Questions on racks -heat lamps, and tanks vs tubs

[prettyinpink]

Ok...I'm mapping out what I'm gonna do for my racks. But a few questions popped up in my head.

Lamps:
How come we don't need lamps for the overhang but we need them when we talk about care for geckos. I'm confused about that :main_huh:

Tanks vs Tubs:
If I use tanks for my racks, is there any pros/cons...can I use the heat tape? Will it work as well as a UTH? I dont' have any experience with it.

Thanks:main_thumbsup:

 

[T-ReXx]

Lamps are never necessary with leopard geckos. For one, they are nocturnal, and bright lighting is not something nocturnal animals appreciate usually. And secondly, they are terrestrial, so heating from below(and at times from the back) is generally considered a better way of providing a thermal gradient.

I don't use tanks at all personally, but I would assume properly wired flexwatt attached to a thermostat would work just as well as an UTH in such setups.

 

[prettyinpink]

I keep forgetting that! I think I may use tanks then. I'm trying to think of the prices of everything... and 10gallon tanks (which I read are good for one gecko) are $10 at the store...

And the tubs I look at are $10 each, So I'm trying to figure out why breeders would choose the tubs?:main_huh:

 

[Tony C]

Shameless plug for my buddy's cages:

Protean Terrarium Design

 

[Tony C]

I keep forgetting that! I think I may use tanks then. I'm trying to think of the prices of everything... and 10gallon tanks (which I read are good for one gecko) are $10 at the store...

And the tubs I look at are $10 each, So I'm trying to figure out why breeders would choose the tubs?:main_huh:

Tubs in a rack are more space efficient, lighter, easier to work with, and hold heat better compared to standard aquariums.

 

[prettyinpink]

Tubs in a rack are more space efficient, lighter, easier to work with, and hold heat better compared to standard aquariums.

Yea... I'm just trying to find the best solution. I was thinking they don't have to have a top and poke holes and whatever with the tanks. Hmm

 

[Brewboy74]

UTH would be make it difficult to control the heat for the whole rack, you would have to put a thermostat/rheostat on each take and that would be expensive and a pain. You can use bins without tops, the rack can be made so that the shelf becomes the lid. And poking holes isn't really hard to do, just time consuming. Another thing to consider is the weight and breakablity of the aquariums.

 

[acpart]

I would guess that tubs are easier to slide in and out of the rack. If you made a traditional rack where the tub or tank fits tightly into its space then I would guess you wouldn't have enough ventilation with the tank. If you put tanks on shelves, you have to slide the tanks in and out to access the geckos. I use tanks in my system, but I use front-opening tanks. It's possible to turn tanks on their sides so the top faces out but then you have to come up with a "door" for the front of the tank. I use front-opening tanks that I get from glasscages.com and although the price is really good, it's not $10 a tank.

Aliza

 

[prettyinpink]

Alright thanks so much guys. Looks like I'll stick with my first idea with the tubs I forgot about the weight factor... I always seem to forget the simple things!