my leopard geckos.

Hope this helps good luck! Just getting into leopard geckos is very exciting

 

[ElapidSVT]

basically, a thermostat responds to changes in temperature by turning power on or off, thereby maintining a preset temperature.

a rheostat/dimmer doesn't respond to anything, it adjusts the power to the heater such that it maintains a preset power level though the temperature is dependent on ambient temperatures and will fluctuate accordingly.

thermostats are better but are typically a bit more expensive than a rheostat.

 

[April0684]

Thanks so much for the replies!

Mardy- Thanks for all of the information! It really helped me out alot. I will write the brand names on my list so I don't forget. Yes, it is really exciting!

ElapidSVT- Thanks so much for the explanation on the differences of thermostats and rheostats. I will definitly go with a thermostat!

 

[ieatfish]

One thing we have done rather than get a thermostat is use tile and sand. Get your tank set up with the UTH in the right place with just the tile in the tank. You can measure how hot it gets and then add layers of sand until you get to the right temperature. We used about 1 cm of sand under our tile and our hot side sits at around 90-95 on the tile depending on the ambient temperature. If your ambient temperature is changing a lot, then you might want the thermostat to adjust accordingly but if your ambient room temperature stays pretty constant, you probably don't need one once you get your tank set up how you like.

Also, have a look at the different feeders (in real life) and see if any gross you out. My wife was fine with the tiny crickets but now can't handle the larger ones. We've switched over to dubia roaches with are a bit less 'creepy crawly'.

 

[April0684]

Ok, thanks for that advice!

I will be sure to do that as well! I am fine with crickets I used to try and keep them as pets when I was a kid. I liked the sound they made lol. I have seen the mealworms too and am fine with those. I have never seen the dubia roaches will have to check them out to see what they look like. Also, since this topic has been brought up I did think of another question. Could you buy crickets from a fishing bait and tackle place to feed your geckos or is it safer to buy the ones from pet stores?