[vicky1804]

Hello everyone
Just joined the forum today as im thinking of getting some gecko after xmas and i have a few questions.
Iv read that 2 can live ok in a 24inch viv.Is that right?
Would slate floor tiles be ok for the tank floor?
If slate is ok where would i put the heat mat?
If i only bought one to start withhow difficult would it be to add another at a later date?
what sort of decorations are bestin their vivs?

Ok so more than a few but thats all i can think of at the moment.

Thanks in advance for answering guys

 

[Graz]

yes
yes
yes
they should be ok might me a bit werey of each other to start with if u keep 2 in the same viv make sure there females , males will fight
fake plants , stones , hides and stuff like that

hope this helps

 

[K.J.Geckos]

hi vicky.welcome to the forum! :welcome: I would reckomend starting off with 1 leo at first but yes your right you can keep 2 together ok as long as they are both females like graz says.If you get a young leo-juvinile-then you can not always tell what sex your leo is untill its a little older.You can get older leos-adults and these are quite easy to sex and your local pet shop should be able to sex it for you.With regards to your question about the slate or tiles in the viv:well you place your heat pad or mat under a floor tile at one end of the viv.Im not sure if you know or not that a leo has to absorb heat through its tummy to help it digest its food so this is why its place here.also dont worry about it geting to hot or anything,its shouldnt do as mine dont.Like graz says you can use pretty much anything to decorate your viv.a lot of people have their own design using bits of everything from fake plants and rocks to slate and a butter tub for a little hidy house.You cant really go wrong so have a go and let your creative side loose!

 

[Graz]

yay i got something right ! lol

 

[vicky1804]

thanks guys
from what i read i knew they needed the heat on their tummies but read somewhere that the slate tiles get too hot bt i just wanted to check, and i realised from other posts that it would have to be two females.
Whats the best temp to have the heat matat?
And is it ok for me to add a light?if so whattype are best?
just to make it easier to see them.this would only been on when im in my bedroom.so probably from 6-7pm till about 10-11 would this be ok?

Also the reason i ask about getting 1 and adding another later is a) the price b) i want to make sure ican look after them properly

The place im going to try and get them from is called Cost to coast in Darlington
http://www.britnett-carver.co.uk/c2c/lizardsinstock.html

the first 9 on the list are there leo's and was thinking about starting with the hatchling to begin with.Is this a good idea?

Also noticed they have blizzards which i really really like the look of and its my birthday in april so was tempted to ask my parents for another one then

 

[DeanThorpe]

Hi.
Welcome to the forum/
Leos dont need the heat from thier tummies.
If your heat mat is on the bottom then slate may heat up quite a bit, but to be honest should be ok if theres something else between the slate and the mat.
You could definetly use slate chippins on the cool end where the mat isnt tho.
Likewise if you put the mat on the rear wall you can have the slate all over the bottom.
I dont use slate chippings as a standalone substrate myself, we just scatter bits about for decor or to fill in awkward gaps and to place in a circle around water bowls etc

If you get one leo then sex depending it should be ok to introduce another, however you could also get 2 right away, especially if they are together in the shop where u get them, assumin they are old enough to sex you could just do your best to get a male and a female.

One thing ive learned and i think most ppl here will tell you, always be prepared and ready to seperate any reptiles you hope to house together if the need arises, meaning if you cannot possibly afford another viv if u need it, dont take the risk and stick to a single specimen.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

dean wrote

Leos dont need the heat from thier tummies.
If your heat mat is on the bottom then slate may heat up quite a bit, but to be honest should be ok if theres something else between the slate and the mat.
You could definetly use slate chippins on the cool end where the mat isnt tho.
Likewise if you put the mat on the rear wall you can have the slate all over the bottom.

of course leos need heat from siiting on a heat mat.if a leo is given a basking light then they can have digestive problems.leos are not bearded dragons.they absorb heat through there stomach it even states it in the leopard gecko manual unless the auther is wrong to.When i did my veteriary nurse training and i specialised in exotic they taught me that to.To have a heat pad on the wall would be not much use to a leo at all.

With my all my vivs and all the 28 vivs at college i looked after and still do we use slate and we have never had a problem.the geckos tend to move to the cooler side of the viv when they get warm.My heat mat is left on all the time and it cools and warms up to a set temp so they dont over heat.With regards to the light you will be best getting either a blue or red night glow one as your leos if given a normal bulb will just hide from it.this alows you to look at your leos and they dont really notice the light.

If money is and issue and you do intend to get more then one leo then i think its just going to be a question of time with them.if you get a juvinile then ask the people at the petshop if they have any idea what sex it is.Although they mite not be able to sex it with it being young they might have an idea if the egg was incubated at a temp for females or males.other then that i think its going to be a waiting game untill they are going to be old enough to sex.2 females do tend to get on ok.i put another female with mine and they have both been fine.

like iv said time and time again on the forum there is no wrong way to keep a leo.everyone has their own things that work for them.these are just mine and the way i was and still am trained by the royal college of veterinary surgeons.I know people who have been keeping reptiles for years and they do something that is almost unherd of but they swear by their ways and what works for them.so give it a go and adapt along the way i say!

