Getting a Tank

A friend from work has an extra tank that she used to house her pair of bearded dragons in while she was making thier bigger tank. Now she has no use for it and is selling it to me for $20. Its a 30g with a small heating pad stuck to the underside of it.

I was wondering if an adult leopard gecko would live comfortably in this tank. I've heard they are fine in a 20g and I'm sorry if I've posted this kind of question before. And if an adult is fine in a 30g, could a pair live in a tank that size?

an adult leo would do fine in a 30 gallon tank. a single adult doesn't necessarily need that much space but it is certainly not a bad thing. a pair or even a trio would also do well in that size tank.

Do you know of any good breeders. I've gotten my pets from petstores before, and this time I want to try a breeder. Idealy, I'd love to find a breeder here in Richmond, so I could easily do a pickup. (I'd hate to come home to a package sitting on my front step in the cold).

I'm going to be doing my homework now that I've found out the tank is big enough for a pair. My cousin had a leopard gecko and it was an awsome lizard.

Thanks!

i don't know of any leo breeders in that area off the top of my head. they do ship well though, if you can arrange to be home when they are delivered or to have them delivered to your work if possible. i can recommend several breeders if you do decide you would like to have them shipped.

Are arrival dates pretty guarenteed? (I can't spell that word to save my life) I have school and work, but I suppose if I knew what day they were coming, I could arrange to be home.

I'd love to know of some good breeders. List away!

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Are arrival dates pretty guarenteed? (I can't spell that word to save my life) I have school and work, but I suppose if I knew what day they were coming, I could arrange to be home.

I'd love to know of some good breeders. List away!

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On average, delivery is no less than 10:30 am and before noon. Usually, guarenties are only valid if someone is there to sign for the package, so shipping is ok as long as the temp isnt too cold. I draw my line at 40 F.

Temps here have been pretty mild, but they have been dipping pretty low. I'd love a list of breeders though. I get my tank today. A 30g. I have many of the things I'll need for the geckos already.

Do they need any special heating? I know they don't need UVB light, as far as I know, but if I do use a day lamp, I'm to go on a 12/12 cycle. Correct?

check out this sticky,


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30994



vaughn

Wow, thanks. I have most of the stuff for the tank setup already. I have lamp, hides, paper towels, and water dish. Now all I need is the thermometers and such.

I just got the tank tonight. I'll have to get a new screen top for it, because the one it came with is made of screen that my cats could easily tear into. I'll need the heavy duty stuff like I have on my snake cage. Next step is getting all the materials together.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I'd love to know of some good breeders. List away!

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www.vmsherp.com is the best! I've heard good things about www.albeysreptiles.com and www.theurbangecko.com aswell. Good luck!!

Thanks. I can't wait to get all the stuff together and set it up. :) :D

I was suspecting my new tank was a 20 long instead of a 30g. The tank is the same size as Zims, so I took some measurements of the new tank.

2ft 6.25 inch Long
1ft .75 inch Wide
1ft .75 inch High

I think that's a 20g but I could be mistaken. When I recieved Zim's tank, I just took my cousin's word for it that it was a 20 long. Both of my tanks are the same size so whatever this new tank is, that's what Zim's tank is too.

i'm not sure what the measurements are for a 20 long and a 30, but either will be fine. :)

But I'm getting 3. I want to make sure that this tank is big enough for one male and two females. If not, then I'll stick with two lizards instead of 3.

that should be fine for a trio but i wouldn't put in more than three. just provide enough hides on both the warm and cool sides so that they can all choose and have room enough in a hide on either side. they can also share a hide, so you could do something like one larger hide and one smaller hide on each side. you can also put hides in the middle.

Also I was wondering about a humid hide. I've heard that you can use damp paper towels or a kind of moss. I think the moss would be better, but what is it called? I'd be fine using paper towels, but how often would you have to change it out? ...The moss too?

i prefer paper towels for non-breeding leos because my females tended to use the bathroom in their humid hide, but this might also be because it doubled as a lay box. the male and non-breeding female that i have now don't use the bathroom in their humid hides and i use paper towels. i just mist them down to dampen the papertowels every few days and replace about once every 2 weeks or whenever they become soiled. make sure to use the humid hide on the warm side for maximum effect and so that you don't have cold and wet geckos. :)

EDIT: forgot to answer about the moss--it is called sphagnum moss. you can also use peat moss--this is what i used for lay boxes/humid hides for breeders.

