Change tokay setup

TroyL

New member
I currently have my male tokay in a 30gallong aquarium. I also have a pair of leopard geckos in a 18x18x18 exoterra system. Being that my gecko only stays on the warm side of his big 30g. tank I was wondering If I bleached and cleand both cages If it would hurt to put the tokay in the 18x18x18 enclosure. I know the 24 tall is best. But would it hurt to keep him in the cube as an adult? I have not been able to get the cold side of the big cage up past 75degrees. The temp in the cube seems to stay high. The leopard dont need ambient as much as belly it seems. So I am wanting to flip flop there setups. This be a good or bad idea? any suggestions would be great.

Troy
 

Will3

New member
18"x18"x18" is WAY to small for a tokay, its barely big enough for a Crested gecko, there is this new Exo-Terra 36” x 18” x 36”, that would be a better size, since male tokays are 12-16" long as adults. keeping him in 18x18x18 is animal cruelty.
 

thehotchik1000

New member
I agree too small for an adult. I have an 18x18x 18 as a nursery for my babies. If you put the 30long on it's small end standing up that would actually work better for him. It would require a Little modification but it would work much better.
 

TroyL

New member
Yeah I ahve mine in a 35gallon custom made tank but I can't get the stupid temps up past 80 on the hot side. The cold side is like 70. Was hoping that the 18x18x18 would work. Oh well guess he is gonna stay where he is at.

Troy
 

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
Sounds like you just need to come up with a better heating set up, not a different enclosure. What are you using to try and heat with?
 

TroyL

New member
I just have screen top with a towel over most of it to hold heat in. Then I use a heat emmiter in a dome fixture on the scrren. I have been thinking I need a canopy that is solid so i can mount the emmiter in the top center. I have been trying to figure out what type of wood to use for the canopy top. I thought I read pine is toxic or something of the sort. My question is. Is it toxic if the animal does not come in contact with it? I plan on leaving the screen top so the animal can't come in contact with the emmiter or the day lamps That I am using. Any suggestions for the canopy build?

Troy
 

TroyL

New member
I think its a 100watt emmiter. The screen top is one of the ones you can buy in any local pet shop.

Troy
 

Frinta

New member
idk to me sounds rather sick to keep an tokay in an 18" tall, jesus the lizard itself is gigantic


i know you people from US keep your reptiles in a bit smaller cages

Im housing my tokay in an 24"x24"x40" and still feeling it could be bigger ;S
 

TroyL

New member
Will3 it is set directly ontop the metal mest op. The room temps are low. We keep our house 64-66F degrees.

Frinta we have moved passed the 18x18x18 tank he will not be moved to it. Trying to figure out how to raise the tank temps now.

Troy
 

Will3

New member
You need to raise roomtemp then, to 70 or something, how can you even live in those temps :S
 

TroyL

New member
You need to raise roomtemp then, to 70 or something, how can you even live in those temps :S

Will3 we keep the house at those temps because it makes the bills easier to pay. We have always kept our house at 65 ballparked. We are use to this room temp. I can wear shorts and go barefoot in my house at this temp. I can crank up the heat to 70 if you know of anyone that wants to kick in on the heating bill?:crackup:
In all seriousness tho. 64 is warm enough for the family and all the animals we do have... dogs, cats, large parrots, fish and of course the reptiles.

Troy
 

Will3

New member
Then you might need to add a heater on the "cold" side aswell, if the one on the hot side wont make it warm enough :/
 

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
Try a bigger CHE (heat emitter). They make 150 watt versions. Make sure you have your stuff on a thermostat though (safety first). As for your question about pine...it would be fine to make a canopy from pine. Seal it well with either paint or a non-toxic polyurethane so that moisture doesn't get to it and make it mildew and mold.
 
I prefer to use flexwatt to heat my enclosures when dealing with nonbasking species, I have yet to have a problem with geckos climbing onto the heated portions of the enclosure (usually the top rear for arboreal type enclosures).

With reduced open ventilation and this method of heat, I can very easily produce a mid 90s to 80degF gradient in a 20g vertical conversion aquarium through the day time in an area of the house that is never less than 72degF with a single section of 20w 11"x12" of the flexwatt I mentioned above.

Larger custom enclosures for older geckos in my case are 37.5g and use 11"x18" of flexwatt for heat at no more than 30w.

I am able to keep as much or as little humidity as I wish inside the enclosure with the use of an exhaust fan that runs off a humidistat. Without the fan humidity levels are nearly always 98% or above.

In most cases I keep the larger geckos single unless breeding, space has never been an issue in my experience. Though I do enjoy very large enclosures they are not always needed or practical.

It is important to always provide the correct temperatures, sometimes this means spending a bit more than you might like on heating the house or if possible a single dedicated reptile room.

I think reptiles in general are vastly more difficult to keep than any mammal, and considering that the species you are working with 60 anything is way too cool, certainly too low for the tokay. If a heating device were to fail, the temps would fall far below acceptable.

Maurice Pudlo
 
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