Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the tank is a 15 gal

i have 2 hides (moist and warm) and a ramp (technically its not a hide but iwas wondering if it could count as one, being so close to the ground). I am also not sure if the ramp is necessary at all, i thought it would give it some extra space to move around. If it is not needed i will just replace it with another hide i have recently made.

1 water dish ( i will soon recieve my calcium dish and a food dish, if they are necessary)

a uth but you cant see it

papaer towel substrate

and a screen top
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here is a picture:
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1001/img0001ag5.jpg

Looks good, the only thing that sticks out to me that's missing are thermometers & a tempature control device. I would place a Thermometer are each end of the cage so you know what the temps are on either side of the set-up.
The Under Tank Heat pads can run the cage to warm, especially in a set-up with paper towel substrate. So it would be important to use a temp control device in your set-up. There are several kinds of temp control devices on the market. The one I would recommend for your set-up is a simple on/off type thermeostat. The ones I like are the thermostats by Alife & ESU. There the same thing just with different stickers on them. They also have the ability to plug in up to three different heat sorces. Just in case later on you decide to add a heat lamp or something else it wouldn't need it's own termostat.

As for the question about the ramp, if the gecko can get in it or under it then it's a hide.
As for the calcium dish & food bowl, you will need them.

>>Looks good, the only thing that sticks out to me that's missing are thermometers & a tempature control device. I would place a Thermometer are each end of the cage so you know what the temps are on either side of the set-up.
The Under Tank Heat pads can run the cage to warm, especially in a set-up with paper towel substrate. So it would be important to use a temp control device in your set-up. There are several kinds of temp control devices on the market. The one I would recommend for your set-up is a simple on/off type thermeostat. The ones I like are the thermostats by Alife & ESU. There the same thing just with different stickers on them. They also have the ability to plug in up to three different heat sorces. Just in case later on you decide to add a heat lamp or something else it wouldn't need it's own termostat

I dont want to sound ignorant, but what is a temperature control device? Is it what it sounds like? Where would i be able to get some of this stuff? And p.s. i have a thermometer (didnt include it in picture on accident )

On the subject of food dish/calci dish: Would i really need a food dish if i planned on having mealies placed in the terrarium one at a time to feed my leo? And can i use the dish to hold both mealies/calcium? Also i was wondering if i should use calcium with d3 or without.

About the ramp: ive never really seen alot of terrariums with ramps in it, would you really think my animal would enjoy this? If not ill jsut put in another hide i had recently made.

Thanks

Yes a temperture control device is just what it sounds like. You can use either a thermostat or a reostat(which is like a dimmer switch). Personally I prefer thermostats over reostats.

As for the D3. I'm hesitant to touch that one because of all the contoversey on this forum when it comes to that subject. I'll just tell you what I use & it works great for me. I've been useing the Mineral I by Sticky Tounge Farms with great success. Now to put my head on the chopping block, yes it does have D3 in it. But compared to some of the other products containing D3, Mineral I has maybe a quarter or less the amont as the others. I just put it in the calcium dish & let the geckos self regulate themselves.

You can find the Thermostat & the Mineral I with many of the product suppliers on kingsnake. I get mine from the Bean Farm.

I would recommend useing the bowl.that way you can leave a decent amont of worms in there with the gecko & walk away. The bowl will also prevent the worms from hiding & feeding on any fecal matter in the cage. It's another one of those, It works for me deals.

I'd say use the ramp. The worst the gecko would do is not use it. Or it might become it's favorite toy in the cage. Let the gecko decide.

mineral 1: Ok, so because it has less d3 in it i should just take a little amount and leave it in the cage in a dish correct?

what would happen if i wre to use the calcium products without d3? 9do i need a herp multivitamin too?)

thanks

It's actually Mineral I(eye). I would have to look it up & refesh my memory but I believe the D3 helps in breaking down the calcium so the geckos body can utilize it. The Mineral I is kind of an all in one so there's a multi-vitamin already in it. Being a breeder I use the strait Mineral I in my calcium dishes because the gecks get a little depleted when breeding. With you being a hobbiest with one Leo & if you have any worry about a D3 overdose, you can always cut the Mineral I with pure calcium. I don't think it would be an issue.

ok so your final verdict for me would be to just use the mineral i pure calcium?

or to get the one with d3 in it?

either way do i need to add in any multivitamins?

p.s. have you ever tried using zoomed's new leopard gecko food? Its like this dried stuff that comes in a small plastic bottle. It says it needs water to activate.

