Advice on Leopard Gecko set up

[loonymoony]

Would really love advice on which are the best heat mats (under tank heaters) on the market. We are looking to get our first ever reptile soon, we have chosen Leopard Geckos, as we think they are gorgeous and seem to be seen as a good beginners rep too, bonus!. Viv wise we are looking at the exo-terra terrarium either the 60x45x45cm for a single or the 90x45x45cm for a pair (two females!). Any advice on set up will be gratefully received and most appreciated.

[jools]

Hi there. I like habistat heat mats, they are very reliable in my experience. Don't forget you will also need a thermostat as well. Personally, given the choice, I would always use a wooden vivarium for Leos. They retain the heat better and also give the Leo more of a sense of security than a glass viv.
If you do get 2 females then please be aware that they may not get along with each other. There can be dominance/bullying/fighting issues so you would need a spare set-up imo so that they could be separated at a moments notice.

[loonymoony]

Thanks sooooo much for the quick reply Jools, most appreciated!
Have seen lots of Habistat mats about and yes of course will def use with a stat. Size wise I'm looking for a third coverage, to help create the heat gradient (88-90F warm end) please correct me if anything is wrong.
At the mo I am looking at going to veiw a couple of female Leos, who are already housed together and have been for a while with no bullying, so hopefully no issues there, if I go for them I will def keep an eye on there interaction and check for bullying, obviously I will seperate them if things look anything less that perfect. Do you find females do better in groups or seperate over all?? as this is such a divided subject and a bit confusing to novices!
The above girl Leos (who are about 5/6 years!) come with a wooden viv 30x12x12inches and heat mat, hides, bowls etc but as yet don't know how good all these bits are so will upgrade as needed and purchase the extra bits missing.
Obviously with the wooden viv, the mat goes inside,instead of under and I was thinking about using sandstone look tiles in mine for the substrate,what do you think? I really like the idea of a natural looking viv, with sandstone look rocks, rocky looking hides, bowls and Haloxylon look wood peices to climb on, but also want it to be safe for them (No Sand I know!!) and easy to clean. Any more advice will be most appreciated, thanks for taking the time to reply!

[melmodz]

For some good hides check out emma18x on here. Hers are great, just bought one from her!

Vivarium Decor, hides, bowls, ledges, floor decor, backgrounds.

[jools]

Originally Posted by loonymoony

Thanks sooooo much for the quick reply Jools, most appreciated!
Have seen lots of Habistat mats about and yes of course will def use with a stat. Size wise I'm looking for a third coverage, to help create the heat gradient (88-90F warm end) please correct me if anything is wrong.
Sounds fine - a third to a half floor coverage is fine.

At the mo I am looking at going to veiw a couple of female Leos, who are already housed together and have been for a while with no bullying, so hopefully no issues there, if I go for them I will def keep an eye on there interaction and check for bullying, obviously I will seperate them if things look anything less that perfect. Do you find females do better in groups or seperate over all?? as this is such a divided subject and a bit confusing to novices!
It is confusing yes - not just to novices. All of mine are kept separate now. I had 2 large communal vivs with 3 females in each. They had all lived together with no issues for over a year. Within a month all had had to be separated due to fighting - I still have no idea why. You may be ok with 2 together. I still like the look of more than one in a viv but won't risk it any more. The other side of this is that if your 2 girls have been together that long they may be stressed by separation. It would have to be your judgement call. Just make sure you have a spare mat, stat and rub for emergencies.

The above girl Leos (who are about 5/6 years!) come with a wooden viv 30x12x12inches and heat mat, hides, bowls etc but as yet don't know how good all these bits are so will upgrade as needed and purchase the extra bits missing.
Obviously with the wooden viv, the mat goes inside,instead of under and I was thinking about using sandstone look tiles in mine for the substrate,what do you think? I really like the idea of a natural looking viv, with sandstone look rocks, rocky looking hides, bowls and Haloxylon look wood peices to climb on, but also want it to be safe for them (No Sand I know!!) and easy to clean.
Yes mat inside a wooden viv. Sandstone tiles would make a perfect substrate as long as they are not too thick to allow the heat from the mat through. Never heard of that type of "wood" tbh but as long as it is sold for pets it should be fine.

