Heating tips for a 10 gallon tank?

[Gecko Newbie]

This morning was my first post and I've spent most of the day browsing through all the other posts on the site. I've learned so much!! You are all so helpful! I have a few more questions, though (being the newbie that I am).

I just got a 10 gallon tank so I could separate my male and female leopard geckos (they were were given to me in one 20 gallon tank by a parent of a student at school - they were not well taken care of, so I'm fixing that!). I do NOT want baby geckos, so while my students may think Lola and her un-named male friend were buddies and may miss each other, I'd much rather not have Lola "barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen" her whole life. (And I read that they are solitary animals, so they should be just fine apart, right?)

NOW...Mr. Gecko (I can't think of a name for him...the little boy who had him named him Ironman, but I can't live with that...) will be moving into the 10 gallon tank. I'm confused on how to have a cool side and a hot side in such a small tank if only 1/4 of the tank should be covered by an under tank heater. ALSO, I really like the way sand looks, but everyone keeps saying sand is bad. SO, for the sake of my geckos, I'd like to switch out the sand, but don't like the idea of paper towels or newspaper... What's the rock situation? How do you scoop out the poop if it's in rocks?

I would love to have a naturalistic vivarium, but on my teacher's salary that won't be happening any time soon....plus I'm worried about how to clean all that stuff.....

Anyone have any helpful hints for creating a heat gradient in my new 10 gallon tank? Or any other helpful comments on anything I said in my long post (which was not as long as my first...).

Thanks so much!

 

[ColdBlooded]

Slate or textured porcelain tile works wonderfully. You don't scoop the poop, you just pick it up with a piece of paper towel or a wipe of some sort (I use lysol wipes). You could also use Repticarpet or a low pile outdoor carpet (can be found at places like Lowes or Home Depot..works just as well as repticarpet and is cheaper).

As far as UTH heating goes, a small UTH provides a great heat gradient in a 10 gallon tank. I have several 10 gallons heated by the small Exo-Terra desert UTHs and have no problems. I DO use a rheostat to regulate the temperatures because unregulated some UTHs can run as high as 115 F. Keep the hot spot around 90-97F for proper digestion and leave the rest of the tank at room temperature. No lights are needed.

Good luck

 

[Supreme Gecko]

Gecko Newbie (by the way, it won't be too long before you will need to change that name to Gecko Expert with the good questions you are asking),
For heat- you can certainly go with an UTH (under the tank heater). Make sure you get one that is rated for 10 gallon tanks. Do not use a heat rock. As well, I've seen some folks use low wattage light bulbs in canisters, however this does not provide as defined of a temp gradiance as the UTH.
Sand- you are really stirring it up now I keep all my leopards over paper towel/bare bottom. You certainly do not want to put younger leopard geckos over sand, this is just too risky. Also, for leopard geckos, including a small dish of supplements in the enclosure greatly reduces the risk of impaction (as the gecko is less likely to lick the substrate to satisfy their need for vitamins and minerals). It is really your call with adults. Some keepers do keep their animals over sand and have had no issues. Others would say that they have had terrible experiences with sand as a substrate. This is one of the most controversial topics in keeping leopards.

 

[acpart]

Some of this is repeating what others ahve said so I'll try to keep it short:

Substrate: ceramic tile is great and looks natural. You can add pieces of slate to increase the natural look

Poop: figure out where his corner is and then put a 4" bathroom tile there. He'll poop on the tile, you can lift it out, scrape it off and return it.

Heat: I've found that the zoo-med mini UTH (rated for 1-5 gallons) when used with ceramic tiles keeps the hot area at about 92 without a thermostat.

Aliza

 

[Gecko Newbie]

Geckos Unlimited is a life-saver!

Wow! You are all so speedy to reply and so very helpful!! Thank you so much!

I'm headed out to look at tile!

P.S. Are there Gecko Anonymous sites for people who become obsessed with their geckos?? I think I'm fast tracking it with the amount of time I spend googling everything related to leopard geckos......... I can't seem to read my fill about these guys! :lol:

 

[colleen0904]

Wow! You are all so speedy to reply and so very helpful!! Thank you so much!

I'm headed out to look at tile!

P.S. Are there Gecko Anonymous sites for people who become obsessed with their geckos?? I think I'm fast tracking it with the amount of time I spend googling everything related to leopard geckos......... I can't seem to read my fill about these guys! :lol:

Haha, you sound like me. I have been googling non-stop since I got my little leo. They are fascinating little creatures! I am a bit of an animal freak though, I belong to a forum for just about every type of pet I own, lol. Dog forums, cat forums, fish, gecko, etc... My boyfriend makes fun of me and says I spend more time on the compyet and with the animals than I do with him. :lol:

 

[Gecko Newbie]

Significant others vs geckos

Haha! Yup.... My boyfriend just chuckled at me because I'm on the forum "AGAIN." Oh well... :biggrin: