Questions. . .

[wsumike87]

I have a few questions and would like some more experienced peoples opinions.
1. UTH's do any of them regulate their own temperature or are you forced to buy a dimmer/thermastate in addition to this. Any brands you would suggest?

2. A reliable thermometer with a probe and a temperature gun. I really want my leos to be safe and temperatures can get crazy. I want a reliable way of keeping the temps safe. Any suggestions?

3. How much calcium should I buy, if I own 3 leos and dust meals regularly and have a bottle cap in thier enclosure? I don't want to buy 3oz and it be gone before I know it. Should I just get 8-16oz.

4. Anyone have a suggested site to use to buy reptile supplies online? Just somewhere where I wont get ripped off on price or quality.

Thanks guys.

 

[acpart]

I will do my best to answer your questions:

1. UTH's do any of them regulate their own temperature or are you forced to buy a dimmer/thermastate in addition to this. Any brands you would suggest?

I think there are some UTH's that come with a thermostat but I don't know which they are. Sometimes if you hit on the right combination of UTH and substrate you can manage without a temp controller (I sell set-ups with a smaller UTH, like the 1-5 gallon Zoomed UTH for a 10 gallon tank and ceramic tile substrate that seems to hold the temp to the low 90's). Otherwise, you can get a lamp dimmer from a Home Depot type place for under $20 and a reasonable thermostat (the ones made by Zilla, Alife and ESU all look identical to me) for under $30.

2. A reliable thermometer with a probe and a temperature gun. I really want my leos to be safe and temperatures can get crazy. I want a reliable way of keeping the temps safe. Any suggestions?

The two best temp measuring choices are a temp gun or a zoomed reptile thermometer with probe (I think it's $9 on Amazon). Once you have the thermostat and UTH set up and give it a few weeks when it's at a stable temperature it should stay that way. I have 16 heated tanks and a heated rack and don't keep checking the temps because they're stable.

3. How much calcium should I buy, if I own 3 leos and dust meals regularly and have a bottle cap in thier enclosure? I don't want to buy 3oz and it be gone before I know it. Should I just get 8-16oz.

You will need calcium without D3 and calcium with D3 unless you get Repashy calcium plus which is an all in one. If you're keeping it in the tank (best to use non-D3 for that) and also dusting the feeders (best to use with D3 for that) you may as well get 8 oz and see how long it lasts

4. Anyone have a suggested site to use to buy reptile supplies online? Just somewhere where I wont get ripped off on price or quality.

I get a lot of mileage from craigslist and ebay though ebay takes some patience. As far as established online sellers, it's been awhile but I used to go with lllreptile.com, bigappleherp.com, progeckos.com and a few others I don't remember (I'm sure you'll get other recommendations). The trick is to get all your supplies at once, go to each site and calculate total cost plus shipping and see what gets you the best deal. The shipping is the key because that can make a place with higher priced items a better deal if the shipping is cheaper.

I hope that was helpful.

Aliza