#Enclosure and heating

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

frank aspen
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hi!

okay, first of all, english is not my first language, so I apologize if there's any mistakes.

This will be long message, thanks for taking the time for reading.

my situation is this: I'm going to live in a student residence, and they let me bring Thor as an “emotional support animal” (autism), so yeah. long story, it's not exactly that. whatever, they let me bring it.

They impose to me to put him a small terrarium.

Context:
last year, Thor was living with my parents. problem? they (my dad, specifically) only fed it mealworms (he's afraid of crickets and dubia) when I reminded him, as well as the use of a multivitamin, calcium + D3. the other members of the family won't even look at Thor, no bother with them.

i don't want Thor to have such a poor diet, so, that's one of the reasons he's coming with me. i can manage almost every type of insect i can buy (dubia, cricket, mealworm, etc).

also, it's not of my control, but I've got financial restriction.

before you tell me to rehome it or give it to someone, that's not an option. i'm working with what I have and I can (not saying in a rude way, not my intention). he's my pet and i wish to stay with him, I'm working to give him a better life as I can. plus i don't trust nobody to rehome it or give it.

he's adopted, he was (is, too) healthy when i got him, five years ago from now, and I updated his enclosure.

items used old enclosure:

just to put in context:
first time
— old enclosure was a ExoTerra Funarium XX large (plastic) with 46x30x17 cm (I'm from Spain) [18" x 12"x 6.5"].
— got humid and hot hides + two branches, diff texture for him to climb up a little.
— substrate: when i picked him up, was in sand. changed it to paper later. like, paper napkins, not dyed.

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— heat map (idk exactly which one)
[i control it by touching it and with a temperature gun, it never burns me, in fact it's pleasant to touch and the temperature gun, inside the cave is usually 30-32, at top of it, 34 max, usually, in degrees Celsius].

a year later, I updated it to:
— enclosure is a Exo Terra Natural Terrarium Medium/Low, 60 x 45 x 30 cm / [24” x 18” x 12”] (the one from Snake Starter Kit).
— has a humid hide with moss, the two branches from previous enclosure, a dry cave for hot hide and a open log hide (idk if that's correct).
— substrate,, got it with sand, (never got me any problem of impaction, i'm aware of the risks) and at some point paper again (like it cuz it was useful for poop).
— still heat map (see above).
— never checked humidity but he has good sheds in both enclosures, i moist his humid hide twice a week with a fluss-fluss (sjjdjdj, idk).

it has been his home for the last 4 years, more or less.

now that i'm moving to the residence, parents suggested using the old enclosure.

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Believe me, it's not of my pleasure to downgrade him like that, but I just gotta work with what I got.

what i got:
— ExoTerra Gecko Cave Medium.
— ExoTerra Buffalo Skull Small.
— A cave where is his current humid hide with a spot from above as entrance.
— A log with holes.

I would use (made a simulation)
— The cave (above).
— A dry medium cave for warm side.
— A ceramic little bowl (hamster type) for water.
— a bottle tap with the Arcadia Calcium + Mg (not D3).

There's gradient despite being the old enclosure, cool side 26 (it's hot in Spain), 33 in hot side. water temp, 24.

updates i plan to make:
— quit heat map, put basking lamp (planning to buy the Intense Basking Spot 75W ExoTerra or Deep Heat Projector from Arcadia). Correct me if I should change this based on the terrarium I'll be using (plastic one).

— update the terrarium to a container a lil bigger (still plastic, idk if posible).

— give him a regular feeding schedule (last year was a mess) (using the Arcadia one). Mainly crickets, ocasionally mealworms (seeing if I could with dubia).

Aclaration: he never had any eating, shedding problem. As far as I know, he's completly healthy. Still, I know he won't be thriving.

— planning to buy Arcadia EarthMix Arid for substrate, and update Calcium + D3 (currently using Zoo Med one) to a Repashy one.
Which one I should use? Consider it without UVB.

— buy EarthPro Revitalise D3.

— if i could change the terrarium to a glass one and good one, (hoping, idk) I would buy then Arcadia 8W T5 Shade Dweller 7%. I think he'll have to wait a year or so.

What do you think?
Is there anything I should take in count?
Is the shopping list (wish) okay? Would u correct something?

My questions with heating would be:
— Does heat need a schedule? Like, switch it on at 9 am, then off at 11pm?
— Do geckos need heat during night? (Mine it always has it on, all day).

Idk if i can edit thus, but i'll be adding more questions by time.

spare cliff
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<@&443773497429196810>

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they can help you out more in this complex situation then most ntas probably! ❤️

raven current
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i hate to be blunt but i am not sure anyone will have advice for the enclosure size issue if you arent interested in rehoming. unless someone could temporarily pet-sit him in the 24x18x12 thats all i got really. an 18x12x6.5 inch (5 gallon) enclosure is not appropriate for housing a leopard gecko. the terrarium he is in now is as small as i would go for temporary housing. for long term housing, a 36x18x18in /90x45x45cm is more appropriate.

proper heating would be a heat lamp, mats do not provide the proper heating spectrum. they only provide ir-c. incandescent heat lamps provide ir-a & b as well, what you want for deep tissue penetration.
uvb i personally wouldnt recommend in any enclosure under 16 inches/40cm unless fairly knowledgeable on uvi & have a solar meter. uvb is definitely a good thing for a thriving animal, but it would require a proper setup first.

as for the questions-
-yes there should be a schedule for the heating and lighting. most people do 12 hours on, 12 off. you can do longer on in summer and shorter in winter if you desire but not necessary. they make timers you can use

-heating isnt needed at night unless it dips frequently below 18c/65f. in that case youd use a low wattage ceramic heat emitter for night time.

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just for general knowledge if interested here is our care !guide

torn mothBOT
raven current
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as well as a !suppschedule for both uvb and non uvb enclosures

torn mothBOT
frank aspen
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perfect, thanks. :)

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The Arcadia or the ExoTerra ones are good tho?

raven current
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in regards to what? uvb?

frank aspen
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nope, heat

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instead of using heat map

raven current
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the exo terra bulb you mentioned is fine. i personally wouldnt use a DHP from arcadia unless necessary as they dont provide a lot of ir-a. one of their basking bulbs, think theyre “flood” and “spot” would be more appropriate

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with a heat lamp it is strongly recommended to put lamps on a thermostat (any heat source requires one) im not sure what brands you have available to you but some popular dimming thermostat brands are herpstat, habistat, exo terra

frank aspen
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exoterra will do

uncut mortar
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C:

frank aspen
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i'm trying to update his life little by little :(
/sigh

uncut mortar
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i have spain on the new shopping list so if you need links while it's not public yet i can grab them

frank aspen
frank aspen
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i'm gonna save them all and tomorrow i'll check them (3 am in here)