Warm hide temperature help and general info

[Martellone]

I'm sorry but i don't know why on my smartphone don't show all messages.
Yes, in my city and near the place where i work there are reptiles breeder that sell insects all year.
Now i have Blatta lateralis, Blaptica dubia, mealworms ( i have read the guide in the forum to limit the use and preferably use small or white one or pupa) and this evening i have to pick 100 small crickets because i finished them.

I didn't find, or it escaped me, at what ages (months) you go from baby to juvenile to adult. I'm relying on a guide I found here in Italy that defines baby 0-6 months, juvenile 6-11, from 12 adults. So now being 5 months and a week old I'm still feeding her 6 days a week. I will then decrease to every other day from the sixth month.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Kudos to YOU, Martellone!
Your leo has a year-round source of bugs & worms!
Have you been able to buy a wholesome DRY food to feed to the bugs & worms 24/7 + carrots?
A well-fed bug is then eaten by your well-fed gecko.

You found an excellent GROWTH chart for leopard geckos:
"0-6 months = baby
6-11 months = juvenile
12 months & older = adults

So now being 5 months and a week old I'm still feeding her 6 days a week. I will then decrease to every other day from the sixth month."

 

[Martellone]

Kudos to YOU, Martellone!
Your leo has a year-round source of bugs & worms!
Have you been able to buy a wholesome DRY food to feed to the bugs & worms 24/7 + carrots?
A well-fed bug is then eaten by your well-fed gecko.

You found an excellent GROWTH chart for leopard geckos:
0-6 months = baby
6-11 months = juvenile
12 months & older = adults

So now being 5 months and a week old I'm still feeding her 6 days a week. I will then decrease to every other day from the sixth month.

Yes i found it (dry food for bugs and worms) yesterday in the shop of an italian geckos breeder. I note that Dubia and Lateralis love it because i give them 4 pellet yesterday evening and they already eat 3.

Thank you very much.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

You ARE welcome!
Your leo is lucky! She has a caring keeper!

Have you named your leo?

 

[Martellone]

Yes, Foxy

 

[Martellone]

Good morning Elizabeth,
I think she prefers to stay in the cold because after I moved her humid hide to the center in a warmer area she slept there for a day but yesterday she stayed all day in the cold hide to sleep and this morning she moved to sleep there again... during the day the cold hide is between 21.5 and 22.5°C.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi Martellone ~
What type thermometer do you use to measure temperatures in the cold hide: analog, digital, temperature gun., or other?
Which brand?

 

[Martellone]

Digital with a probe like the thermostat.

I buy it on Amazon, don't has a specific brand..but I buy 5 of this, 3 are the tort enclosure, and I calibrate all 5 with my home thermometer and only one was incorrect in the temp readings. The other 4, like the one that I use for Foxy, were all in the same range with a interval of +/- 0,2-0,3°C

 

[Martellone]

I'm return now at home and she is in cold hide..

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please share pictures of Foxy's 3 hides.

 

[Martellone]

Yesterday while we were both at work she went into the warm hide because I found a piece of wood moved..she's smart! Now she's back to always staying in the humid hide when we're at home. But the trust process is improving a lot. Now if I put my hand in the enclosure in the evening after a couple of minutes she climbs in calmly and even if I raise and lower my hand she stays up.

I don't have a photo where you can see the cold hide well... in the first one you can see it on the left. It's a bark

 

[Martellone]

In your opinion this kit that Arcadia gives safe up to 20 cm of distance, which I would have easily, could work? I found it in a German online shop

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Do you know how to circle Foxy's hides in your pictures? IF so, please help me by doing that?

Maybe Foxy does not like them?

 

[Martellone]

Do you know how to circle Foxy's hides in your pictures? IF so, please help me by doing that?

Maybe Foxy does not like them?

In order from left: warm hide, humid hide, cold hide. The last picture is the new warm hide that is arrived today. Whe choose to buy new warm hide because the actual in slate is very beautiful but every time we have to clean we have to rebuild it.

PS We bought a gun termometer too

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

In your opinion this kit that Arcadia gives safe up to 20 cm of distance, which I would have easily, could work? I found it in a German online shop

EDITED ~4:34 PM:

Your recent link says your CURRENT Arcadia image from the German shop is for ARBOREAL reptiles! Leopard geckos are SHADE DWELLING reptiles!

