Daylight!

[majahawt]

I know that a lot of caresheets and people say that you don't actually need any lighting for your gecko, but I gotta say getting some bulbs in the tank is the best thing I've ever done.

I originally just needed an infrared heat bulb to crank up the ambient temperature in the tank (I live in Scotland - not one of the warmest places) and I later decided to get a daylight heat bulb as well just to take the pressure of the infrared one. Our oldest gecko, Donut, is kind of a lazy guy but after I started switching the bulbs at regular times (daylight from about 10 am to 8 pm, infrared from 8 pm to around 1-2 am), he's gotten a lot more active! A proper day/night cycle seems to be doing him really good, and even though he spends all day in the shade of his hide, he can still see that it's daytime outside.

Instead of basically only coming out to eat, he'll now sit around outside, basking, and just watch us. It's awesome because not only is he happy, but I get to see him a lot more as well :3

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

+++ Leopard Geckos: overhead lighting too

:yahoo: for you, for Donut, and for Eclair. You've seen how the the daylight bulb improves Donut's activity!!!

What brand and strength of daylight bulb do you use? Enclosure size?

In November 2013 I added a 15 watt incandescent bulb housed inside a 5.5 inch dome overhead center to my leo's 30 x 12 x 12 inch enclosure. I have it dimmed to half power. It's on for about 10 hours per day. Since then my leo frequently hangs out under the silk palm tree in the center of her enclosure. I see her much more since I made that change.

^^^ Doing such adds to the natural daylight of the room.

It's a win-win situation for both of us.

 

[majahawt]

Their tank is about 30 gallon, so 15 gallons each. I got the Exo Terra daylight heating bulb (40 watts) because the UVB-rating is perfect for leopard geckos. I think the light it produces is gorgeous as well, it's nice to see what their colours are really like :3