Would you say that be a good "treat" for the animals? My brother and i kinda interested in the product because we want to hand feed the leo without touching any bugs.

thanks for replying to my thousands of topics

forgot to add:

i cant find this mineral i, i tried googling sticky tongue farms but it came up with a domain thats been canceled.

Also what do you mean by finding stuff on kingsnake.com to buy. I never know what ppl mean by buying on kingsnake.

As for the thermostat by alife, is it the 30.00 one on beanfarm.com?

Yes, the Alife therostate your looking at is the one I was talking about. That price sounds right, $30.00 The Bean Farm also carries the Mineral I. That's where I get it. I've also seen it in some stores.

As for shopping on Kingsnake.com. There's always the classified section & on the main page is a list of alot of breeders & suppliers. Have fun looking at that.

hmm i just looked at the bean farm again

but one question, i see a miner-all not a mineral i are they the same thing?

and thats the product i should use that can act as a multivite/calcium all in one right?

thanks

There are two different Minerals. Mineral O(oh) is for day time animals & Mineral I is for night time animals. If you call them they would know what your talking about.

I answered your other question in our other conversation. lol

wait you did the question about how thermostats work?

oh if you im so sry for wasting your time, heh but i cant find it

..

heh

The Mineral I has a small amount of D3 in it & with it you wouldn't need to add a multi-vitamin supplement. What I was getting at is you can mix the Mineral I with a seperate pure calcium supplement & you should be ok.

As for the Zoomed Leo diet, I've never used it so I really don't have an opinion.

p.s. Your welcome & looking forward to responding to thousand more of your post.

ok thanks

then is there one product that i can use to leave in the tank all the time?

so i dont have to have to buy a calcium and a multivite?

and are rheostats as good as thermostats? on the bean farm, i see theyre a little more price friendly

The one product would be the Mineral I. Mixing it with the pure calcium without D3 was more a suggestion if you were worried about a D3 overdose.

I so much prefer thermostas over reostats. Thermostats you pretty much plug your heat sorces into it, place the probe in the cage, set it, & forget it. Reostats are more like a dimmer switch & you would have to still monitor the temps with any changes in the outside weather changes.

If you have any questions about there products the people at The Bean Farm are very friendly & helpful. I know them personally & have been to there place a few times.

oh ok thats cool

i guess ill just use the miner all by itself in a dish for my 1 leo. would you agree with me that that be a good idea?

and also is this how a thermostat works?: you plug the UTH into the thermostat and plug the thermostat in an electric outlet. after that you set the setting of the thermostat to a desired temperature and it keeps the temperature at the same value as long as its on right?

Yes, the Mineral I is what I've been doing for some time know & it works good for me.

Yes, that's what you want to do with the thermestat. But still have the thermometers in there because the thermosats might be a little off & you would have to adjust it accordingly. The Alifes are pretty reliable. I've got some that have been going 5 years.

as far as the zoomed leopard gecko food goes, My girl turns her nose up and walks away. She prefers live food as I'm sure most do. I've heard alot of people say it was a waste of money. BUt it's up to you and your leo, no harm in trying it.
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1.0 bearded dragon "Ifrit"
0.1 leopard gecko "Lucy"
0.0.1 frog eyed gecko "Nikki"
1.0 crested gecko "Strider"
1.2 cats "Cali,Kami,Greg"
1.0 rabbit "Pippin"
1.0 cockatiel "Monty"
0.1 siberian husky "Sierra"
0.1 hamster "Lady"
lots of fish