Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what should i have my temps at? i got a 10 gallon tank with 2 geckos, im gettin a 20 in a few days

88-92ºF on the hot side and around 75 on the cool side.

I've been raising and breeding Leopard Geckos for over 10 years. I recommend the cool side of your cage kept at 84-85F with a hot spot of 88-90F year round. The natural cooling of your home is enough of a temperature change should you decide to breed in the future. I highly recommend the book "The Leopard Gecko Manual" put out by Advanced Vivarium Systems. When I first started I was recommended that book to use as a bible and it worked. As for cage size a 10 gallon is enough for one. A 20 gallon for 2-3. You cannot house 2 males together. Always make sure you gut load you prey item first. I also dust with calicum. Never let your water bowl dry up. A dry water bowl at the wrong time can cause shedding problems. I usually lightly mist their cages around shedding time too to help. My cage includes a hide box, a calcium dish, a water dish and durning breeding season a egg laying chamber.

Another great book that came out this year is, "The Herpetoculture of Leopard Geckos" by Philippe de Vosjoli, Ron Tremper and Roger Klingenberg, DVM. It's written by some of the best experts in the field. I highly recommend it to anyone that doesn't already have it, lots of very interesting information in it

You should have 10 gallons to every leo.

The warm side should be 85-90F during the day, 80-85 at night. The cool side should be more towards 80 during the day and more towards 75 at night. The moist hide should be kept on the warm side, water dish on cool side, as well as a dry hide on the cool side and possibly one on the warm side. Leos don't need a basking spot either since they're nocturnal. Any other questions and you can email me at leogeckogirl@gmail.com
-Rien

P.S. sorry for all the extra info, just wanted to make sure you know it.

84-85 seems kind of high for the cool side. 75-80 is a pretty good range.

Unless you already have a fat and healthy adult gecko that you are wanting to condition for breeding, I highly recommend 84-85 F on the cool side, and 88-90F for the hot spot. If you read through the various previous posts, there are a large number of Leopard gecko owners out there experiencing all kinds of issues from lack of eating, to shedding issues, to eye problems etc. I've been a breeder for over 10 years, and I've also owned a pet store for a time. People always come to me and ask why my animals looked so fat and healthy and the ones they bought elsewhere weren't. As it turned out it almost always came down to the following:
Non eating animals were either kept too cool, or the prey item was too large for the size gecko they had.
Sick animals almost always were a combination of, too cool, prey too large, they had correct prey size but the prey wasn't gut loaded first, and usually a lack of vitamins.
Shed issues were usually related to humidity problems (letting the water bowl dry up), and diet as in again the prey was not gut loaded and no vitamins.
I can't say enough about "The Leopard Gecko Manuel" written by Philipe de Vosjoli, Brian Viets, Ron Tremper, and Roger Klingenberg,DVM put out by Advanced Vivarium Systems, Inc. you'll find the same information there. Follow that book, it is an awesome book and you can't go wrong.
I have never let my geckos get below 80F not even during breeding season and have yet to experience the issues being posted here.