Improving what i got in ym setup substrate heat environment

substrate

  • Eco earth

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Reptile Carpet

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • tile

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Zowbie

New Member
Messages
1
Location
here there you know anywere
Okay so i have a gecko clearly and hes in a 8gal or 10gal tank all this was gifted to me when we did a rescue.
so anyways we got this guy from the pet store about 3 days ago and i am thinking a 50wat ceramic heater would be nice seeing as it can get a bit cold here sometimes and i am not to satisfies with my temps hes is that to big or not enough its ambient air temps about probably 70 to 80 usually
2nd hes on some crap carpet stuff that i assume came with a kit its like some cheap felt i was thinking maybe using some dry eco earth coconut fiber he seems to love his moist hide with it in there hes also got a log like dry hide but he doesnt seem to like it as much as the humid eco earth one you think going eco earth would be a good change to perk him up.
3rd id love to build him a insert for a tank that is like half hide half cool environment for him the thing is i see people using concrete and granite and even some other stuff any suggestions on what would be best to coat your mold with maybe some sorta clay?

setup
tank = 8-10gal
heat = smallest uth from pet smart brand and a relight?
substrate = cheap fabric
has calcium dish meal worm dish and water dish also a moist hide witch is under relight and over the uth adn a log with a hole in it on other side of tank as a cool warm hide dry

temps = 70ish to high 80s
humidity in hole tank is about 35-40 at times working on this by removing a light to allow for more airflow probly getting a bigger tank shortly to
 
Last edited by a moderator:

acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,118
Location
Somerville, MA
Welcome to the forum. Here are a couple of points based on your post:

--I'm glad you're considering a larger tank because 8-10 gallons is way too small. A 20 gallon long would be best (30"x12"x12")
--People do keep their geckos on eco earth (I've done it myself). It does tend to get pretty dry and dusty even if it's misted --I keep my fat tail geckos on that stuff and even though I mist every day (fat tail geckos need more humidity), the substrate dries out really fast under the light. I use ceramic tile and find that to be a really good substrate and a good balance to the humid hide where I do use eco earth.
--The best bet for heating for a leopard gecko is an under tank heater if you don't have one already. I feel that the lights from above tend to dry things out too much and dehydrate the gecko. There are people that swear by heating with overhead lights, though. In my opinion a 70-80 degree air temperature is more than adequate (and I think 80 in the air constantly is kind of high). The more important measurement is the floor temperature (measure with a digital thermometer with probe or a laser "temp gun") which should be in the low 90's
--some people do keep calcium in the tank and feel that the gecko knows how much calcium it needs. Other people don't keep calcium in the tank because nocturnal creatures don't need that much and they can actually get sick from too much calcium. These people feel that geckos do not know how much calcium they need. All I can say is that I've been dusting feeders with calcium and vitamin D3 since 2009 (I have used calcium in the tank for hatchlings who seemed to need it) and everyone has been fine.
--there is information online about how to make cool structures for leopard geckos. It's not one of my skills. Do some googling and I'm sure you'll find how-to plans
--as moderator I'm responsible for making sure that the terms of service for the forum are met. Because of that, I have edited your post to remove some words that would be considered obscenities, which is not allowed by our rules. Please help us out by not using them anymore.

Aliza
 

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