I bought my first gecko. A few questions.....

[TheEliminator62]

Hey I bought my first leopard gecko today(baby one) and I wanted to ask if I could turn the light off in the tank and leave the heater pad under the tank on for the night? Also I bought a combo tank at PetCo and had sand included in it already. Would you recommend leaving it in there or change it to something else? Thanks in advance

[Zoe]

You need to turn the light off at night... geckos need a night too.
The heat pad under the tank can stay on, yes.
Chuck the sand. Babies should NOT be kept on sand because they can eat it and get impacted.

You'll need a small dish full of calcium powder in there for him, and you can use normal paper towel as substrate. I also suggest you get a fecal exam done by a vet.

Zoe

[TheEliminator62]

how much do fecal exams go for?

[Zoe]

meh, no more than 20$ in the states.

Zoe

[LISA127]

You also need a humidity hide in there. Use a small plastic container with a hole just big enough for him to crawl thru in the top or side. Like those disposable storage containers they sell. Put moss, vermiculite, or bed a beast in it and keep it damp. I just keep my babies, or adults, on paper towels and keep an eye on the stools, etc. With the leos, I only take them for fecals if I notice a problem. And with all the leos I have kept, I have never had a problem. They have all done great.

[LISA127]

BTW, keep the heat pad on 24/7. They need the belly heat. And make sure the daylight is not too bright. They don't like it real bright. Just use a low wattage bulb to heat the air during the day. If it is too bright, I believe it stresses them.

[leolover]

turn the light off and leave the uth on during the night

[MartinW]

I have some advice as well:) I'd get a dimmer for the heater if you're going to use paper towel as a substrate, and make sure it doesn't get too much over 90*F. I've never used one on a UTH but I use one with my heat ropes. At some places you can get an already-made dimmer/plug outlet where the dimmer is attached to the plug by the manufacturer. I got 2 at home depot for $22 Canadian each, or you can just wire up your own.

Anyway, welcome to the hobby!

Martin

[Rebecca]

I don't know how much a fecal is but it's costing me 60 just to take mine to the vet to get looked at.

[MartinW]

What exactly do vets do when they do a fecal?