My first leopard geckos, how to raise the tank temp?

[Heidi15461]

Please Help me with the right tempature....

1 week as of today I bought my first set of leopard geckos. I bough them as a breeding pair from a reptile expo. I was looking for something easy to take care of and something that my sons could enjoy too. I already had the basic tank set up from prev. having a kingsnake. I have a 40 gal tank. After cleaning it very well to get any snake smell out of it, I got the leos. I have the tank set up with the reptile carpet on the bottem, they have 2 hides..1 on the warm side one on the cool. I made a humid hide for them out of a Glad plastic bowl, lined w moist paper towels. For lighting I have the Rzilla light that holds the red, blue, and white bulbs. I turn the blue and white on during the day and the red on at night (hoping to produce a little more heat) I also bought a UTH and have it on the warm side. It seems like I have the basics taken care of. The problem I am having its getting the temp in the tank up..I have a digital thermo. in there and if I put it on the side of the tank the air temp is 83 but if I put it on the floor of the tank it goes to 86. From reading many other posts I know it has to be like 90 in there but how can I get the temp up? Both geckos seem to be eating well I've been keeping a small bowl of mealworms in there and about 3 times a weeks put some crickets in there too. They are going to the bathroom fine also (or so it seems) they move around fine. But I have noticed that in the last week since I got them that my males tail and body has gotten a little skinnier. Ok thats my story here are my questions 1..what else can I do to get the temp up to where it needs to be...2..should I be worried about the weight loss or could it be from moving into a new habitat..please help, I'm trying to be a good leo owner!!

 

[Allee Toler]

1. Moving can be stressful.
2. They don't need white lights.
3. To up the temp, up the wattage on the red and blue bulbs. Temps should be 90-95 on one side, floor temp. Digital thermometer directly on the floor. Not a dial thermometer.
4. The male is significantly smaller than the female. There can be food competition. With such a size difference, even if they were both female, I'd suggest housing individually until they're full grown. If his poo is runny, or any of their poo is runny, take a sample to the vets it can be parasites.
5. Did you quarantine at all? Did they come from the same breeder? If not from the same source you really should of quarantined both for 60 days to make sure none of them had parasites.

 

[Heidi15461]

I bought them both from the same breeder, they were in the same container and they told me that they were a proven pair. The male is actually the bigger one in the pic. It just seems to me that he has lost weight, I can tell his tail has gotten a little skinnier. I've watched them eat and it doesnt seem like one is bullying the other in anyway although i dont watch them all night. Their poop isnt runny so I dont think they have parasites although I'm not a pro at this yet. But they seem fine there. Although the male seems to have lost some weight he is actually the more active of the two. He moves around like he's watching everything. She just stays in the warm hide or the humid hide. But I have seen them eat and drink. I just didnt know if I should be worry about the weight loss or give it a little more time to adjust? Also will the white light hurt the leos, I know they dont really need it, it turns on w the same switch as the blue (but of course I can take it out )I just thought maybe it was helping put off a little more heat for them...thanks for replying so fast btw..

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I would ditch all of the lights and use a CHE (ceramic heat element). You'll get a much longer life span out of it than with those silly red and blue bulbs and you can leave it on all the time because it puts off no light. It'll save on your electric bill as well. Attach it to an inexpensive thermostat (like all heating devices should be IMO), and you won't have to be turning things on and off all of the time.

 

[Heidi15461]

If I buy the ceramic light, what wattage should I use for a 40g tank? As right now, today. The digital gauge says thats its 92.4 degrees and 32% humidity. Is that good? But at different times of the days the temp is different. When I woke this morning it was at 90 and then around noon it was at 83...could I need a new temp gauge, or should it change like that?

 

[panthergecko]

thats a dial?
thats air temp if dial you should buy a temp gun i hear they work wonders

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

If I buy the ceramic light, what wattage should I use for a 40g tank? As right now, today. The digital gauge says thats its 92.4 degrees and 32% humidity. Is that good? But at different times of the days the temp is different. When I woke this morning it was at 90 and then around noon it was at 83...could I need a new temp gauge, or should it change like that?

Get a decent sized ceramic heat element. A thermostat will control the heat for you and keep everything at the proper temps so you don't have to worry about in continuously.