Newbie loking for some help!

[sublimefan]

im am going to be getting a newly hatched leo, and am curious to find out about the differences between the heat lamp and the heat mat. Another q i have has to do with the reptile carpet opposed to paper towels. any words of wisdom will help out, thanks guys and gals.

 

[peppered...leopard]

well, we have been breeding for a year or so now, and so I don't want to make anyone mad, but paper towels are easier to clean and it makes it easier to check and see if they are digesting and everything comes out the other end ok, so thats what I would use. and also a heat pad you can leave on 24/7 to where a heat lamp you would have to turn off, also leos are night animals and most hate the light and if you had a heat lamp, you may never see them in action durning the day!!!

 

[thekooliest]

I just helped some one with substrate, so this is a copy post.

Yup.
Substrate is a name for the bottom of the tank.
A lot of unknowingly people use sand because it looks better.
But Leopard Geckos are one of some reptiles who will eat the sand, choke and die (impaction). A lot of other loose substrates (wood chips, calci sand, those thinks you buy) will cause the same things. There is a big argument with sand and leopard geckos, so people recommend three things.
Tile
Paper Towel
Repti Carpet
Tile is my favorite, nice and cheap, a one time purchase, and easy to clean.
Paper towel is the most common one, but you have to keep buying paper towels.
Repti Carpet is a less common alternative, which I don't like because I have heard cases of geckos toes getting stuck in it.

As for heating.
Light you have to turn on and off and on and off, plus if you have an albino...they are sensitive to the light and will not eat in it.
UTH are easy to use.
And the decisive matter is that geckos NEED belly heat to digest.
Light gives more air temperature.
-Sam

 

[sublimefan]

UTH????

I see this UTH used a lot but im not really sure what it means? anyone?

 

[Riyo]

UTH = Under Tank Heater It's a pad with an adhesive backing that you put on the underside of a glass terrarium.

 

[thekooliest]

Exactly. Provides belly heat for reptiles.

 

[sublimefan]

UTH/rock/lamp

so should i put a UTH with a rock on top of it with the heat lamp on top of the cage directly above the rock? is that a good setup?

 

[thekooliest]

A UTH is just fine. I thought I would need a light, so I bought one. I wanna get rid of it

 

[MSMD]

If the UTH is appropriately sized, you should need no other heat source. In fact, using the lamp in addition to the UTH could cause the enclosure to get too hot, resulting in health problems and possibly death. Under tank heat is the only thing I use on my geckos. Again, just make sure it is the appropriate size and you adhere it to the outside bottom on one side of the enclosure, rather than the middle, so there will be a proper gradient. The warm side should be 90-92 degrees (the temp of the floor of the enclosure, not the ambient air temp) and the cool side anywhere from 70-80 degrees. Leos are cold-blooded and this allows them to properly regulate themselves. I would also suggest a thermometer with a probe to moniter the warm side of your enclosure. You may need to use a thermostat or rheostat with the UTH to attain the proper temp.

I, personally, use paper towels for all of my leos except for one in a display tank. In the display tank I have porcelin tile. The paper towels are cheaper and easier to change/keep clean than reptile carpet, in my opinion. The tile is also very easy to keep clean and sanitary.

Hope that helps! Please share pics of your new little one when you get it!

 

[sublimefan]

so where could i get a thermostat or a rheostat and how would i use this with a UTH that doesn't come equipped with one? also i only have a 10 gallon tank, will this matter when it comes to a warm side and a cold side? and lastly where can i get a thermometer with a probe and what is a probe? thanks for all the help.

 

[thekooliest]

They make smaller UTH's so it doesn't matter. I am going to give you the cheapest things that you can use (and I am actually using them, and haven't had problems). A thermometer with a probe is a digital thermometer with a wire coming down and a probe (a small object used to measure something) that is used to measure floor temperatures. The reason everyone recommends that for Leos, is because they are so close to the ground the air temperature doesn't effect them as much as ground temperature. So say you didn't have a probe, your thermometer would read 91F (just fine), but in actuality it would be 100F and burning your gecko.

You need 2 thermometers with probes (one for cool side, one for warm side).

And you asked for a rheostat. I am not sure if you really wanted one, although I have one. I use it because my UTH gets a little bit hotter than I would want, and I can just turn the knob.

If you realize your temperatures are too high, get a rheostat.

This one should be good for a ten gallon tank, but just double check your dimensions. This is 6" x 9", so your tank can be anywhere from 18"-12" x 9" for this to work. Clicky!

Hope I helped, Sam.

 

[thekooliest]

Mods, you can delete this post, I did a duplicate and I couldn't find the delete button so I edited it to say this. :main_thumbsup:

 

[MSMD]

Good job with the links, Sam. Those are the thermometers w/ probes that I use......although I just got a temp gun and it's sooo cool!

Any updates? Have you gotten your little one yet?