Is my tank ready for a leopard gecko?

[Sitting_duck]

Going to buy an adult leopard gecko soon.

I do not have any pictures, but my description will tell you enough.

20 gallon long
Half slate on bottom, half playsand.
Slate portion has UTH under it, bringing temps to 90F.
Water dish, feeding dish (escape proof).
The cool side of tank is 83F.
Moist hide on the cool side
Hide in the middle
Hide on the hot side
I have calcium/d3 powder.

Is there anything else I need?

 

[DecoGeckos]

It sounds pretty good to me, all except for the play sand. Sand CAN be dangerous. I would eliminate that all together. If you are looking for an easy clean up, paper towels work wonders

 

[Sitting_duck]

I know people say looks or dead lizard, but honestly, I hate the look of paper towels, can I just cover it all with slate/tile?

Also, I've heard about alot of people housing adults on sand, so that's sort of where I got my influence from, since I'm only buying a leo once I find an adult.

Do I need "multivitamins" or something like that? or will the calcium/d3 work?

 

[DecoGeckos]

Lol tile or slate would be fine, but I found those to get really cold when no heat is on them. It's all about personal choice! I have a rack system, so paper towels it is.

I use Repashy Calcium Plus, so it has vitamins and everything mixed in, and I've yet to have a problem with that. There is a lot of debate on supplement schedules. Before I had the Calcium Plus, I would "shake and bake" my feeders every night with calcium, but I think 2 nights a week I used a vitamin dust.

 

[Sitting_duck]

alright thanks, is 93F to hot? THats how how it is now, but it's only in a 5 by 5 inch radius..

And if it is, how would I cool it down?

 

[DecoGeckos]

alright thanks, is 93F to hot? THats how how it is now, but it's only in a 5 by 5 inch radius..

And if it is, how would I cool it down?

I would not let it get any hotter than that at all, and UTH have a tendency to do so. I would be using a thermostat or rheostat with it. I had a Zoo Med UTH that went up to 110 degrees without the rheostat.

 

[Sitting_duck]

What does a rheostat do, and how much do they cost?

Should I leave the UTH on all night when I get the gecko, or turn it off every night?

 

[leogirl16]

i wouldnt use sand because of the possiblity of the gecko ingesting it and getting impacted. and be careful with calcium D3, to much can hurt, rather than help. i use repti calcium w/o D3(you can also use Reptivite w/o D3, or jurassical) in a small dish in my leos cages and i also dust their food with it, and i use reptical w/D3 dusted on their food once a week to every other week. but those to things asdie your setup sounds good.
heres what can happen if you use any kind of sand with a leopard gecko,Leopard Gecko Sand Impaction
people think leopard geckos run around on the hot sand of Pakistan, when in reality, they live on clay and hard rocks. they think that sand makes the tank look narturalistic and cool/pretty, but they dont take into considerartion, would this hurt or kill my leopard gecko?
but i've learned people do what they want, i cant tell you not to use sand, but it could and most likely would hurt you gecko in the future.

 

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Id use repti-sand over the play sand .

 

[Sitting_duck]

I guess you would...

 

[BuddytheLeo]

I used sand before and it irritated him and caused his hemipenis to scab and it wouldn't go back into the fold of his skin, had to put ointment on him for 6 weeks. now i use a plain white paper towels and cut it perfect for the tank and it looks just fine.

Just saying what happend to buddy when i used sand.

 

[Gragar]

alright thanks, is 93F to hot? THats how how it is now, but it's only in a 5 by 5 inch radius..

And if it is, how would I cool it down?

mine gets that high to and my gecko loves it
for some reason he loves it when its 92-94

 

[phearamedusa]

I've used sand, paper towel, slate, loose rock and even plain old cactus soil. I'm currently using slate and soil(very small area, and has live plants in it). Some geckos like to dig and this will let them. Everyone is against repti or calci sand because it can encourage your gecko to ingest it for the additional calcium, play sand on the other hand won't encourage this behavior. If you don't plan to feed in this tank, than its a moot point, but the choice is yours. If you do use sand, just keep an eye on the gecko and if problem occurs be prepared to do what's necessary.