Newbie

[eddieizzard]

Hi all

I bought my first set up yesterday I got a 3ft viv, 60watt heat bulb, 2 hides, damp box thing, and 2 feeding bowls, plus my mac snow male gecko 11 months old... hes 68g ....now the guy I bought it off say thats all I need... my daughter says I need a heat mat.. could anyone advise me accordingly.... would I be better buying a ceramic heater or a mat? would I need a thermastat ..plus whats the best colour bulb
my daughter say blue as they cant detect blue light??? and yes I did read before I bought but this guy says all his tanks run the same set up, and he has 12....... oh by the way the tank is in the living room....... sorry for all the questions

Regards Daz :main_rolleyes:

 

[doublet74]

Get rid of the bulbs. They can stress out geckos. Get a U.T.H. and a thermostat. You want one side of your tank to have a floor temp of 90-95°F. The other side at room temp should be good. Geckos need belly heat. Air temps don't really matter as long as the floor on one side is warm and the other cooler so they can thermoregulate.

 

[Pinned27]

but its ok to use bubls during the winter season when its cold to keep the temp up yes?

 

[eddieizzard]

what a UTH could advise on a model I buy from the UK

Daz

 

[eddieizzard]

Ive just purchaced the
HABISTAT heat MAT STAT Rcheptile Vivarium and the habistat 20w 17inch x 11 inch mat this be ok its a 3 ft x 1 1/2 ft tank

Daz

 

[doublet74]

but its ok to use bubls during the winter season when its cold to keep the temp up yes?

You would probably be better off with a ceramic heat emitter.

 

[LeopardShade]

I agree, you'd be better off, if you're going to use an additional heat source to keep the temperatures up, using a ceramic heat emitter. Any type of bright light can put stress on the gecko and its light-sensitive eyes. Ceramic heat emitters are better because they provide overhead heat with no light.

Like what was said, though, your best bet would be to stick with a good UTH (I recommend ZooMed) connected to a thermostat so you can control the temperatures with ease and provide a constant source of belly heat. If an additional heat source, however, is needed to keep the temperatures in that 90-95 F gradient, then by all means use one.

 

[Pinned27]

even if i use a light dimmer to dim the light down? but still making it provide enough heat during the cold.

and yea i picked up a zoomed UTH and have a thermostat and during this winter, it cant keep it up at 93, usually like at 86, so i use a 40w incandescent bulb with a light dimmer to keep the light down but still enough heat to get to 93.
but ill check out those ceramic heat emitters.
and is it true they are blind to red and blue light? because i like to keep a red light on at night.

 

[abrahamavelar]

the ceramic bulbs produce alot of heat so ill get a 75 watt which i was told its rades for 20 galon tanks since thats the lower watt ive ever seen

 

[LeopardShade]

and is it true they are blind to red and blue light?

I don't believe so. Leopard geckos have more cone cells (photoreceptors responsible for color vision) in their eyes than we do. Due to this, the color spectrum is more vivid than ours.