Hello from Florida

Hello, my name is Adam i am 23, and as you can see i am from Florida. I have been big into fish keeping for about a year now and i am running 2 tanks ATM so i understand how to care for exotic pets. 1 55 gallon tank and 1 120 gallon tank. anywho i have a spare 20 gallon high tank (24x12x16) that i am not using and i wanted to get back into keeping reptiles. along time ago when i was a child i had an Iguana which i had for about a year till it died from a tumor. i have always loved reptiles and amphibians ever since i was little i would always go outside and catch green and brown anoles and the occasional tree frog or rat snake so my passion for reptiles has always been there. I've done some reserch on leo's so i know the dos and donts for these guys (for the most part). I have a few questions for you guys about housing a leo, i'll break it down to make it easier to understand.

Heating: i was considering getting a undertank heating pad and from all that i have read these are the best for leos. what brand and size should i get? i was thinking a 6x12 so it heats about 25% of the tank.

Lighting: i know these guys are nocturnal so what type of lamp and light bulbs do you guys recommend?

Substrate: i know sand is a big no, no do to impaction. so i read that tiles and reptile carpet are good for these guys. i was planning on doing a combo of both, having the carpet as the bottom layer than have thin slate rocks on top of that for a more natural look. does that sound like a good idea?

Hide outs: Should i have multiple hide outs? or would one with damp moss inside of it be acceptable? and if so should i put it on the heated side of the tank so it gets more humid?

i think thats all of my questions for now. or at least untill i get everything set up and buy my leo. i thank you for reading this and answering my questions.

~Adam

Heyyy

Welcome to the forum!!

I hope you enjoy your time here

oooo! cool I don't know much about keeping fish.. I can't wait until you get posting pics of your fish up and stuff

We have a great leopard gecko caresheet in our 'caresheet section' which should answer all the questions you've just asked Have a read of it. It's very good

for a simple leopard gecko tank you need a heat mat, a thermostat to control it, a digital thermometer to measure the temperatures, tiles or kitchen roll is the best type of substrate, you should have at least two hides: one on the cool side of the tank and one on the hot side. You also need a separate moist hide.. which can simply be a plastic container filled with wet sphagnum moss, vermiculite or kitchen roll. You can add all the fancy decorations you want like rocks and fake plants.

here is a photo of my tank and my viv to help you

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

hiya Adam,

Welcome to the forum & hope you enjoy your time on here.

Sam

Hi Adam, welcome to the forum. You are welcome to post any other questions you have in the leopard gecko section. Everyone will still answer you but it just keeps things organized for us. So glad you joined us! Hope you have a good time here!

Hi and welcome to the forum!

1. No and under tank heater is best and it should cover from 25% to a third of your tank.

2. no lights are necessary at all, unless you need to simulate day and night, but natural light from a window can do that. No lights.

3. Tile would be best as reptile carpet usually has a few problems to go with it, like leo's toes or teeth getting caught and pulled out.

4. 2 or 3 hides is recommended. 1 cool hide, 1 hot hide and 1 humid hide. Some times people will have the humid hide as either the hot or cold hide.

welcome to the forum! i think you will find this a fun, and very helpful forum. there are alot of good people here and alot of us are very knowledgable and helpful. they pretty much wrapped up the questions you have asked. i personally put my humid hide on the warm side because this helps create better humidity, and this being the most snug hide...the leopards use it alot because they feel very secure in them. a reptile will always choose security over the proper temps, so if they have just eaten, the humid hide is warm enough to help them digest their food properly. welcome to the forum and we are all glad to have you!

Thanks for all the warm welcomes everybody!