Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Recently, my gecko's living quarters had me... well, not very well appreciated for it. So, I reworked it (took out the sand, mainly) and altered the cage to work until I get the necessary items. I have photo of the old cage and a photo of the new cage, just to show the extent to which I had been in the wrong. (sorry for the bad living conditions, I just had conflicting info on what a "good" setup is). I don't have anything for her shed box yet, but the book I have suggests sphagnum moss or coconut bedding... but this is the same book that reccomended using sand as a substrate, so I'm not so sure if I should trust it. It even says "Sand, such as Zoo Med's Repti Sand or Vita Sand, is an appropriate substrate for leopard geckos" and it never mentions anything about shelf liner or other potentials. Also, everything it recommends is a Zoo Med Product. The book is Proper Care and Maintenance of Leopard Geckos by Josh Klavir, and apparently is published by Zoo Med. Here is a photo of the new cage:

and here is a photo of the old cage:

You are doing a great job with your setup As far as the humid hide, sphagnum moss, coconut fiber and plain old paper towels all work fine.

Thx for the reply. Also, when I get a heat pad (pet shop was closed today and I was away from 3:30 AM Saturday to 3:30 AM Sunday at a marching band competition) does it go under the substrate or under the cage? And also should it go under the side where she sleeps or the side where she doesn't sleep?

Also... my gecko is eating rather large sized crickets pretty fast. And her mealworms are labled as "GIANT" (about 1 inch long) and she's only about 6 inches long. Is she going to be all right with food that large, even though she is taking them well? --She ate 1 large cricket and 2 "GIANT" mealworms today-- I had to make about 4 phone calls to find somebody who sold mealworms, and even they only had two cartons of apparently "GIANT" mealworms.

My dad helps take care of her, too, by using his common sense method: She eats them quickly and easily, so they're good.

Yeah, kind of a lot of questions, but any help from anyone for any number of them would be very much appreciated.

great job
you want to put the UTH, under the tank, on the side the humid hide is on

1 inch mealworms and half inch crickets are good for a gecko age that size
-----
Dan Quinn
Manhattan Herps

The only thing about your mealworms is that the Giants (aka Kingworms) are fed an additive in their feed to keep them from morphing into beetles. Most people & even breeders of these Giant mealworms generally discourage using them as feeders for reptiles. They say not enough research has been done to know if they may have an ill effect on reptiles. The Giants are generally used only as fishing bait. The 1" size should be fine though, but I'd try to find regular mealworms if you could. If you can find Superworms those are even better than mealworms

I think crickets are the best staple diet for your gecko. Make sure you are dusting your crickets with a vitamin and calcium supplement. Also, the humid hide should be covered, or dim inside, like a cave.