Newbie questions

[ScottishFish]

Hi all,

I am currently planning out my DIY Leo viv the now and had a few questions. My plan will be an all wood viv with glass front, footprint will be 44x11 (inches), height will be 9 inches.

Hope to have it decked out with appropriate heat mat, thermo stat and red light for night viewing.

Substrate either tile or paper towels and approx 5 hides.

Now for the questions, as this is a kinda odd shaped viv will I be able to house multiple female Leo's? 2-3?

Secondly will this viv need any sort of lighting? I know they are nocturnal so I thought it kind of daft and unnecessary.

Cheers everyone :main_thumbsup:

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I don't know much about DIY cages but posting in the section on DIY or housing might get a few more responses

 

[ScottishFish]

Cheers, I just stuck it in the general since I covered a few different areas, I will wait and see what response I gets here then I might open a different thread in another section.

Thanks!

 

[Lindz0518]

The only reason you would need lighting is if the air temp was too low, and then you want to go with a very low watt bulb. Just the light from a window in the room is enough. My bell albino doesn't like bright light at all and will keep her eyes closed. As far as housing females together, hopefully someone else can help you there, my leos have never been housed together.

 

[chastity]

i have a 40 breeder with 3 girls in there but they don't go exploring much. they'd much rather lay around like alligators. a lot of people are iffy on housing them together but as long as they're all females & friendly (gotta watch for the dominance signs) i don't see why you couldn't keep atleast 2 girls.

 

[ScottishFish]

Thanks for your response !

Just to add now, the location has changed, increasing my possible viv size to 56x24 footprint and 20high if I wanted.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Lighting is really up to you. I personally am a fan of a regular heat light during the day, as I think it's closer to their natural light in the desert than what little can be absorbed through the window. (But this isn't true if you have an albino, as their eyes are very sensitive to light.)

And here is a post I found regarding signs of dominance in leos, which you'd need to look out for: http://www.reptileboards.com/thread...sion-dominance-signs-of-leopard-geckos.49910/

~Maggot

 

[theGeckoBoss]

L

 

[theGeckoBoss]

Sorry about the last post. Typing on an iPod is hard.
Look, you have about as much floor space as a 150 gallon tank. There is such thing as too big. Go with the other dimensions and you should be able to get 3.

 

[ScottishFish]

Thanks guys, I am as yet unsure to what morphs are easily available for me over here. If I get regular leos I think I might insert some sort of lighting. Do many of you have red lighting for night viewing?

I know that's a pretty massive tank area but that's maximum size, I probably would make it slightly less.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Thanks guys, I am as yet unsure to what morphs are easily available for me over here. If I get regular leos I think I might insert some sort of lighting. Do many of you have red lighting for night viewing?

I know that's a pretty massive tank area but that's maximum size, I probably would make it slightly less.

I'm personally not a fan of red or blue lights. Contrary to popular belief, they can see it. http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/reptile-natural-artificial-light.aspx
I used to use a red light, but when I read that I switched to a ceramic heat emitter, and I've found my gecko is more active at night. I'm sure it won't hurt them any though.

~Maggot

 

[Ozy]

I use a red bulb attached to a dimmer if the cool side gets too cold, but I don't use any other lights on my leo's tank. She gets natural sunlight from the window. Personally I wouldn't keep Leos together because that is not their natural behavior. they are solitary animals, but I've seen lots of people keep females together. My heat mat is a ZooMed Repti-therm that is hooked up to a HydroFarms thermostat which is set at 93.

 

[ScottishFish]

Thanks for the good info everyone!

The room they will be going in doesn't receive much sunlight, so I may put some sort of lighting in it. Maybe even the red lamps for a bit of air warmth and light.

Staying in scotland it can be pretty chilly if the heatings off during the day