Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a few questions. I'm about to get my first leopard geckos, two females and a male. I have one 20" x 14" (28 qt) Sterilite container for the enclosure. I am planning on getting another one for the male, but should I go ahead and get a third and keep them all seperately? As for an under tank heater, what is the best brand? I'm thinking about getting an Exo Terra, is that a good one? What is the best kind of vit/min supplement? I've seen Miner-All around a lot but which kind do I get? Is there something better? Also, for the humid hide boxes, is "Lizard Litter Coconut Brick" okay (it expands into litter when moist)?

Thanks a bunch,
Alice

The sterilite container is fine for all three, but if you have the space you could house them all separatley. I have never used the exo-terra undertank heaters, I like the ones the beanfarm sells(www.beanfarm.com). What is the best /vit/mineral supp? well, there is not a best one, it's how you use them that matters. If you get a seperate calcium(minerall I, or rep-cal) and vitamin supp. you need to got on a schedule...check out the archives on this forum, care sheets or the leopard gecko manual, for what a good schedule is. If you want to not have to worry about a supplementing schedule, pick up a bottle of the t-rex leopard gecko dust. It is an all-in-one, that contains all the macro and micro nutrients you leos need. It balances the nutrient content of you insects and is designed to be used every feeding. I feed mealworms only out of a feeding dish. I supplement by just putting a 1/8" layer of the dust on the bottom of the feeding dish and change it every week of so. This is the only supplementing I do with my colony. If the lizard litter is as fine as the bed-a-beast, it would be fine for your humid hide. I use a 50/50 mix of bed-a-beast and playsand.
good luck
-----
Bill DiFabio
Garden State Herpetoculture...website to follow...
Email Me
"The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Finding beauty in the dissonance." - Maynard James Keenan

Personally, if i was just starting off, i wouldnt get three. I would get 2 baby females, tops. I first got started with one baby female. To start off new with 3 lizards, its a bit much, especially since you dont have much expirience it sounds like. Its easier to start off with one, then grow. And it also seems like you might be planning to breed them, again, i wouldn't do that. But you have you own judgement, im just saying personally, what i wouldnt do, but its up to you. I didnt really answer your question, probably brought up more, but i am just concerned for you and your new geckos.

michael

i use the rubbermaid 30 qt. snap tops for my geckos.. i keep three (or less)in one conatiner without any problems..as far as supplementation goes i use Rep-Cal calcium and Herptivite. You have to watch what heatpads you get..some are safe for palstics and some are not.. check out the beanfarm site... you might inquire about flexwatt tape too..I don't think exoterra are made for plastics. Nothing wrong with getting three geckos..and if you'd be interested in breeding the geckos in the future, i know there will be ppl that can help ya out with that in the future if you needed help... good luck with your new geckos... oh and one more thing...this leopard gecko thing can become addicting.

geckogod2