Is my housing okay?

Moved from 'Hi new gecko owner' thread.

The set up for Reubin is a glass terrarium 24"x18"x18" with a heat mat under 1/3 of the base. He has got a hide in the heated area and a "damp" hide in the cool end with a suitable size wood branch/root for him to either climb over or hide under. There are three blue "moon" leds which come on at night to allow you to see him without disturbing him. A small water bowl and small bowl with calcium/supplement dust in. Two silk leaf branches attached to the side walls to provide some coverage and decoration. As they do not need UV or heat lamps none are fitted. The base is covered in a thin coating of "reptile safe sand" not calci sand. I will try to get some pictures on here when I have a day off (my shifts are mainly 07.45 in the morning to 20.00 at night so darkish at both times so not the time to be putting room lights on to take pictures.
Regards food he has had the occasional cricket. I would have expected him to have eaten more but local reptile dealers say he is probably still settling in. Like I say he is going for a general check up friday. He is getting more used to be handled not that we are constantly doing so but occasionally as we think that it is a good thing so if he needs any interventions it won't be as stressful than if he was never handled.

Well it sounds like you have things well under way...just an fyi tho there really is no such thing as "reptile safe sand". All sand will impact a gecko if they ingest enough of it. What makes it "safe" is that it's smooth edged rather than jagged so if they do ingest it it' not earing them up inside. Another downside is living on sand can dry your leo out and cause problematic sheds even with a moist hide box. So just be cautious with that please. Make sure you feed either on a piece of tile or in a dish. Try to remember leos come from packed earth desertsnot sandy deserts and they live in rocky craigs and outcroppings if you consider a re-do for your new addition by the way, if I may ask, how are your temperature in his tank? How are you monitoring it?

Only other thing is to discuss a good multi vitimin dusting schedule in addition to what you're doing with calcium. Can't wait to see pix of your new friend

thats why I put reptile safe sand in "" it was what a "specialist" reptile seller said. I would like to get a better substrate but at the time it was nothing or the reptile sand (what it says on the bag). I know the previous owner had him on sand and did say he has some problems shedding on his feet. He originally did not have a moist hide so I guess we have given him something extra he previously did not have. What do people suggest as a better substrate? I have heard of the stick on floor tiles to sheet cork! I want to do the best for Reubin as I always do the best I can in everything I do especially pet care. The crickets are kept in a small plastic aquarium with egg cartons to hide in and water in cotton wool for drink and the feed side is fresh salad and the bug dry food mix stuff that most places sell. I always dust with either calci-dust or nutrobal. Sometimes a mix of both. Reubins dish of dust (which most books and sites about gecko's suggest) is a 50/50 mix of both. The "hot end" is around 29 degrees C and the cool side is 22 degrees C average. I use two exo terra min/max thermometers (one with the probe where his "warm" hide is (along side the habistat probe) and one at the cool end. They are at "ground level" which is where Reubin spends most of his time.
Hope this helps you and hope folks can give me ideas for better substrates as I want the best for Reubin.

This is Reubins home

Chris63 wrote: thats why I put reptile safe sand in "" it was what a "specialist" reptile seller said. I would like to get a better substrate but at the time it was nothing or the reptile sand (what it says on the bag). I know the previous owner had him on sand and did say he has some problems shedding on his feet. He originally did not have a moist hide so I guess we have given him something extra he previously did not have. What do people suggest as a better substrate? I have heard of the stick on floor tiles to sheet cork! I want to do the best for Reubin as I always do the best I can in everything I do especially pet care.

To be honest, i actually think boring old kitchen roll is the best substrate. But others think tile because it looks better, there is a caresheet on leo housing which goes in to good depth about tiles and substrates. Its in the 'Caresheet' section and also in the 'Husbandry and Housing' section.
Hopefully the moist hide will help the feet shedding issues, if not, then there are plenty of others way to help with bad shedding, but we'll discuss when/if its needed.

The crickets are kept in a small plastic aquarium with egg cartons to hide in and water in cotton wool for drink and the feed side is fresh salad and the bug dry food mix stuff that most places sell. I always dust with either calci-dust or nutrobal. Sometimes a mix of both. Reubins dish of dust (which most books and sites about gecko's suggest) is a 50/50 mix of both. The "hot end" is around 29 degrees C and the cool side is 22 degrees C average. I use two exo terra min/max thermometers (one with the probe where his "warm" hide is (along side the habistat probe) and one at the cool end. They are at "ground level" which is where Reubin spends most of his time.
Hope this helps you and hope folks can give me ideas for better substrates as I want the best for Reubin.

I use nutrobal too, i find with nutrobal it isn't needed to keep a cap in with them as it contains d3. Nutrobal is an all in one, so dusting with it every other feeding will be adequate for your gecko.

the hot end temps could do with a boost but not hugely essential, i find 31-33C the best range, but 29 isnt exactly drastic haha.

Same tank as which i had my first leo haha, its great tank. I'd recommend some of the zoomed reptile ladders and hammocks as they are great fun when you have a tank with some height.

Thank you for the feedback.
Unfortunately due to work messing me about Reubin was unable to go for his general check up today. He is re booked in for 18th April instead. He is fine but I like to ensure my pets have a health check when I get them to be sure all is ok.

Well thats a shame, sorry to hear about that.

I hope everything stays fine until the check up, let us know if you see anything that makes you think he isn't fine, its okay to be paranoid when your a new owner haha.

Have been and got some thin ceramic tiles today and completely cleaned out the terrarium and put them in. I have put a thin "grout" of sand around the edges just to make sure there is no chance a Reubin catching his foot if he goes exploring the very outside.

Reubin checking out his new tiles.


The tiles fitted.

*Added by Jordan* - Just quickly resized your images as they were off the page. If you need help doing this in the future, let me know.

haha looks great.

Hope he enjoys them.

Was it easy enough to tile it?
Are you getting the right temperatures with them then?

The hot end is reading around 29 to 30 C The probe for the habistat and the digital thermometer are side by side in his dry hide (in the first picture) so are sitting on top of the tile in there. The cool side is around 22.
The great thing is they are not shiny slippy tiles so he can get some grip on them.

It may take a good 3-4 days for ceramic tiles to heat up so keep an eye on that. Remeber coffe dcp when using ceramic and porcelain. They're designed to be insulators rather than conductors of heat. When sanding thr grout lines do a thin layer swept in them mist heavily to set the sand in the grout line, ad another layer then mist and so on until your grout is flush wth the tops of the tiles. You may see some kicked out occasionally but misting during the fist couple weeks should help with keeping the sand paced until it's completely settled.

Well Reubin past his general check up at the vets with flying colours.

thats good to hear

haha, congratulations Reubin.

Good to hear that. Remember to still keep an eye out for strange feces and lethargy and such likes in the future.