Lygodactylus Williamsi new setup questions..

getmealemon · #1 10-19-2010, 09:26 AM

Hi all, brand new to the forum and after some advice.

In a weeks time i will be getting some electric blue geckos, one male and one female.

I have setup my tank already but have a few questions. The setup so far is a 18"X18"X24X exo terra. Lighting is both exo terra repti glo 5.0 and a 2.0. As for heating i've got a night glo 40W moonlamp mounted just above the viv.

My first question relates to temps. Currently the basking spot is 90F which is ideal, but the rest of the tank only measures 75F(I've read it should be into the 80's). At night time with everything off the tank drops to about 68F(live in UK). Is this going to be too cold? Should i stick a small heatmat to the side wall of the viv to raise the ambient temp slightly? I'm aware you should drop the temps at night which is why i don't want to keep the night glo on.

My second question relates to probably my biggest mistake so far. The viv is planted with top soil and eco earth as a substrate however i didnt start with a layer of stones or similiar to allow for drainage. Is this likely to be a big problem? If so it's best for me to rectify before i get the little blighters.

Apologies for the lengthy post!

Chris
(There may or may not be a pic attached of current setup...newbie!)

hexentanz · #2 10-19-2010, 12:05 PM

How many watts is your 5.0 and 2.0? Are they T8 tubes or compact florescents?

I would in all honesty ditch the moonlamp for a 20-35w halogen lamp.

getmealemon · #3 10-19-2010, 12:54 PM

Both the 5.0 and 2.0 are 26W each. Yes they are the compact flourescents.

I have a Sun Glo 50W daylight spot that isn't currently being used. Would this be ok in conjunction with a dimmer stat ofcourse?

Any thoughts on the night time temp drop to 68F? Do i need some heat at night of are they okay going down to this overnight?

Many thanks for your help

Chris

Chum · #4 10-19-2010, 02:22 PM

I am wondering why your terrarium is getting that far down - how hot do you have it in the room the terrarium is in? I mean 68F is 20C and that would be a minimum for me to have as indoor temp.

with 20C as indoor temp the terrarium would not get that cold at night, some heat will be held in there. I would guess 21-22C which I would say was fine. 20C is probably fine too - but can't say I have tried it.

An easy way to increase temperature as well as humidity is to cover some of the screen top of the terrarium. I assume you only have one exo-terra lamp on. the other half of the screen you can cover with something - or you could buy a second lamp and use that as cower (not nessesarily with bulps in it)

hexentanz · #5 10-19-2010, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by getmealemon

Both the 5.0 and 2.0 are 26W each. Yes they are the compact flourescents.

I have a Sun Glo 50W daylight spot that isn't currently being used. Would this be ok in conjunction with a dimmer stat ofcourse?

Any thoughts on the night time temp drop to 68F? Do i need some heat at night of are they okay going down to this overnight?

Many thanks for your help

Chris

I am not really a fan of the Sun/Night glo bulbs, as they usually make things too warm, not to mention they are quite costly in the long run over a halogen lamp.

With the heat at night, it really depends where the 68F is located, if at the bottom of the tank that is fine. Middle should be warmer with the top being warmest.

As far as soil goes btw (totally forgot to answer this before) you should be fine with what you have so long as the potting soil contained no fertilizer. You should also mix in a little fine sand (but not too much!!), Lygo's in my experience do best with a sandy/soil mix as it forms the best structure for grabbing prey off the ground without a mouthful of junk.

getmealemon · #6 10-20-2010, 07:58 AM

Thanks for the replies. When i looked at the temps this morning (5am) it was 71F. I have two digital temp probes one near the bottom of the tank and one near the top. The top one was only like .2F warmer.

Does anybody use a heat mat on the side of the tank just for a bit of background heat or are people generally happy with no extra heat overnight?

What temps are your viv's at night and is that just achieved through room temps.

Is there a particular brand of halogen light you can recommend?

hexentanz · #7 10-21-2010, 05:41 AM

*sigh* I wanted to check the night temps in my tanks for you last night but got sidetracked. Getting old sucks. :P

I've never heard of anyone using a heatmat or cable on their Lygo tanks here in Europe.

I use these from Lucky Reptile E.N.T. Terrarientechnik - Lucky Reptile Halogen Sun LV "Wärmestrahler", 20 Watt Lucky Reptile Halogen Sun LV "Wärmestrahler", 20 W, 12 Volt LR63431 , previously I used the Halogen Sun Mini's (which are the same size as the others, just these screw in). As ballast I went with one from Osram and saved quite a bundle.

hexentanz · #8 10-23-2010, 05:16 AM

Ok. I checked things out for you and the bottom of my tanks are 22C in the night, with 24C towards the top.

My house is kept between 23-25C in cooler months as I hate the cold. :P

Chum · #9 10-23-2010, 08:05 AM

Not to be an ass, but Maureen I highly doubt your room temperature can be 23-25C when your terrarium temperature is 22 at the bottom, I mean what should cool it down to that?

Though I guess if you have the terrarium standing up against a cold wall it could be cooler in the terrarium than in the house.

I just checked my minimum temp 4" from the top and that was 22C for the last week or so.
My room temp is just below 21C at the moment. I had actually thought that there would be a bigger difference between terrarium temperature and room temperature.

The geckos seem fine with this.

hexentanz · #10 10-23-2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chum

Not to be an ass, but Maureen I highly doubt your room temperature can be 23-25C when your terrarium temperature is 22 at the bottom, I mean what should cool it down to that?

Though I guess if you have the terrarium standing up against a cold wall it could be cooler in the terrarium than in the house.

I just checked my minimum temp 4" from the top and that was 22C for the last week or so.
My room temp is just below 21C at the moment. I had actually thought that there would be a bigger difference between terrarium temperature and room temperature.

The geckos seem fine with this.

The terrarium is against a wall. Also a room does not contain a lot of moisture where as a terrarium does nor is a room made of glass.