Jennifer1
New member
My teenage daughter came home with a leopard gecko she bought on impulse yesterday. I could strangle her because she did no research on it before hand, and just relied on the Petsmart employee to tell her what she needed & how to care for it (shudder).
So, I have tried to do some research myself because I don't want the poor thing to die, but my time is very limited as I also have a very sick cat to deal with. Everything I have read has me very confused about the proper way to light & heat the habitat, but I'm pretty sure what she has is not right.
They sold her this Zilla brand "Basic Desert Kit" that came with a 10gal terrarium, screen, 2-5" dome lights, 1 50W white incandescent bulb, 50W black incandescent bulb, liner, and cheap temp & humidity gauge, cave, & water dish.
I know she will have to upgrade to a larger tank if the gecko lives long enough, but is this size good enough for the first year? I am mostly concerned about the lighting/heating. She has one light on each side of the tank was told to have the white light on all day, and the black light on at night. I wonder if this is right? The temperature guage is stuck on the back wall, right in the center and reads only 70 degrees F (30% humidity), which is the ambient temp in the room, so it seems like the light is not providing much heat. I told her to go buy an under-tank heating pad after school today, and thermometers that can read the temp on each side, close to the surface.
Any advice on heating/lighting specifics would be greatly appreciated (or anything else for that matter)! Will adding the UTH be enough, or do we need different lights? I have only had cats & gerbils, so I know nothing at all about keeping reptiles. She gave him 3 crickets last night, which he promptly ate, and he pooped sometime during the night. He has just been hiding in the deepest corner of his cave all day though. I told her she went about this all backwards, that she should have researched & set up the habitat and made sure the temp was correct & stable first!
So, I have tried to do some research myself because I don't want the poor thing to die, but my time is very limited as I also have a very sick cat to deal with. Everything I have read has me very confused about the proper way to light & heat the habitat, but I'm pretty sure what she has is not right.
They sold her this Zilla brand "Basic Desert Kit" that came with a 10gal terrarium, screen, 2-5" dome lights, 1 50W white incandescent bulb, 50W black incandescent bulb, liner, and cheap temp & humidity gauge, cave, & water dish.
I know she will have to upgrade to a larger tank if the gecko lives long enough, but is this size good enough for the first year? I am mostly concerned about the lighting/heating. She has one light on each side of the tank was told to have the white light on all day, and the black light on at night. I wonder if this is right? The temperature guage is stuck on the back wall, right in the center and reads only 70 degrees F (30% humidity), which is the ambient temp in the room, so it seems like the light is not providing much heat. I told her to go buy an under-tank heating pad after school today, and thermometers that can read the temp on each side, close to the surface.
Any advice on heating/lighting specifics would be greatly appreciated (or anything else for that matter)! Will adding the UTH be enough, or do we need different lights? I have only had cats & gerbils, so I know nothing at all about keeping reptiles. She gave him 3 crickets last night, which he promptly ate, and he pooped sometime during the night. He has just been hiding in the deepest corner of his cave all day though. I told her she went about this all backwards, that she should have researched & set up the habitat and made sure the temp was correct & stable first!