The humid hide doubled as a lay box? Is a lay box what the female lays her eggs in? If so, how did you set that up?

yes, it doubled as a lay box for my female breeders. i used a tupperware container and put a hole in the lid. i filled it about halfway with moist peat moss and checked for eggs according to the females laying schedules. in between them laying eggs i just misted and stirred up the peat moss to keep it moist throughout.

Do leopard geckos have a specific breeding season? Or like some animals, can they breed at any time of year. I do plan on breeding my leopard geckos eventually, so I want to understand as much as I can about them before I even have them delivered to my house.

their natural breeding season begins in the winter months (around february i think) and then they begin to lay in the spring. they can usually be bred any time of year though, although with some it takes stimulation via changing light cycles to emulate that of their natural breeding season.

Oh ok. Isn't that true with snakes too. I think the ball python breeding season is in the winter months and they lay in spring.

bp breeding season starts around october and they lay in the spring to early summer (approximately). they can also be stimulated to breed any time of year though.

Ah ok. So would you advise using a heating lamp for the tank I described above? It came with a heating pad already stuck to the bottom of it, but I have no stand for the tank. It will be sitting on a fairly large end table (it holds a 10g filled aquarium, so a 20 sitting sideways is fine.)

i prefer flexwatt heat tape controlled by a thermostat to heat my leo cages. you can use a heat lamp but they dry out the air considerably. i feel like i have the best control over the temps with the flexwatt and a thermostat, don't have to worry about replacing a bulb and don't have bad sheds because of the humidity being so low.

What humidity do leopard geckos need to be kept at normally? And in times of shed?

The humidity in my room (where they will be kept) stays anywhere from 15-28% without misting. When I mist, the humidity reaches around 58%. I do have a humidifier I was thinking of using to boost the humidity for my corn snake. Could this work if I use a heat lamp?

good lord your house is dry! ;) i grew up in virginia and whenever i go there now to visit my parents in the winter i feel like my skin is going to dry up and fall right off. (it's really humid here in georgia where i live and i've gotten used to it.)

leo humidity should be around 30% or so out in the cage if you are using a humid hide. they can do fine in drier atmospheres but they do need the warm humid hide to help sheds. they live in desert type climates in the wild but they burrow under ground where it is more humid to sleep and hide. as long as you keep a nice humid hide at all times you can probably use the heat lamp and not worry about the room humidifier. if you do notice that they have stuck sheds on their toes or anywhere else then you may want to mist and/or use the humidifier. i don't know what age geckos you are getting, but keep in mind that hatchlings and juvies do need it to be a more humid than adults do to help them shed so several good mistings a day will help them a lot.

Yes, it is dry here. I have a hard time keeping Zim's humidity up.

I'll be getting adults and breeding them in the future, so I will need to know about the humidity needed for hatchlings and juvies.

I'll figure out how to use the humidifier and find out how much it boosts the humidity in Zim's tank.

sounds good. :) hatchlings do need to be misted and kept more humid to help them shed. once they are several months old they usually don't need to be kept in as humid of conditions. when i had hatchlings i misted them down well every night. since it is dry where you are something like once in the morning and once at night would probably do it.

Well humidifier won't do me any good. My grandmother said it takes humidity out of the air.

Well I have some more of my supplies. Here is an updated list.

1 20g Long Tank
1 Tough Screen Lid
1 Half Circle wood hide
1 Small package of Sphagnum Moss
1 Shallow water dish
1 piece of tank carpet

Sounds good so far, you still will need

UTH(under tank heater)
small dish for calcium dish

otherwise then that looks like you got everything, Also If your planning on using the moss for the humid hide, I would reccomend rapping it in paper towels, I know some that lost a leo to impaction from moss :(. I use paper towels.

I have an under the tank heater. There is just one problem. The tank is going on a wood endtable, and the tank is not raised. The heater would be touching the wood constantly and I know that isn't good for the table. I will be using a heating lamp. I forgot to add that to the list. I have a 50w basking bulb.

The temp in my room averages at around 70. Zim has a 75w heating bulb and it raises his warm side temp to around 80. Should I have a higher wattage bulb for the leopard gecko tank since the one I have is only a 50w?