 

[DeanThorpe]

I'll say again, leos dont need to get tier heat from below.
Thats my opinion on what i have read in multiple manuals named after a leopard gecko.

I wouldnt be saying the author was wrong either, maybe missquoted
"leos in the wild absorb heat that has been stored from the desert sun throughout the day when they emerge to hunt at night"
For instance could be missinterpreted as "leos have to get thier heat through thier bellies"
But it would be a missinterpretation nonetheless.

 

[vicky1804]

Ok brilliant thanks for the advice.
So far iv decided on a 2ft viv with slate floor tiles on the bottom,decorations,a heat mat at one end to the correct emp. il start with one youngester till i know the sex and when i go for my 2nd one il get an older one where the sex is garenteed
Does this sound a good place to start?

iv also read they need a humid hide to help them shed,what the best end to put this at and how do ikeepit humid? are they any materials that will help with this?
thanks

 

[DeanThorpe]

http://www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=706

I think its called spaghnum moss, its good to use for that.

http://www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=255
I assume live moss would be ok too though.

Other than that im not sure, i think, altho cant say with certaintly tha anything that can hold moisture and not in any way cause harm should be fine.

For instance, a sponge scurah [spelling, sorry no idea] dampened and possibly cut into pieces might do the job.
Ofcourse theres alwasy the concern of the lizard eating a bit of sponge..

 

[vicky1804]

would i have to plant the moss in a tub with some soil and should the hide go at the warm end or cool?

cheers

 

[DeanThorpe]

hi, with the spaghnum moss, which isnt live, u just moisrten it and stick it in there...like us walking into a big bundle of hanging clothes, imagine they were wet and er..helped us shed.. we would just push ourselves into the bundle.

i think you want one around the middle, medicore temps i think, dont quote me, i dont think it really matters aslong as its comfortable enough temp wise for them to stay in thier for a while.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

with the moss hide bit i use and old crickets tub and just cut a hole in it.i get just a bag of moss from garden centres like what they use for hanging baskets.put it in side the tub and just give it a mist when i mist the vivs.my leos love it.I dont think it really matters what side of the viv you put the moss box on really.i keep mine on the cool side but thats just because i designed my viv a certain way and it look ok where i stick it lol.if you want put it in between the cool an warm side,then you have the best of both worlds :lol:

 

[vicky1804]

ok great how often would you say the moss needs to be sprayed?
Also il be putting the ehat mat at one end of the tank.what is the best temp to set the heat mat at?

thanks

 

[DeanThorpe]

hi, spray the moss again when its no longer moist.
every day at most, every 3 days at the least i guess.

as for temp setting, depends where u put your stat sensor.
For arguments sake lets say your heatmat is half the length of your viv.
put the mat one end, and then put the sensor for the stat, about half way down the cool end..which is 3 qtrs way along fromn the begining of the warm end..so if its a 2 foot viv.. 0-12 inches heat mat, 12-24 inches cool end
AT about 18 inches put trhe sensor, about 3 inches off the ground.
set the temp on the stat to 85.

After where the sensor is, in the last 6 inches of the viv put a hide in the far corner near the back, or the front, should be one of the coolest areas naturaly, this cave should remain a couple degrees lower than where the sensor is at all times so the 85 at the sensor is like your safeguard, cos if it goes above that itll go off...but your cave wont ever hit 85.
So you should be good to go.

However and something i wasnt thinking when i was posting here yesterday, leos are nocturnal, so er.. er... the slates good cos itll hold heat from the day basically, which leos to an extent rely on.

Im not sure about night time temps, maybe keep things same and set stat sensor down from 85 to 70, this way some will be cooler like 67 maybe but most will be a bit warmer, like 75, I THINK this will work good for yuh.

 

[K.J.Geckos]

yep like dean says.i spray my moss every other day but you kinda know when your leo is coming up to a shed as their colour dulls down quite a bit.I give it a spray they change it once a week unless they poo in it like a couple of mine do then its every day. :lol2:

 

[Emz118]

Don't think anyone has mentioned, but it's worth investing in a thermostat for your heatmat too.... about £20, they will keep it at the same temp and stop any risk of overheating.,... I didn't bother on mine, then went away for 3 days last summer. Came back to find the hot end of the viv at almost 50 degrees and my leo sitting in the cool end in her water bowl. I bought a thermostat the next day!

I have my heatmats underneath, as do the majority of people. The stored heat from during the day in the desert is in rocks etc on the floor which have absorbed the heat, and which the gecko then lies on to heat their bellies and help them digest.

One last thing..... we used to use spaghnum moss for our damp hide, until one day one of the leos was walking funny, and when we looked closely, she had eaten some moss and was struggling to pass it through.... it was very very worrying, but thankfully she did pass it through. Since then we have used damp kitchen roll. They don't seem to eat that, it's cheap, easy to get hold of and easy to replace too.

Hope that helps!

Emma

PS- We have a female blizzard and a male albino (both hets) and are hoping to breed them next year, so may have some blazing blizzards available then!

 

[Emz118]

Sorry, double posted!!!