New to cat geckos

[aragin08]

Hello,

I have been considering getting into cat geckos for quite some time, I have experience with leopard geckos, white lined geckos, and a whole slew of Rhacodactylus. I have read through most of the threads on these guys hear (as many suggested to other beginners) After reading through the posts I came out with a couple of questions

1, I know that tap water is no good with these guys but if you used tap water in a tank before, would the hard water stains be any kind of problem, also if you were to put soil in a tank for these guy and it had been moistened previously with tap water, should wait for it to completely dry out before placing it in the vivarium?

2, I was planning on using a digital hydrometer/ thermometer used for a house from home depo this is very similar to what I planned on using Amazon.com: Acu Rite Indoor Humidity Monitor: Home & Kitchen

3, I have a setup prepared for when the time comes, just needs a bit more cork bark but I was wondering if it is close to the mark at all

I am not sure if it it is visible but there are 2 potho plants in there, and that is the humidity without misting it down. I am on the upstairs floor of my house and in the summer I plan on moving the little guy down in the basement if it gets too warm. Also the digital hydrometer and thermometer I mentioned above is the same one that is in there right now, is it okay to have one in there like that, it isn't rough or anything with no sharp parts so I think it is okay, but it is always safe to ask

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback. All the best.

Sean

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

your enclosure looks great and shouldn't be an issue. No worries about the old hard water stains or tap water in the soil. The important thing is the water that they drink (and misted with). The thermometer should be fine living in there as long as it doesn't get wet enough to short it out. That would be my biggest concern.

 

[aragin08]

thank you for the reply, glad that the tank will work okay, but to note it is staying at 84% humidity constantly without misting, is that an okay constant humidity level or should there be a gradient going on from like 70- 90 throughout the day. I could lower the humidity if needed as I have shrink wrap over the top of the cage and I could partially open up the top

Also, the temp is staying around 66, I was wondering if at that ambient temperature if it would be appropriate to add a small low wattage light to get one spot into the high 70s perhaps, or is that not really necessary. I remember reading that a lot of people set up heat gradients for all of there animals, thats why I was wondering

As for the hydrometer, it is meant to be placed outside so I assume that it should be okay

Thanks again for the reply, good to see I am not far off the mark

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

You will want to mist daily as this is how/when they tend to drink. So, adjust your humidity to work with at least one, if not two daily mistings. Keep in mind that although you want it humid, you don't not want the ground to be in a constant state of wetness.

If you're going to put any sort of light or heat source on them, make certain that it is on a thermostat to ensure that it doesn't get too hot. These guys are not very tolerant of long term mistakes like a crested gecko or leopard gecko might be. So it's important to keep things as "dialed in" as possible.

 

[aragin08]

Okay I switched the room it is inn and let in more ventilation, now the humidity is at around 70(without misting and relatively dry soil) so it will spike up to probably 80s when I mist now, allowing for a fluctuation (which if they are like most other species I know of, is a good thing) and the cage is a 70 F now, bit closer to optimum 72 so hopefully this will work, now all I have to do is find a nice cb or ltc cat gecko and I am set (I hope) thanks for all of your help so far on this matter

 

[aragin08]

Okay so I have not gotten the gecko yet, have been trying to nail down the humidity a little better, because when I mist it jumps all the way up to 99% (and this is only a moderate misting) but then drops to 70 by the morning, is that okay, or is it to humid, The cage is not staying constantly wet, but I am worried with such a high initial spike, I remember the care sheet saying for occasional spikes into 90s being okay but thats it thanks again for all the help so far

Sean

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

That should be fine on the humidity end. Temps are the most important thing to worry about with these guys. They cannot tolerate spikes in temps well. Also, make sure to use quality water...either distilled or reverse osmosis.

 

[aragin08]

Thank you so much for the speedy reply, I have switched to using distilled water in gallon jugs from my local pharmacy, until I can find a good RO machine, by the way, how much would I need to pay for one of those I remember you saying in a previous post you paid 100 dollars. as for temps, my room has been staying 68-72 so that should be good, in the summer it may rise as much as 77, but if it goes any higher than that I can move the little guy into the basement, which I don't think would be a problem

 

[geckogurl21]

Sounds like a good plan! Have a few leopard geckos now, I'm interested in eventually keeping some more arboreal, humidity-loving geckos. Just found out about Cat geckos the other day- the way they curl their tails is so unique. Good luck with everything, and keep us posted if you can =]

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Yeah, I paid around $100 for mine. I'd assume there's cheaper ones out there and I know there's more expensive ones out there. Mine is required being hooked up to the kitchen sink. But only very basic plumbing is involved. Anyone could do it. Check out your local Home Depot type store. Make sure that ti specifically says that it does RO.

 

[GEXX]

Sweet set up! :banana: I just got my first pair of cats today! That's the look I went for in my enclosure (minus the fancy thermometer). looks perfect! post some pics of the new kitties when you get them.

 

[aragin08]

Thanks for the feedback, sadly the fancy thermometer didn't work so well so I just am using the normal probed exoterra gauges

Also given that the breeder never got back to me, It looks like I will be having an empty tank of awhile (fine by me I could always use a spare predecorated cage)