Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now my sis has 2 geckos in a 10 gallon tank with a heat pad under the tank...Should she have any lights on top for heat as well? At night she usees a red light..What about during the day? What should she use? I read that geckos cant see with bright light.. Thanks

Well, since the geckos will be sleeping during the day when the lights are on, I wouldn't worry about them not being able to see or how sensitive their eyes are to it. They'll just go and hide in a dark place to nap anyway. They don't really like bright lights, but I think it's more because they're exposed and prefer the dark so they can hide easier.

Any light you add will serve 2 purposes:

1) to raise the ambient air temperature. Heat pads do a good job of raising the ground temp, but not a great job of adding air heat.
2) to provide a consistent day/night schedule.

So it's a good idea to have a light to give them nice warm air while they nap during the day. And ideally you want to hook it into a small timer to give them consistent times to wake up and go to sleep. Usually they'll bolt for their hide as soon as the light comes on and go to sleep, and then about half an hour after the light's turned off they'll come out all sleepy eyed looking for dinner.

You can find cheap timers at the hardware store ($5-10).

>>Right now my sis has 2 geckos in a 10 gallon tank with a heat pad under the tank...Should she have any lights on top for heat as well? At night she usees a red light..What about during the day? What should she use? I read that geckos cant see with bright light.. Thanks
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Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)

Leo beginner pretty much hit right on with that question but i want to bring up something kinda off subject...

how old are the Leo's?

if they are more then juvies i bet that ten gallon tank is gettin pretty dang cramped with 2 leo's...Most people say that the general rule on space is a gecko per ten gallons. I have three leo's all of which i love very much:}, But anyways try to get them in a 20 gallon long if they are more then juvi's thats what i use and it works great gives them a little more room to walk around and explore!

the tanks are around $30

take care,
Eric W.
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Dog-Molley
Brand new Leo-Doory

Sorry i forgot...just a normal soft white bulbs works great for the day time light
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Dog-Molley
Brand new Leo-Doory

What wattage bulb should i get??

My current setup is a UTH with a 25 watt bulb overhead on the warm side in a 10 gallon. With the UTH dimmed down a bit, it gives me 86-90 during the day with the light on, and a bit cooler (on average) during the evening when the light's off and the temp in my house naturally drops.

I made the mistake of buying a 25 watt fixture that can only handle that wattage. I'd definitely get a higher power fixture and play around with the bulbs. I've found in my setup that 25W gives me a couple bonus degrees, but it may be different depending on your setup. The beauty is that you can buy bulbs at the dollar store in all kinds of wattages for under a buck a pack and you can play around with a couple wattages. Try whatever you have around your house first (60W?) and see how that works, and if it's too hot, pick up a cheap bulb of a lower wattage to see how that works. It's all trial and error with temp setup.

Good luck.

>>What wattage bulb should i get??
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Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)