Terrarium (w/ pics) Looking for advice/critique.

[ASBESTICAN]

Hello,

I’m new to the forum, been stalking it for a couple of weeks for info about leopard gecko husbandry. I would like to thank any member that reads this, because your help has been immeasurable.

So, to the point. I got a Leo gecko from a friend that could not afford to keep him anymore (though economic times). So he knew I really enjoy anything related to invertebrates and reptiles, so he offered Gordon to my care (The Gecko's name is Gordon after Gordon Gecko, from the movie "Wall street"). I was more than pleased to take care of him and I have a super worm and cricket colonies running, the lil guy is not a problem for me (at least feeding wise XD).


My Leo's enclosure:
• 10 gallon tank w/ screen top. (Cheap $10 +++++ one)
• Small UTH ZooMed 8watts (placed 3/4 of the way to the left, under double floor slate structure)
• Black light 15w with cheap HD (Home Depot) round hood. Connected to a Rheostat.
• Home depot Rheostat, spliced into power extension (Didn't want to cut the UTH cable), Hopefully getting the amazon Hydrofarm Thermostat, soon.
• DIY moist hide, out of deli cup with vermiculite. (Right corner in the back)(working on something out of PVC, ideas welcome)
• Double floor slate structure, with granite chips glued with epoxy and covered with sand (All from HomeDepot garden) (The middle object in the pics)
• Feeding tank concept, 3 inch corner w/ scape 2 inch connection, slate glued on top and acrylic window on one 3' end and valve end on the other 3'. My idea behind this, is too place Supers in there and in the pics you see I'm trying it out to see if they can actually scape. So far, so good, no escapes.
• Miami beach sand, sieved and baked in the oven to dry and sterilize.
• Granite chips, washed and baked (sterilization).
• Lil water bowl (front right side), want to get a bigger one and fill it with pebbles, more water for the lil guy.
• Opaque paint applied on the exterior of all sides, except the front/top/bottom (There is a terrace across the living room where the tank is and the sun comes in during the afternoon)
• BTW: Need to get calcium powder plate dish. Have some I use for my tarantulas, but doesn't mix the arid motif, lol.


Gordon's Data (The leopard gecko):
• 7.3 inches long, nose to the tip of the tail.
• 38 grams (I believe he's kinda thin, but since I've got him he's been eating really well)
• Age: Not sure. If someone can throw an estimate based on this data, I would really appreciate it.


My thought and data found through trial:

I know sand is controversial, but I tried the bottom with the granite chips and too much heat is lost. I'm open to suggestions or ultimatums about, whether I should or not use sand (Even with cricket being fed outside and small supers on the feeding PVC cave).

Yey or ney's:
• Sand
• Cover the sand in granite chips?
• Feeding PVC cave (I could just feed him everything on an external large cricket feeder cage)
• Loose granite chips.
• Moist hide is 84f (too hot?)
• Can I keep the black light?
• Any other you might think of.

Terrarium data:
• RH in my apt is %55, also in the cage.
• Temp range: 96F on 1st floor of middle structure to 78F on top of the feeding cave. Those temps stay during day and night.

Final questions (If you feel you can answer them, it would be greatly appreciated.)(I know there are better places for the questions, but hopefully some1 that knows will meander through here.)
•
• Would you use this setup?
• Is my 7.3" long and 38 gram gecko malnourished?
• Would you change something/everything?
• Can I use a red bulb during the night? I'm nocturnal so that is most of the times ill actually see him, and he's also nocturnal. Nevertheless I don't want to mess up his cycle by putting a red light during his dark period.


Any opinions, advice, suggestions are more than welcomed.

Thanks,

AS_BEST_I_CAN

 

[ASBESTICAN]

Actual pics of Gordon

I took some quick pics of him, in the top of the feeding cave so you guys can see things in actual proportions with Gordon.
Also, please let me know if he looks too thin, and if so, any suggestion you might think of.
BTW he's not yet, living in there. It was just to show a size reference. I still have to dial in the temps, decide upon the sand, secure the chips, etc.

 

[LeopardGeckoMom]

He looks great!! He even sorta looks like mine morph wise!! it sounds like you'll be a great caretaker! I'm not so sure on the sand, he may still eat it mabey on accident or on purpose but if you haven't had any problems with it then it's your choice

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jordycakes]

Awesome looking set up but i am and always will be highly against loose substrates, many people have kept them on loose with success but is it worth the risk? not in my eyes but thats up to you of course

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I think your tank looks great. While I personally don't use sand I don't think it poses a huge risk as long as it is not calcium sand and you're not feeding heavily on it. Sand is harder to clean than many other substrates and probably needs to be replaced every year or so. My worry would be that your substrate is deep and may not allow for the heat your leo needs to penetrate through and provide the belly heat he needs. My second worry would be about rocks falling on your gecko or one of his limbs. If I were to use those rocks I would purchase some adhesive like silicone or cement and make sure they could not easily be moved. Great that your gecko has an owner that cares so much about him!

 

[ASBESTICAN]

Thank everyone for their awesome input and advice.

I finally moved Gordon (The Leo Gecko) into his enclosure, for those anti-sand crusaders you are victorious. My gecko liked eating super worms as much as sand. And it wasn't from the attack, I feed him outside of the enclosure. His S**T looked like 50% sand. So I covered all the sand parts with Granite pebbles. Still use the sand because its great for transmuting and dispersing the heat evenly.

On all other front its all good.

Take care my friends.

PD: still interested if any1 has comments on Gordon stats. (too skinny for his size)

 

[ASBESTICAN]

Some pics of Gordon's enclosure. With more granite chips to prevent him from munching on it.
The lil guy is awesome. One thing is that his temperament has change.
Since I got him he's gotten brighter, more active and sadly a bit more aggressive.

My theory is that he's actually getting he's calcium, multivitamins and enough food. And I also like the idea of display animals. my main hobby is arachnids and therefore, I don't care much for handling pets. Should I be taking out Gordon? I don't mind the aggression, but what I definitely don't want is him to get stressed every time I get him out of the cage for cleaning. Which is often he poops every or every-other day. What do you guys suggest?

Or a lil bit of anger doesn't affect him, don't want to give him a bad quality of life.

BTW: hes favorite spot is 91 degrees, just some info.