hello! looking for some advice :)

laur.211

New Member
Messages
1
hello everyone! and merry christmas! :)

I am in the process of setting up an enclosure for an AFT or Leopard Gecko, since from what I understand there care is quite similar, if not the same, and while I understand most of the supplies I'm going to need, I have some confusion. While this will be my first gecko, this will not be my first reptile. I had a bearded dragon who passed recently so I do understand the basic needs of reptiles. I have a 40 breeder that the prospective gecko will be housed in.

So, onto my confusion. I know AFT's or Leo's don't necessarily need UVB, but I've read that they can benefit from it and it will help them thrive. On the other hand, I've read that too much light will irritate my poor gecko and he will try to hide from it. I want to provide the best care for him but I don't want to irritate him or have him be overwhelmed by the amount of light in his enclosure.

I've also read some different things about heating. From reading through a few threads on this forum I know that geckos are belly heaters, and that having a basking bulb or a CHE will dry out the air and provide too much light for them. So I guess my question is will a UTH provide enough heat on the warm side for them? And will I need something else to keep the heat up on the cool side or will the heat just naturally spread? I know the cool side is supposed to be cooler than the warm side, but I don't want it to get cold.

For the substrate, I absolutely know to stay away from sand of any kind, but I've read that Lugita's Natural Reptile Bedding is supposed to be really good for AFT's and Leo's specifically, but it has some sand in it, not a lot, and it's super fine supposedly. There's also sphagnum peat moss to help keep humidity and clay for burrowing in the bedding. After reading some forums on here though, I see that a lot of people use Eco Earth. Would I be able to just use the Eco Earth? Or would it be better to have a natural tile for the warm side with the Eco Earth on the cool side to help with humidity, and fill the cracks and edges of the tile with the Eco Earth.

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I'm giving my gecko the best care possible. Thank you!
 

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,119
Location
Somerville, MA
Here is what I have done. Consider it a data point in deciding what to do:

Leopard geckos: I keep them in enclosures with heat cable under tank heating, ceramic tile substrate and humid hide most often with eco earth that I moisten as needed. I don't use any lights beside ambient light or heat from above. In my opinion, as long as the ambient temperature of the room is comfortable for humans, it's fine for the gecko and if they get cold they can go into their hot side hide.

Fat tails: When I was keeping them, I kept them on coco fiber with some plants. I used a hide that had a ceramic bottom and dug it into the substrate on the hot side so they could benefit from the heat cable under the enclosure. I used lights above primarily for the plants. I misted the enclosure once a day, I think in the evenings. My feelings about temperature in the enclosure in general are similar to that of the leopard geckos.

Aliza
 

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