Herp care questions

[Lizrd_boy]

So, I've had someone tell me that the way I recommended people care for leopard geckos is sub-optimal. I was wondering what anyone else's opinion was. For a single gecko, I recommend using a minimum of a 20g tank with cage carpet substrate, UTH on a tstat for heating, and then hides, dishes, etc. At night I noticed she didn't like to come out very often, so I gave her a CHE that keeps her tank at 75* F at the hottest spot at night. I also had an Exo-Terra night glo bulb on a rheostat just for viewing. It gives off a dim light so I can see her better, but not enough to bother her much.

This guy says the recommended minimum size tank for a single leopard gecko is 3 ft x 18" x 18". From what I understand, this is overkill and the gecko will potentialy have trouble finding it's food. He also said that UTHs, CHEs, and blue night lights are "stone-age relicts" (his exact words).

Does anyone have any input? Do I need to change my setups?

[Bogertophis]

I can't comment on care of L.G.s since I don't keep them but the same thing is true of keeping snakes- we don't all do the same thing, but as long as the results we achieve are healthy animals, I wouldn't worry too much. Many here use "tubs" for snakes, & personally I wouldn't, but that's me- most hate glass, but that's my choice. And there's many kinds of herps too...they don't all need the same thing. It's generally good to consider the opinions of others- & if you can, see their results. Keep an open mind, but ultimately, it's up to you. (what heat source did he recommend? DHP, RHP?)

[Lizrd_boy]

He didn't say what kind of heat device he recommended. I get that not all keepers do the same stuff. What really got to me was when he said that every care sheet, article, etc I wrote had content ranging from questionable, to outdated, to outright wrong. So, when anyone says I'm doing something wrong, of course I make it a point to get a second, and if necessary, a third opinion.

He also mentioned how CHEs emit IR-C which can't be used by the reptiles directly. I've never heard this before and a google search revealed nothing. What exactly does this mean?

[Bogertophis]

He didn't say what kind of heat device he recommended. I get that not all keepers do the same stuff. What really got to me was when he said that every care sheet, article, etc I wrote had content ranging from questionable, to outdated, to outright wrong. So, when anyone says I'm doing something wrong, of course I make it a point to get a second, and if necessary, a third opinion.

He also mentioned how CHEs emit IR-C which can't be used by the reptiles directly. I've never heard this before and a google search revealed nothing. What exactly does this mean?

Ouch. Why not ask HIM to explain, or better yet, to share some links with you? But you did sort of open this "can of worms" by starting your own site, you know. I know you meant well, but there's always more to learn & while not everyone is "cutting edge", you want to keep up on stuff when you put advice out there.

[Lizrd_boy]

I did ask him to explain and I'm waiting for him to get back to me. I definately agree; but I'm not changing the content of my site because one person said I should, so I'm getting a second opinion here.

[Bogertophis]

I did ask him to explain and I'm waiting for him to get back to me. I definately agree; but I'm not changing the content of my site because one person said I should, so I'm getting a second opinion here.

Good, I agree, & I hope he elaborates & gives you some sources. Herpetology is one of those areas where some are way more scientific than others because we all have different goals, but the best idea is to share what we learn to improve care for all the animals, not just criticize & leave it at that. There IS always more to learn, & on a forum, it's a challenge to keep it updated. (Case in point, we have some pretty old stickies here & it's hard for anyone to find time to re-do them.) So please do share any new information here too, if that's the case, okay?

Any idea what country he's from, btw? That's another thing that can affect methods with wide variations. Some research & some product availability can vary a lot, depending on where you are.

[Lizrd_boy]

Definitely. He's from Germany, and I know that in Europe they have different practises for keeping reptiles, so that may also be part of it. Along with the fact that, according to his bio, he only has snakes, so he's just going off of this recomendation he sent me:

https://cdn.website-editor.net/s/893...K2NXBXLF010TJW

[Snagrio]

..... We are talking about putting living things in cages, making the keeper 100% responsible for the wellbeing of the critter.

I didn't read your care sheet and I don't need to because when you know what you are talking about on an 'expert' level...you don't have to ask for any opinion...let alone, a 'second' opinion. And if you still need to ask for opinions because someone is making you question something...you shouldn't be writing care sheets because you are not qualified.

.....Regardless if the info is correct or not, even experts have to (or at the very least should) double check their knowledge with others on occasion.....

[Bogertophis]

Just a reminder folks, stay on topic, keep it friendly & keep it helpful here. Thanks-

[Bogertophis]

.....Regardless if the info is correct or not, even experts have to (or at the very least should) double check their knowledge with others on occasion.....

Even highly-trained doctors in the practice of human medicine have to keep up with learning new things, & they don't stop practicing in the meantime.

And by now, everyone is well-aware that there is plenty of inaccurate as well as accurate information (on any & ALL subjects) shared across all forms of social media. That's the whole point of sharing, discussing & coming to a consensus of what works best. But choosing the best methods are still up to the individuals.

Human knowledge is always a process to sort out the truth. Think of the internet like a library. In any library, there is a vast array of opinions, & many books have been written (on all subjects) which later proved to be terribly inaccurate, or partly so, but no one puts them in a burn pile, nor should they. Knowledge is built upon, even with twists & turns, as more information comes to light. Even so, the result may not be a perfect "one-size-fits-all", & that's why we share what works for us. There's no law that says you have to do exactly what you just read about. And the great break-thru you just read about from an "expert" may turn out, in the future, to be all wrong. Just suggesting we all keep an open mind.