Quick questions

[Hellomy]

I just got my Leo about 3 days ago and I had some questions about him. First off, is a temp range of 82 in the hot area and 72 in the cold area good for him or do I need to raise and lower? I use a side mounted UTH and occasionally red/blue 60w bulbs with a clamp lamp. I have thermometers in both sides to tell the temps.

Secondly, how can I train him to get used to me and not be scared of me. Sometimes it seems hes really scared. I fed him a cricket today and then when I came back upstairs, I stood in front of his tank and he charged at the window like he was going to eat another cricket, then he charged the other way. Is he scared or is he having a bad day?

 

[Ozy]

Ok well, first of all, I would move the UTH to the bottom of the cage. Leos need belly heat to digest their food. Also 82 is too cold for the warm side. I have a UTH hooked up to a thermostat and my thermostat is at 95. 90-95 is the best temp range for the FLOOR of the warm side. Also, when you get a new leo you need to leave them completely alone for 2 weeks. Just change the water, clean as needed and offer food. Don't try to handle him or mess with him in any way.

 

[Hellomy]

Are you sure? I've read on many sites that the best place is the side because during winter they will just sit on the heater all day and possibly burn themselves. He seems to be eating and pooping just fine. Poops every other day with one dark and one white excrement.

 

[Ellie_A]

You will need to attach your UTH to a thermostat or dimmer switch to ensure that it doesn't get too hot. You should then move it to the bottom of the tank.

 

[Hellomy]

Alright so I've moved the UTH to the bottom and also moved my digital thermometer to the very bottom of the hot spot so i can see the floor temps. It's raised to about 85 now. I went and ordered a thermostat from Amazon and that should be here in a couple of days. I'll take your advice and leave the little guy alone for a while also.

 

[roger]

85 deg is still not warn enough.it needs to bumped up to 90-95

 

[Ozy]

Your leo will not just sit over the hot spot and burn themselves. They thermoregulate. As long as you have a hide on the cool side, a dry warm hide and a humid hide they will move around as needed to regulate their body temp.

 

[Hellomy]

Alright so I've bumped up temps to about 90-95 for the floor on the hot side and it's still about 75 on the cool side. I have a hide on all three sides, warm middle and cool. Although during night time(4-5am) temps do drop to about 80 on the hot side for an hour or so.

 

[Ozy]

75 is fine for the cool side. My cool side is just room temp. Make sure in addition to your dry hides you have a humid hide. You can just get one of those cheap Glad or Ziplock containers with a lid. Cut a hole in the lid big enough for your leo to get through (make sure there are no sharp edges, I did this by slightly melting the plastic with a lighter and then rolling it) put some damp paper towels inside, put it on the warm side and you're done. I use eco-earth for my humid hide and my leo LOVES it. She makes a horrid mess with it because she likes to dig herself a little burrow in there. Make sure you have a mist bottle filled with spring water on hand and mist the moist hide as needed to keep it moist. I tried the whole Repti safe water treater and maybe my leo is just a diva, but she wouldn't drink it OR go in her humid hide when I misted it with that. Switched back to Spring Water after a couple of days and no problem. LOL!