A De-humidifier takes water out of the air. A humidifier adds humidity by turning water to mist. Just trying to be helpful. The UTH should be fine, just raise the bottom of the tank about 1/4" at the end of the tank with the UTH. I don't know if the basking bulb would be too hot or not. The substrate temp shouldn't be over around 88. http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html This is one of the best care sheets around. Also check out Albey's site http://www.albeysreptiles.com/default.htm . I use a combination of vermiculite on the bottom and some sphagnum moss on top of it. It makes it easier for the females to burry their eggs under the moss.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I have an under the tank heater. There is just one problem. The tank is going on a wood endtable, and the tank is not raised. The heater would be touching the wood constantly and I know that isn't good for the table. I will be using a heating lamp. I forgot to add that to the list. I have a 50w basking bulb.

The temp in my room averages at around 70. Zim has a 75w heating bulb and it raises his warm side temp to around 80. Should I have a higher wattage bulb for the leopard gecko tank since the one I have is only a 50w?

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You could either raise the side of the tank up that the UTH is on just a little or put a piece of glass under it. The UTH is the most important for heating leos, belly heat is most important, it helps with digestion etc.. If you want to use a light, make sure its not a bright light, go with infared or other nocturnal lights, bright lights can stress leos.

I think I'll raise the tank slightly. Maybe I could find some lego pieces to put under the tank. Thats how we held my old bedframe up when I was little. LOL. The power of legos.

I don't have a thermostat, so will the UTH be ok without one?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I think I'll raise the tank slightly. Maybe I could find some lego pieces to put under the tank. Thats how we held my old bedframe up when I was little. LOL. The power of legos.

I don't have a thermostat, so will the UTH be ok without one?

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Alot of people say you need one but I have been using lots of UTHs for 12+ years without a thermostat/rheostat and never once had a problem with them. My opinion is to place the UTH heater on the cage, turn in on and give it several hourse to warm up, and them come back and place your hand on the bottom of the cage,above the UTH. If it feels to hot then you may need to get a thermostat, personally in 12+ years of using tons of them,never had that prob.

Its a small UTH. I believe it is appropriatly sized for a 20g tank. The woman at work used it with her bearded dragons, and I don't believe she had a problem with it. I just wanted to make sure I didn't start using it and have it burn the geckos' bellies.

And I'm taking the gecko number down to one for now. I'll be ready to get one by the end of this month or beginning of April. I am not getting one from a petstore. I went to the Petsmart a few days ago and 2/4 of their baby geckos had lost thier tails and I understand that leopard geckos lose thier tails easily and they do grow back, but I'm wanting an already grown lizard with a tail. Possibly a male to start off with.

Are males particularly nippy? Or are leopard geckos even biters?

at the very least you need to measure the temperatures in your enclosure with a digital thermometer. an accurite (which is available at walmart for about $15) works well for this. it allows you to measure temps on both the warm end and the cool end. measuring the temps by feeling the bottom of the cage isn't accurate at all--reptiles are much more sensitive to heat than humans are and what feels warm, or okay to us could burn a gecko that lays on the same spot.

using a uth without a thermostat will not provide consistent temperatures and you have no way to keep the temperatures from spiking too high or too low. at least get a dimmer that you can hook up to the uth, that way, if you see on your accurite that the temps are too high or too low you can adjust. this is the cheap way to go and does require a lot of monitoring. better to just get a thermostat, set it and you are good to go--no worries that your temps are all over the place.

i personally wouldn't even consider using any kind of heating element on a reptile's enclosure without a thermostat--why would your risk injury to your animal(s)? it's just one of the things you have to factor into the initial cost of your setup. if you can't afford it, then you need to wait until you can. here's a link to some great thermostats: http://www.reptilebasics.com/store/home.php?cat=250. the johnson or the ranco (pre-wired) will work fine for a leo setup.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Are males particularly nippy? Or are leopard geckos even biters?

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males in general are not nippy. leos are usually quite tame and easily handled. the only exception is adults that have not been handled--if not handled some from the time they are little they can become aggressive.

So the Johnson can control the temps of more than one cage with that power strip, yes?

Do leos and corn snakes use the same temperatures? I know that I keep Zim at around 80-85 on his warm side and 70-75 on his cool side.

here is a pic of my tank

two hides water bowl lights and uth.. good to go and a happy leo.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/1/3/8/0/leo.jpg