We bought him today seems to be active and doing good. My question is I have a light bulb thats 100 watts.........Right on the screen lid of a 10 Gal tank. Its in one corner and there is a log he can hide under or on top of in that corner. Is this to much heat for him? It says the humidity in the tank is at 20% and the temp is 80! Are we doing the right thing?
2007-06-19 13:39:59 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Reptiles
should the 100 watt light bulb be touching the cage? or should we raise it?
2007-06-19 13:47:35 · update #1
Geckos are nocturnal. They hide during the day and come out at night. NO LIGHT BULBS! They must have belly heat to digest food. You need an under the tank heater that attaches to the bottom of the tank and provides a gentle warmth. Measure the temperature with a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer, as the temp needs to be 88-91F. You may need to attach it to a dimmer switch to keep the temperature adjusted. It should be placed on one end of the tank. He needs 3 hiding places--a dry hide on the warm side, a moist side on the warm side, and a dry hide on the cool side. Please go to www.reptilerooms.com and read the Leopard Gecko forums for more care info.
2007-06-19 14:30:46 · answer #1 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yikes.....a 100 watt bulb right on top of a 10 gallon tank?? I have used 75 watt bulbs on the top of a 10 gallon for baby Beardies, and the hot spot underneath that was over 100 degrees.
You need to have an ACCURATE thermometer, placed directly on the basking area under the light. Those stick-on type thermometers that stick to the side of the tank are notoriously inaccurate, and are doing nothing but measuring the air temps combined with the temp of the glass...which will usually be much cooler than the actual surface temp.
Leos should have a hide on both the warm side of the tank AND the cool side, as well as a humid hide. I greatly prefer under tank heaters for Leos, as they need approximately 90 degrees belly heat to properly digest their food.
2007-06-19 20:51:03 · answer #2 · answered by rollin_indahay 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Move the light to one end of the cage and focus it on a spot that would make a good basking spot. The tank temperature should vary from as high as 90 degrees at the basking spot to barely over room temperature at the far end. This allows the gecko to adjust his own temperature by moving around the tank to the temperature zone that he likes.
2007-06-19 20:45:56 · answer #3 · answered by bearsdentulsa 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
During morning hours..(8...through..10:00am) they like bright sun to warm up/ kick start their cold bodies.
But later they like shade. It may be too much for all day!! They need hot and cool.
p.s. They like a little raw honey.
2007-06-19 20:47:10 · answer #4 · answered by superlativemoon 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