Any more advice will be most appreciated, thanks for taking the time to reply!

Read SleepyDs care sheets on her website they are spot on.

[loonymoony]

Thanks again Jools
for the quick and helpful advice.
What kind of temp gradient I am looking to acheive in the cool end?? just want to double check!
I'll just have to suck it an see as it were if I go for the two girls already paired, if I don't get them, I think perhaps I will go down the singles route, as you are one of many who have advised this, contrary to most care sheets and books I've read, will wait and see! ummmmm food for thought though! (have already read sleepyDs care sheet, great stuff!)
and yes will try and sort emergency housing just in case too, better safe than sorry, me thinks!
Yes will make sure my tiles arn't too thick, got to be 1cm thick max?? am I right???
Haloxylon is a type of tree found natively in Pakistan, Afghanistan and North west India in general, the bark is similar looking to some of the lovely peices I have seen around for use in vivs, so will be safe don't worry,I wanted to try and be authentic in my set up so have been researching plant types in the above areas, plus colouration of rock and sand so I could get it spot on. Obvioiusly I will only use plants (branches or the bark of trees) that are safe, tried and tested, but with a few I can get something very similar looking even if it's not exactly the same, so it'll look great.

Thanks melmodz for the link, great work! hope your Leos enjoy theirs!

[jools]

Usually room temperature is enough for the cool end of the viv - mid 70s F would be ideal. But obviously if your room is very cold then you might need some extra heating. The beauty of using the tiles is that they will to some extent act as a heat store. If you do upgrade to a new viv then temperatures are much easier to regulate in a wooden viv - and temperature is probably the most critical factor in reptile keeping.

[Big Red One]

As Jools has said - wooden vivs with floor tiles on a heatmat (and stat!) is the best way to go in my opinion...
Room temp should suffice for cool emd temps, they will go wherever suits them best then !

[loonymoony]

Thanks yet again Jools and BigRedOne too!
I thought and had it down on my Home made care sheet as 75-77F so I was spot on, excellent! (oops sound like Mr Burns!)
Will have another good look round at wooden vivs, since you are selling me a very good argument, must admit I prefer the look of the exo-terras, nice clean lines. I had planned to to put in backing and side cover to at least half way for privacy and to help hold the heat. I'm very pleased that tiles have met with approval, my thoughts exactly, I mean, that the tiles would act like nice big heat conductors, just like the rocks would in their natutal environment.
Looking into the best place to site them right now, how are they about noises?? I mean we are a quiet family, but have our moments Ha! would like to have them in prime place where we can all enjoy them, but don't want daily chatter to anoy them when they are trying to sleep, I home educate my girls (having found the education system offered to be awful! Thats a whole other forum topic!) and we are home all day working, have a few choices on placement, so what would be the advice here guys?
Also would like to know if you guys are a fan of leaving food in the viv, some care sheets advise leaving a dish of mealworms in at all times, others say it is better to have an evening routine, every other day at say 8pm (this is for adults) as they can become lazy about hunting if food is there all the time, so its more stimulating, plus easier to tell exactly what they're eating, what do you think?
Loving all the advice so far thanks soooo much for your time!

[Big Red One]

Hiya,

glass vivs can work, especially when partially covered as you mentioned (I have used offcuts of wallpaper in the past..), it's just that they don't hold heat so well.
I have exoterra's for my G. Luii as they need a higher level of moisture than the leo's, but I would definitely say a wooden viv is now my preference. It may also help on the noise and disturbance front !

My leo's are in bedroooms so can get quite noisy, especially when my lad is playing his guitar or games console! So I wouldn't worry overly about that - as long as they have plenty of cover/hides (including a moist one..) they will be fine. They tend to sleep through 90 percent of things anyway !

Foodwise, I tend to leave some mealies in a bowl for them if needed all the time, but maybe 50 percent of mine rarely touch them in a bowl (but will eat them 'loose'), preferring to wait for me to put some locusts or dubia roaches in. It's worth trying the mealies though as they are definitely the easiest way to feed....

Youngsters need feeding every day, adults can go every other or every 3rd day and even then may not always be 'hungry'. It's a case of learning the individual - all part of the fun !