New gecko, slightly worried, heating issues

Hey everyone!

I'm new to this forum and I just got my first leo yesterday and I already love her so much!! She's a Tangerine tremper poss. het. raptor(I have nooo idea what that means so if someone can help with that too, that would be great). She's 4 1/2 months old. I did a lot of research but there are some things i'm still unsure and worried about. I have a 10 gal with calci sand(I plan to switch to newspaper in the future, the sand came with the set up). It has a dry hide, moist hide, Reptivite bowl, water dish, and food dish for mealworms.

The bulbs I have are: 13 watt, 75 watt basking, 50 watt basking, 40 watt night, and UTH. I'm currently using the 13 watt combined with the UTH because that's what's keeping the tank at 85.5 degrees. I'm so cinfused about lighting I don't know what light to use at what time!!! That's my major issue!!

Plus she hasn't started eating and I know sometimes they don't eat when you first bring them home and it's only been two days, but I still worry because she sleeps a lot, even at night.

Any help would be so appreciated!!

Here's my advice....

Get her off the sand as soon as possible. She can eat it by mistake can impact her. I use a cheap welcome mart for walmart, cut it to the size of my 10 gallon tank and put reptile carpet on top of the welcome mat so i didn't have to spot clean the welcome mat because it is a weird texture and is harder to clean. I also use this for thickness between the UTH (Under-tank Heater).

For heating, what's most important is belly heat. You need 90-95. (95 is just ground temperature in the enclosure. Do NOT let the air get that warm. Room temperature is probably fine.) 95 is ideal but anymore then that your gecko might be too warm for her comfort. You absolutely need a way to check ground temps and a light dimmer or thermostat. Thermostat will automatically turn off on the heat pad to whatever you select as your desired temperature. A light dimmer you can turn it up and down to increase or decrease the wattage affecting the heat out-put.

As for lights, someone else will have to help you with that. Too high of wattage can hurt your leo's eyes and I'm not that well informed about that because I do not use any lighting. room temperature is fine if it's in the mid 70s, what is most important is belly heat.

If you choose not to use any UVB lights you will need to dust your feeders with calcium with d3 at least once a week for younger leos and a couple times a month with adult leos.

Here's a setup that's ideal but not everyone does it this way but you might find it helpful: http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t2999-how-to-set-up-your-leo-s-tank

Welcome to the forums, if you need more advice, help, or suggestions just ask.

Make sure you're using a probe thermometer and my a peel and stick one. Your wanting the ground temps or the hot spot to be at roughly 92F. Ambient temps are important too, so your cold side should be roughly 82F (both are a give or take 3F.

You need to settle ur gecko down. I was like this when i got my leo and took me 1 week 3 days to make her eat and possible problems is the temp is too cold which makes ur leo's digestion slow down. Pictures btw.

I don't think it'll be a problem with it being too cold from what he has said. I am just focused on not over doing it. If his floor temps are in the lower to mid 90s, the air is warm enough, and the lights aren't too bright, then I think his setup is just fine from the info I have gathered.

I'm trying to find a thread that I seen that someone suggested a certain bulb that wouldn't be too bright for a leo, would keep the temp up, and could be on all night.

Mystic wrote:this is the best of both worlds. the ceramic heaters are so pricey until i was able to get one i used this bulb 24/7 http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11836374
the red bulbs bother some leos because they are still rather bright but this one barley admits light during the day and at night its very soft and acts more like moon light but still raises the air temp about 5 degrees.

Mystic wrote:if you have a tank that is 12" or taller then i would go for the 75 W if its shorter then 50 W. what also helps with keeping the tank warmer is if you have a screen top use a warm small blanket and cover the half the screen and it will help the warmth stay in.

Found it.

Thanks everyone I really appreciate it!! I'm getting rid of the sand asap and i'm gonna start using paper towels. I'm gonna have to get that blue bulb when I go into work tomorrow so that should be fine. Plus i'm going to definitely have to get a stick on thermometer too since i've already got the probe one.


This is her! (before I took the sand out haha) She's so active when i'm not around, it's hard to get pics. Oh and since i've only had her two days should I be handling her? Like maybe 15 min a day to get her accustomed to it (She's already really friendly and doesn't mind being picked up, but I still want to get hr used to me)

I was holding mine the first day I got him, it really depends on the individual leo. Some people say not to handle leos that aren't use to you for more than ten minutes a day.

I'd try to hold her and if she keeps trying to get out of your hands put her back. The key is to just let your leo be comfortable. If she is comfortable with you holding her for 30 minutes, so be it.

Also I have read that people will put one of their hands in the enclosure so they get more use to your hands.

Okay! I'm gonna start socializing her really soon. She's not afraid and super sweet! Thank you so much! I'll have to try and get some more pictures sometime in the near future to show her off more