[natanitelite]

Good morning.

I recently had a neighbor tell me he was trying to "get rid of" a couple of tokays because his kids were tired of a creature they couldn't hold.

So, I agreed to take them and set up this viv for them. But, these are my first reptiles so I'm looking to have some of you more experienced folks tell me if I'm missing anything or if you notice any issues. Please excuse me in advance for what I'm sure will be a rather long post.

I have a 60 gal hex w/ a screen top. There are 2 18" Hagen LifeGlo bulbs (mostly for plant life and viewing) and a 100w infrared heat bulb at the top w/ a basking branch about 8" below it. I used expanding foam/silicone/coco fiber to create the background, attached 3 cork slabs to the back for ledges, and foamed in clay pots to the background to hold plants. I also created a false bottom below the substrate for drainage. There is a large (36" I think) manzanita branch running from a bottom corner to the opposite top corner for additional places to hang out and a 14"x9"x6" driftwood piece at the bottom. There is a large ceramic dog bowl mostly buried in the substrate, with a small water pump for movement. I covered the pump with river rocks, many of them reach out of the water so any crickets that fall in can get out (and because its prettier, lol).

I included the following plants: a ficus, fittonia, 3 bromeliads, english ivy, african violet, "frog moss", and 2 little guys labeled only as "fern". The plants have been in for about a week and all seem to be doing well -- especially the african violet which surprised me a bit since they can be finicky.

I gutloaded mealworms for 24 hours and then put them back into the fridge. I have crickets in a little cricket home gutloading now. I used the same gutloading mix I used to use when I did sugar glider rescues, hopefully its ok (ground up dog food and ground up enriched cereal for the dry and fruit/veg for the wet). I picked up calcium and vits for dusting.

Temp in the early morning (which is the coldest time in my house) is 70F at the bottom and 74F at the top. Temp in the afternoon is 74F at the bottom and 78F at the top. I'm not sure what the temp is on the basking branch, but have to assume its at least several degrees warmer. Humidity sits at about 75% before I spray (twice a day) and goes up after I spray of course. Heat and humidity can be hard to come by in a Colorado winter, so if I need to I can put plexi over part of the screen top.

I read the caresheets and set the viv up as best as I could from that -- but would very much appreciate some feedback (positive or negative) from those more expert than myself since I've never done this before.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[natanitelite]

I guess it would help if I attached a photo.

[cliff_f]

Here is a care sheet that might help you out some. Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)