Pick up a new pal today, is this a Black Pearl Leo?

[sunshinegeckos]

you are definitely entitled to do whatever you want with your leos. You have been given some great advice but you can ignore it or take it. good luck

 

[geckogirl3]

kinda looks like a charcoal to me

 

[Kulwiec]

Picked up a small UTH and got it all set up on a part of the cage with thicker sand. I also have the red bulb hooked up, with my thermostat about half way to the ground and it reads about 95. Is this good? Do i have to worry about my geckos overheating? If so, what are signs of overheating?

 

[lillith]

95F is good. If they're over heating, they'll completely avoid the hot side and spend time scrambling or trying to climb to get away from the heat.

 

[Kulwiec]

Okay thank you!

 

[Wild West Reptile]

You should have your probe touching the substrate. Not halfway down. You need to know what temp the floor is. Im glad you decided to get a UTH as thats a good decision. I hope your gecko doesn't get impacted from ingesting sand though. Keep an eye on it when it eats and if it looks like it's eating sand, I would get it out of there and put paper towels down until you can get a more permanent flooring like slate or ceramic tile. It's cheap at Home Depot or Lowe's.

 

[Kulwiec]

I fed them some crickets today and I watched them VERY CAREFULLY as they ate them to make sure, and they only got sand on one or two times and it would only get a little bit of sand on their chin if any at all, none was ingested, they're accurate little guys! Also their mealworms are in a ceramic bowl so there is no sand in there at all.

I had problems with my thermostat sitting too low, they were climbing on it and it would crash to the floor.

 

[LZRDGRL]

Instead of sand, you could use hydroton as a substrate. Those are clay balls that are too big for swallowing, and still stimulate natural digging. They are available in plant/flower shops or at amazon.com. If you get them online, be prepared to pay a little for shipping, since they are heavy. But they look better than paper towel, allow for easy spot-cleaning (just throw a handful out), and you can put tiles on them to make an even space in a corner to put your water, food, and calcium/vitamin dishes on. :main_yes:

Chrissy

 

[Kulwiec]

I've heard that coconut fibre stuff is pretty good as a substrate. I want something safe for my geckos, but also not look too "dirty".

 

[Taquiq]

You can use paper towels, slate tile from home depot, or other things some people mentioned. If you are going to use sand wait until that Leo is an adult to minimize the risk of accidentally swallowing some. However, it is not the actual sand that causes impaction, it is poor husbandry.

kinda looks like a charcoal to me

There is no Charcoal Leopard Gecko.

 

[KelliH]

Thanks for the great feedback! Nice to hear that an experienced breeder that does the same stuff that I do! Day 2, they all seem to get along pretty well. Watched them for like 30 minutes last night as they all wandered around the cage, ate, drank and such. Nismo seems fine and no tail nips or anything so smooth sailing!

Correction: I kept my geckos that way nearly 20 years ago when there was no real information out there about them! I do feel that heat lights are fine. It does not matter how you heat the "warm side" as long as you do. Just one person's opinion of course. Good luck with your geckos.

 

[Kulwiec]

You can use paper towels, slate tile from home depot, or other things some people mentioned. If you are going to use sand wait until that Leo is an adult to minimize the risk of accidentally swallowing some. However, it is not the actual sand that causes impaction, it is poor husbandry.



There is no Charcoal Leopard Gecko.

http://www.jmgreptile.com/charcoal.html

 

[sunshinegeckos]

the charcoal is basically a dark tangerine. It is not a morph

 

[Kulwiec]

So he would be considered tangerine?

 

[sunshinegeckos]

yeah a dark tangerine

 

[Wild West Reptile]

I do feel that heat lights are fine. It does not matter how you heat the "warm side" as long as you do.

Kelli,
If a gecko is in it's hide most of the time, knowing that they need belly heat....unless all the information we've been reading on this forum is wrong, how does a light heat the floor underneath a hide? Especially when they have sand in the tank!

I actually was bored last night and decided to do an experiment. I set up one of my spare tanks how I used to keep my geckos in it except I didn't use a UTH. I put the exact rock hide in it where my geckos would spend 99% of their time and put a light directly overhead. I waited an hour and measured temps inside. The probe never got above 79 degrees and it was HOT here yesterday. Sure the ambient temp was 92, but as far as I know, that doesn't matter. It's the SURFACE temp that does. Especially where they hang out all day. PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.

So I guess my point is, how can this setup be OK for them?

I mean, 99.9% of the experienced keepers on here would not recommend sand* or overhead lights. I guess I'm a little confused about the total opposite advice from what we have all come to agree on.

In conclusion, it makes it really hard to even want to give people advice on BASIC stuff, such as belly heat, sand and lighting, since several members all give these inexperienced keepers the same advice only to have 1 member come on and say the total opposite which makes the OP think they're method is perfectly fine. It's frustrating to give sound, basic advice only to have them shoot it down over and over until they get 1 answer they like.

Forget it...just ranting!! I'll go post some pics or something! I'm gonna stay away from the "advice" section from now on, and let people do whatever the hell they want....they're gonna do it anyways.

*except Tokay Keeper.....where has that guy been lately?

 

[KelliH]

Chris, do you believe in the wild that leopard geckos have an area where the ground is heated to 90 degrees 24 hours a day? Just think about it ;-)

 

[Wild West Reptile]

Chris, do you believe in the wild that leopard geckos have an area where the ground is heated to 90 degrees 24 hours a day? Just think about it ;-)

Yes! LOL!

No, but seriously....so everything we've learned about belly heat...need 90-95 degrees.....is wrong? Well then, I guess I'm wasting money running my racks and tanks. I'm gonna go turn off the belly heat! Thanks!

 

[robin]

Kelli,
If a gecko is in it's hide most of the time, knowing that they need belly heat....unless all the information we've been reading on this forum is wrong, how does a light heat the floor underneath a hide? Especially when they have sand in the tank!

what about people who use back heat, like in racks? is that wrong to keep them like that?

 

[Wild West Reptile]

On a side note...Do you personally keep your warm side heated with under belly heat? UTH's...fLexwatt tape....etc?and if you do, do you keep it at 90+?