Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi folks. I'm new to the forum so I would like to say "hi!"

I just got two lepoard geckos from a friend who was moving and I am in the process of setting up a new habitat for them. They were never offered a wet spot to hang out in before, and I put some wet spanghum moss in a dish for them. They took to it right away and in the last 8 hours or so haven't really left the dish. I caught the smaller one licking the moss over and over for about an hour. I have a water dish that is always available to them, so I don't think they are thirsty. Is licking the moss a normal and safe thing for them to do?

Also I have them in a 55 gallon reptile tank. I have a 50 watt heat lamp on the hot side. I also have a small under tank heater there too. Is this enough? I live in Alaska, but my house is usually pretty warm. I catch them up against the glass at night warming their bellies on the glass. I have a lamp timer switch, but at the moment it is always on. It's a red heat light and it does not seem to bother them at night. (They are pretty active all night).

Thanks for the advice

Mike

I wouldn't worry too much about licking the moss...as long as it isn't being injested...some leos just prefer not to drink from a dish! lol The lamp and UTH are fine...I would leave the light on all the time if the uth doesn't provide much heat. btw...what substrate do you have them on?
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Christina

Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions

2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)

-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.

I believe the substrate to be repti-sand or something like that. It came with the geckos when I got them. Is there something better?

Either way, whatever it is looks much too coarse and I'd suggest changing it. A lot of people use paper towels or newspaper...but I'd recommend tiles. They are cheap, readily available, have no chance of causing health issues, hold heat well, and are very easy to clean. If plain tiles won't fit in the tank properly you can get them cut, or you could get vinyl tiles and cut them yourself with a good pair of scissors. Also, if you get tiles, make sure they are not glossy, so they won't be slippery.
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Christina

Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions

2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)

-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.

hmm. sounds cool. do you have any pics of a tile set up?