9darlingcalvi
New member
I was thinking making some burrows, terraces, and ledges for the gecko to explore
Leopard gecko vs African fat tail gecko
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Zux
New member
That will all work well.
A word of warning however, ensure you dont make a hide which you will not be able to clean in the event your Gecko chooses to use it as its new toilet spot, it would be very annoying to have to break apart your work with the clay if that happened !
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Have you seen this thorough thread by [MENTION=57273]swisswiss[/MENTION] which shares his creation of a vivarium using excavator clay?
Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...wisss-terrarium.html?highlight=excavator+clay
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Zux
New member
Jungle Dawn LED : Arcadia Reptile
Here you are, I purchase mine from https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-jungle-dawn-led/
The American Distributor is Tom at Arcadia UV Lighting | Solarmeters | Light Fixtures | Jungle Dawn LED |
Please note, the JD's are very bright producing a crisp light remarkably similar to daylight and so correct wattage should be used as-well suitable hides and decor be provided to allow the Gecko complete retreat from the light during daylight hours as per the 'Light and Shade' method of lighting vivaria.
Here you are, I purchase mine from https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-jungle-dawn-led/
The American Distributor is Tom at Arcadia UV Lighting | Solarmeters | Light Fixtures | Jungle Dawn LED |
Please note, the JD's are very bright producing a crisp light remarkably similar to daylight and so correct wattage should be used as-well suitable hides and decor be provided to allow the Gecko complete retreat from the light during daylight hours as per the 'Light and Shade' method of lighting vivaria.
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Zux
New member
They are 4x2x2 Wooden Vivariums, the dimensions need not be that large however, the most important thing is that the Gecko has places to retreat to as part of the 'Light and Shade' method of lighting, the effect of these LED's is similar to daylight on a clear day, so nothing that will ever harm a Gecko, but would certainly be disturbing if they for any reason had nowhere to hide from the light.
I should have mentioned that initially rather than highlighting enclosure size thinking back, so apologies for that, the comment is now corrected.
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9darlingcalvi
New member
Still staying with the T8, going to work on the screen lid this weekend with my grandpa, keep everyone posted
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Which enclosure have you decided upon? If it's the 30 x 12 x 12 inch enclosure, I'd definitely get an 11 x 17 inch UTH. Flukers and Ultratherm make that size.
Make sure the Excavator Clay layer is thin right over the UTH.
Zux
New member
Leopard Geckos actually do bask and are known to actively seek UVB and heat via the suns rays in fact, they merely do this at a different time of the day and in a more controlled manner than other species such as Bearded Dragons for example.
It is another a common misconception that belly heat is what they use to digest, that is not the case either, the only thing which enables proper digestion in any living creature is core body temperature, belly heat, or any other direction of heat for that matter merely aids in achieving this. With that said, it is still my feeling that heat meats and as such heat from below are the absolute best option for most Leo's and their setups.
Leopard Geckos, as I have discussed with you previously are not nocturnal creatures which find light very uncomfortable, they sleep during the periods of most light certainly, they are evolved to do so, but this does not mean we should remove light from their lives, doing so has serious consequences for their long-term well being.
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Zux
New member
If you intend to use the T8 for lighting only, that will work fine.
If you intend for it to be for UVB provision however and as such drop the supplemental D3 from the diet then you will need to know the brand, strength, age and approximate distance from the bulb to the back of the animal before settling on any one product.
9darlingcalvi
New member
It's just for lighting purposes, started a build thread
Zux
New member
A window can 'sometimes' be sufficient to create some level of a day / night in rare cases. For most situations however, to provide any reasonable level of light which will be recognized and help maintain circadian rhythms a light of sufficient brightness is required.
Heat mats do help with digestion and that was indeed part of what you said, though not at all the message, unless I am consistently misunderstanding your posts.
Crepuscular is very different to being nocturnal which is why it has a separate designation, the advice to keep Leopard Geckos without light or only with very dim light stems from the initial thinking that they were nocturnal creatures.
Like I mentioned to you elsewhere, that is now thinking over two decades old and needs to be moved on from, much like the issues surrounding loose substrates causing impaction and so on.
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Zux
New member
If by proof you mean a picture of a Wild Leopard Gecko outside during times when the sun is still out you can just google that, if you mean valid scientific observation there are many papers documenting such and you can enjoy reading those too.
However, if you can just try to think beyond Rebeccas You-tube channel for just a moment and ask yourself if these concepts you seem so sure of actually make any sense, if you know they are crepuscular, which means you know they are active at times when the sun is still present, then what do you think they are doing during that time?
They are basking and absorbing the last of the rays with skin which has evolved to be exponentially more effective than even diurnal reptiles at doing so, nobody in the wild is providing them with high concentrations of synthetic D3 and so they synthesize this themselves via the skin by means of basking at appropriate times as they have evolved to do.
I am not telling you they dont lie on rocks for the warmth, they absolutely do, what I am telling you is they will not spontaneously combust when exposed to light and they actually need/use it every evening/morning.
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Zux
New member
Keeboard, I am not going to go looking for the many pieces of evidence one can find to support what I am saying and then link those here for you.
Perhaps, instead, you could just think about what I am saying?
- You know they need must obtain UVB in the wild just as much as any other Reptile, they are evolved to have thin layers of skin/scales which enable them to do this in low strength sunlight because those are the hours they are most active.
- You know they are not nocturnal.
I am really struggling to understand your point if I'm honest, do you mean you feel their classification as crepuscular is wrong and that they are in fact nocturnal creatures who do not bask?
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