Herpcages 24x12x12 heating and other questions

[icius]

Hello all,

Looks like I have found another great online community!

I am looking to get into Leopard geckos and I really like Herpcages cages.

cage prices

I am looking to get the 24x12x12 cage and I plan to house two females in it. Does the size seem acceptable?

I am also trying to pick the best UTH for it. Someone recommended the ZooMed ReptiTherm maybe in the 8x12 size? However, on ZooMed's site I see this:

Q: How much will the Under Tank Heater heat my tank? A: Depending on the mounting, substrate, and other conditions the UTH can bring the temperature up by 2-8 degrees.

The room that they will be in is a pretty steady 70 degrees F . Will this UTH really only take the warm side of the cage up to 78? Are they talking ambient air temp in the tank or the temp on the floor?

I'm open to other UTH suggestions.

I already have a Herpstat 2 that I plan to use with the setup, so I'm covered from a thermostat perspective. Which leads to my other question. Where is it safe to place the temperature probes? Can they be in the cage with the geckos or will they try to eat it or get tangled in it? I think I'm pretty clear on the other aspects (hides, humid hides, water, food, substrate etc.) thanks to the care sheets on this site.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[icius]

OK, after reading some more on the forum, maybe something like this would be better for two adult females?

http://www.++++++++.com/supplies/te...d36-5147552/cat-36-catid-500028?_t=pfm=search

Or maybe I should go for the herpcages 36x24x12?

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF! The 24x12 footprint is roughly equivalent to a 15 gallon (or 20 gallon high) tank and is marginal for 2 geckos. Usually the minimum size recommended is 30x12 (20 gallon long size). You could do with a regular fish tank. Also check out the ZooMed and ExoTerra enclosures which I like a lot. I keep 3 geckos in their 36x18x12 and 1-2 geckos in their 18x18x12.

I really like the Zoo-med heat cable which gets taped onto the outside bottom of the enclosure with Nashua tape (directions for cable configuration comes with the cable; Nashua tape can be found at Home Depot or equivalent. It sags less than duct tape). I like the heat cable because it can be installed and reconfigured whenever you want, since it doesn't have adhesive on the bottom. The Zoo-med info about how far the temps get raised may be referring to the air temp. The crucial temp is the floor temp which, if you use the thermostat, and give the heating elements a few days to level out, should be in the low 90's. I don't worry at all about the air temp as log as it's comfortable for humans. If the gecko gets cold it can hang out in the warm hide which will trap some of the air and keep it warm in there. Just stick the probe in the cage on the warm side; it will be fine.
Let us know if you have any more questions and enjoy your geckos when you get them.

Aliza

 

[icius]

Aliza,

Thanks for the info. I ended up going with an Exo Terra 36x18x12 along with the Zoo Med ReptiTherm 8x12 pad.

I have two cool side hides and two warm side hides as well as a humid hide along with a water dish, food dish and calcium dish.

I think I'm ready to receive my two new girls:

TUG Snow | The Urban Gecko



Bell Albino Lavender Stripe | The Urban Gecko

Can't wait for them to get here!

 

[acpart]

Great! Good luck with them.

Aliza

 

[icius]

My two new girls arrived yesterday. I was kind of surprised at how small the deli cups were that they were in. This being my first delivery I have nothing to compare to though.

Both arrived seemingly without issue and are settling in to the enclosure. Their differences in personality or at least comfort in being here is striking. The Bell Albino (no name yet) was immediately exploring the enclosure quite extensively. I even found her climbing the styrofoam background of the Exo Terra. She seems hell bent on getting out or getting somewhere.

In contrast I have only seen the Tug Snow (Rukia) twice outside of a hide. She is as intent on staying hidden as the Albino is on exploring.

Nobody has eaten yet, but I'm not worried as it is very early days. Both were eating mealworms at the breeder and that's what I have here.

Here is a shot of the enclosure so everyone can see. I know it is very...clinical...austere looking? I am going to work to make it a more natural looking environment, but I think for now they have everything they need. I have some more natural looking hides coming, but I think that is probably more for my benefit than theirs. They seem quite comfortable with the hides I made.



The warm side is on the left. I think everything in the enclosure is probably self explanatory. I don't actually keep the enclosure this brightly lit, I turned on a rather bright desk LED lamp I have just to take the picture.

Here's a shot of the mealworm factory I'm in the process of getting going as well:



I'm curious, is there a separate topic area where people just do running threads for their geckos? As my updates drift away from housing topics I don't want to keep updating this thread if it is not appropriate.