Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 20L tank, which I hope will one day enclose 4 geckos total (1m, 3f). I would like to make the tank diurnal... which type of light fixtures do you recommend for the daylight hours as well as moonlight ones? I would like to use a strip light, as they look a bit better on top the tank... but I can't seem to find anything that will run 2 bulbs off 2 switches. Also, you guys keep saying to use a reg flourescent bulb.. should this cover the entire length of the tank??? Doesn't that defeat the thermal gradient???

Jeff

Make sure you also provide belly heat for your leos as well to aide in digestion.

For a light try this:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/intro/main.html

See if that link works. Thatpetplace.com has the cheapest prices I've seen so far.

For lights try a daytime blue light bulb, and for night try either the red heat bulbs or the purple ones. They give off alot of heat, but hardly any light. Its even purfect if you want to see your leos at night.

Shayna
Leo Lovers Lizard Lounge

Flourescent lights do not give off heat like incandescent ones, so there is not a huge effect on the thermal gradient. I'm not sure what you mean about making the "tank" diurnal, do you mean switching the night/day cycles? I just haven't heard the term used that way before so please bear with me. By ordinary flourscent light for day light, I just mean that you don't need an expensive plant-growing light or a UV light for plants, at least in my experience growing plants in a gecko cage and elsewhere. As for the heat source/light comment, I am peculiar in that I'm not comfortable using UTHs, paranoid about cooking my little guys. Comes from a previous career in medical research and seeing creatures burned on heating pads. I use the red heat bulbs day and night, but utilize heavy ceramic-type shelters and flat rocks that hold the heat and thus give the lizards a source of belly/body heat. It is interesting to me to see the nocturnal lizards use these sources to regulate their temps. I figure it is a lot like them coming out of their burrows in nature and using rocks that have been warmed by the sun.