Phelsuma Grandis/Giant Day Gecko Habitat setup

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VWMK1

New member
Hi all, I've been researching giant day geckos for a while no, and I am in the process of buying on in the next month. Recently I've been looking g at uh lighting, and there seems to be a debate about which uh light to use. I already have a zoo med reptisun 10.0 uv light. Is this too much? I have 18-18-36 exo terra enclosure.

Thanks,
VWMK1
 
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acpart

Well-known member
I maintain my day geckos (don't have a P. grandis) with D3 supplements as opposed to UVB through the lighting, but I would imagine a 10.0 would be sufficient since the gecko will be up near the light. I use 10.0 for my beardie. You will also need a basking light. I use halogen puck lights that I get from Home Depot or equivalent. My day gecko feeding schedule is as follows:
Fruit nectar (I use Pangea) on Monday, Wed, Friday evenings (yes, I know they're not nocturnal, but I feed the Rhacs at the same time)
Crickets on Mon and Fri morning.

Aliza
 
V

VWMK1

New member
Many other people I've contacted said that a 10.0 is too strong for a day gecko. Are there any problems that can occur with too much uv
 
V

VWMK1

New member
If I were to go with a no uv setup, how would I feed and how often would I give the supplement?

Thank you very much for the info!
 
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acpart

Well-known member
There is a lot of info about this in Leann and Greg Christenson's book Day Geckos in Captivity published by Living Art Publishing (Leann is a forum member here). In short, the fruit nectar I use has calcium and D3 in it and I dust all the crickets with Repashy Calcium Plus which also contains both calcium and D3. My 2 oldest day geckos are 7 and 8 years old and doing well.

Aliza
 
V

VWMK1

New member
I also had a question about habitat setup. When I must the cage, what kind of water should I use.(distilled or spring?)I also plan to setup the cage with bamboo. The only problem is that I'm not sure where to buy bamboo poles. I've seen some at hardware stores and decor store. I'm not too sure about some though. They seem to have come resiny finish on Them.

Also for heating, I've been wondering what wattage to get. I have a 70w Heat bulb, but im not too sure of it is too hot. For might time heating, what should I use? I have a red 70 w night red light.

Thanks for all the help!!
 
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acpart

Well-known member
I mist with reverse osmosis water (like from a Britta filter) to avoid buildup on the glass. I use an infra red 50W bulb which I keep on all the time in the winter and not in the summer (this is for my P. laticauda). I get plain bamboo from garden stores.

Aliza
 
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VWMK1

New member
Is a 70w basking bulb too much heat for a P.Grandis? Also I was just reading a web page that said that a 10.0 if ltube light may be too much. Is this true?

What is a safe tank cleaner?

How much repashy/nectar sshould I feed?

How many crickets should I feed?

Any tips on setting up a live vivarium? I need help!

How do I clean up there feces? Isn't it kind of hard to find?
 
V

VWMK1

New member
Also for the bamboo, if I get it from a garden store, do I have to worry about mites and chemicals. Is there a way to clean them?
 
the moof

the moof

New member
To answer several points here: lack of UV can cause lots and lots of health problems. Too much UV can cause blindness.
Any store selling exotics (reptiles) should also sell bamboo. I would advise against buying it from a garden store if you can avoid it. You could probably drop the bamboo in a 5% bleach solution and then clean it thoroughly afterwards to make sure nothing bad is gonna come off of it. But no guarantees that way.
I really advise against infrared lighting of any kind for all reptiles. They can almost certainly see it, meaning that they are, in effect, not getting any darkness all night. This is a really unexplored side of the herpetocultural industry. But there aren't really better ways to heat overnight except for heating elements, and those are even more dangerous...
 
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