Owner of Max
Hatchling Member
We picked up a very nice 2-1/2 year old along with a 10 gallon set up yesterday.
I've been reading a lot of care sheets on line and have a couple questions for
you:
1. Lighting/heating: I understand that 82-88 F is ideal for the warm side. Some
sites say to use a UTH with no light, some sites say to only use lights, and
some say to use both. Ours came with both, but she was only using the light. Our
house is cooler than hers, so I was only getting 78 F with the small 75W basking
light she had. I removed the light and used the UTH only and am getting about 88 F.
Do I need to use a light or is the UTH ok by itself?
2. Substrate: She has crushed walnut shells which I know to get out of there
ASAP! Most sites say play sand is ok, but some say to use no loose substrate at
all because of the risk of it being ingested and impaction. I don't really want
to use paper towels or newspaper. I was thinking of either sand or tile?
What do you think?
3. Hides: Most sites say to have a hide on both the warm and cool sides. Some
say to make the hide on the cool side have a moistened moss to aid in shedding.
With so little room in the 10 gallon size, what do you recommend? (she only has
a hide on the warm side now)
4. Supplementation: I know to use calcium with D3 2-3 times/week and vitamins
once/week (same as BD's). Some sites sites say to keep a small dish of calcium
w/o D3 for them to lick when needed. Do I need this? Is a cap from a 2 liter
bottle big enough?
5. Water dish: The lady has one of those big automatic water dishes in there now
taking up almost half of the floorspace. It seems way overkill to me.
Am I fine with just a small dish of water? Is a cap from a 2 liter bottle big
enough?
6. Feeding: Some sites seem to say crickets, some say crickets and mealworms,
and some say just mealworms are fine. I've gotten away from crickets with Max
(our BD) because I hate dealing with them.
Am I ok with just mealworms? (I would occasionally get some Phoenix Worms and
Silkworms too since I get them for Max sometimes.)
Are Supers ok for an adult Leopard Gecko? (I usually feed max Super Worms.)
(I know the old myth of them chewing through their stomachs is BS)
Looking for your recommendations.
Thank you,
Frank
I've been reading a lot of care sheets on line and have a couple questions for
you:
1. Lighting/heating: I understand that 82-88 F is ideal for the warm side. Some
sites say to use a UTH with no light, some sites say to only use lights, and
some say to use both. Ours came with both, but she was only using the light. Our
house is cooler than hers, so I was only getting 78 F with the small 75W basking
light she had. I removed the light and used the UTH only and am getting about 88 F.
Do I need to use a light or is the UTH ok by itself?
2. Substrate: She has crushed walnut shells which I know to get out of there
ASAP! Most sites say play sand is ok, but some say to use no loose substrate at
all because of the risk of it being ingested and impaction. I don't really want
to use paper towels or newspaper. I was thinking of either sand or tile?
What do you think?
3. Hides: Most sites say to have a hide on both the warm and cool sides. Some
say to make the hide on the cool side have a moistened moss to aid in shedding.
With so little room in the 10 gallon size, what do you recommend? (she only has
a hide on the warm side now)
4. Supplementation: I know to use calcium with D3 2-3 times/week and vitamins
once/week (same as BD's). Some sites sites say to keep a small dish of calcium
w/o D3 for them to lick when needed. Do I need this? Is a cap from a 2 liter
bottle big enough?
5. Water dish: The lady has one of those big automatic water dishes in there now
taking up almost half of the floorspace. It seems way overkill to me.
Am I fine with just a small dish of water? Is a cap from a 2 liter bottle big
enough?
6. Feeding: Some sites seem to say crickets, some say crickets and mealworms,
and some say just mealworms are fine. I've gotten away from crickets with Max
(our BD) because I hate dealing with them.
Am I ok with just mealworms? (I would occasionally get some Phoenix Worms and
Silkworms too since I get them for Max sometimes.)
Are Supers ok for an adult Leopard Gecko? (I usually feed max Super Worms.)
(I know the old myth of them chewing through their stomachs is BS)
Looking for your recommendations.
Thank you,
Frank
we keep our house at 68 F when we are home, 66 F at night, and 63 F when we're gone. The breeder recommended that since our 10 gallon tank is so small, we should be fine with using one larger hide with moistened moss inside and have 1/2 of it over the heat mat and 1/2 of it not over the heat mat. He did say to try not to have the hot side of the hide over the heat mat get above 90 F, so I will probably by a rheostat for the UTH so I can adjust the heat output. He did say that I need to get the surrounding tank temps up to around 80 F, so he suggested using a blue or red nocturnal bulb to add the needed heat. He said the same as you did, that they don't need added white light, and that it would probably just stress him out and keep him inside his dark hide more. I experimented last night using a regular 75 W bulb (the highest the little light fixture is rated for) and the surrounding tank temps got up to about 80 F, so I'm going to get a couple nocturnal bulbs. (75W for now and then lesser wattages down to none as we move through spring into summer. Our temps in WI very a lot throughout the year!) 