I don't know. That depends upon MANY things!
Your wooden enclosure = 77 x 35 x 33 cm TALL.
Otherwise that = 30.3 x 13.7 x 12.9 inches TALL.
20 cm = 7.9 inches [!!! Wow!]

1. Your Arcadia 12 inch UVB linear tube fixture will need to be relocated above the warm end (LEFT end), NOT in the center of Foxy's enclosure.
2. The basking heat bulb needs to be centered in the middle of the UVB linear tube & almost touching that tube.
3. All Arcadia's 12 inch UVB tubes need to be a relatively precise distance from your gecko.
4. You might need to cut a hole in the wooden ceiling to make that work.


5. This Arcadia fixture image says 'ARBOREAL reptiles'.
6. I 'think' the Arboreal reptiles 12 inch UVB linear tube is stronger than the initial ShadeDweller 12 inch UVB linear tube that you said was too expensive from a different shop.
7. Arcadia has more than one type 12 inch UVB tube.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Yesterday while we were both at work she went into the warm hide because I found a piece of wood moved..she's smart! Now she's back to always staying in the humid hide when we're at home. But the trust process is improving a lot. Now if I put my hand in the enclosure in the evening after a couple of minutes she climbs in calmly and even if I raise and lower my hand she stays up.

I don't have a photo where you can see the cold hide well... in the first one you can see it on the left. It's a bark

My female leopard gecko Cha's favorite hide was her warm HUMID hide. Her next favorite hide = her warm DRY hide.
I think I already mentioned this: She passed away July 2024 at 19 years old.

 

[Martellone]

I think you were right, that she didn't like the hide. Since last night I have put the new ExoTerra one as a warm dry hide and in fact she is there sleeping.

Arcadia website write that whit shadedweller minimum distance from basking point is 25 cm. But on basking point i have 25 cm, but on top of hide i have only 22. Is not dangerous?
At the same time Arcadia write that if you don't have at least 30 cm go for the shadedweller arboreal version(for leopard gecko too).

Shadedweller Arboral pro, in Arcadia opinion, is safe from 20cm, they write with 0,8 UVI.

I was also thinking about the mini t5 kit but I read on the forum that Frances Baines does not recommend it and shows that with my distances she successfully uses T8 neons without reflectors. So I was thinking, since believe me for the Shadedweller versions in Europe it is very difficult to find neons to replace, to take the ballsat and a short t8 neon among those recommended.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

1. "I think you were right, that she didn't like the hide. Since last night I have put the new ExoTerra one as a warm dry hide and in fact she is there sleeping."

I hope Foxy does NOT change her mind! I hope she loves her Exo Terra warm dry hide for a VERY long time!


2. "Arcadia website write that whit shadedweller minimum distance from basking point is 25 cm. But on basking point i have 25 cm, but on top of hide i have only 22. Is not dangerous?
At the same time Arcadia write that if you don't have at least 30 cm go for the shadedweller arboreal version(for leopard gecko too)."

/\ /\
A distance of ONLY 22 cm (7.9 inches) could be dangerous!
Would you use your 12 inch UVB linear tube withOUT a fixture/reflector?
Are you planning to RELOCATE the UVB linear tube (withOUT reflector) from the middle of Foxy's home to the warm end (RIGHT side)?


3. "Shadedweller Arboral pro, in Arcadia opinion, is safe from 20cm, they write with 0,8 UVI."

I'm happy that you've been able to get distance information + UVI information!!!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

One quickie:
Does Foxy's multivitamin contain pre-vitamin A acetate (retinol)? Not every multivitamin does contain retinol.
Once-a-week retinol containing multivitamin breading on all bugs or worms ensures Foxy will have healthy eyes & skin!
Make sure Foxy has fresh carrots several times weekly for pro-vitamin A (beta carotene). Orange-colored sweet potatoes are also a good beta carotene source!

 

[Martellone]

One quickie:
Does Foxy's multivitamin contain pre-vitamin A acetate (retinol)? Not every multivitamin does contain retinol.
Once-a-week retinol containing multivitamin breading on all bugs or worms ensures Foxy will have healthy eyes & skin!
Make sure Foxy has fresh carrots several times weekly for pro-vitamin A (beta carotene). Orange-colored sweet potatoes are also a good beta carotene source!

Yes, it has.

Do you mean to feed bugs with carrots? Because I don't know if Foxy eat something that is not an insect