leos new setup...( 4 pics)

[peterm15]

ive decided to change my setup arond a little.... seeing as im going to introduce a male in a little while i figured id add more hides... theres 6 all together... 4 regular 1 humid and one 1 semi humid... the humid hide is actually in that clay pot... that creats a humid and beside it would be slightly less humid... im soon to be adding an idea from an earlier post called " humidity helper" to the humid hide to create an even more humid area... and when the time comes an egg laying box where the log is... thaks for looking and please leave me some comments or constructive critasisim... ( not about my spelling, i know i cant spell... lol)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/gecko008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/gecko006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/gecko004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/peterm15/gecko005.jpg

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I think you need to use a container IMO. I find that the females will move the vermiculite around and dig tons when they are about to lay eggs.

I use Lock & Lock brand tupperware containers (you can buy them at Zellers), drilled a hole in the lid about 2"x1.5" and cut it 1.5" away from lids edges, so that vermiculite barely gets tracked out. I keep it about half full to a third full of moist vermiculite. I also covered it in electrical tape, so that it was nice and dark. It stays nice and humid, plus I know when eggs are going to be laid that day. Vermiculite will all be pushed to one side, then later that day its all on the other side. A quick check and remove eggs to incubator.

Here's a picture..

www.freewebs.com/tlh_warscootman/ (http://www.freewebs.com/tlh_warscootman/)

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Sorry pic didnt post for some reason

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

If you open it when shes about to lay eggs that day, you'll see this. and thats when the lid is on! So imagine what your ceramic bowl and around it will look like! LOL

[Gregg M]

You should loose the sand in the cage...... Especialy the stuff you are using...... Paper towels are best for leos..... It may not look pretty but there is no chance of impaction with it......

[Manitoban Herps]

Ohhhhh, so if she is about to lay her eggs she will move the vermiculite everywhere? if so, I will have eggs tonight or in the morning :D :D

[peterm15]

oh im going for the natural look and have never had a problem with impaction... theyve never even accidently hit the sand.,....
and for an egg laying box i dont have it in there yet as there will be no eggs for a while... theres no male... but yes i do have a box quite like yours...

the small clay pot is just to add more moistrure to that area.. so its like a humidifier for the humid hide.....i have about a dozen boxes like that made so i never have to touch the eggs... just move the box into the humidifier.. well thats the plan... well see if it works that way.. lol

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I'll post a pic soon of what type of container I put my eggs inside of my incubator.

[peterm15]

sweet that will be alot of help...

[snakehunter]

I would hate to see a leo die because someone wanted the cage to look good, the needs of the herp far outweigh the needs of the eye. Loose the sand or a friend its up to you.

[peterm15]

ive had them on that sand type of sand for over a year now... and no probs... i watch them during feeding and have yet to see one mouthfull of sand ingestted... theve have never touched it... alot of ppl keep there herps on sand without probs and im one of them.... if i EVER see or fell like there is a prob i would without a doubt get rid of the sand... but without even a hint of problems to the date ill keep them where they are...

i do respect your opinion and im really not trying to be snarky... so sorry if it sounded like that.. its just i want the animal to feel at home as well as look that way... the rocks make up most of trhe tank and if there is ever any problem i will put a peice of tile over it... easy solution... but im the meantime i will pay very close attention to there feedings and see if there is any probs..

i was also thinking of feedings in a seperate container ( to minimuse crix in there enclosure) but i dont know how theyll adapt to that.. anyone ever do this...

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Yea I use a 15 gallon to feed all my geckos in. I let them eat their fill every day or second day. I take all geckos from 1 tank feed them, put them back. Then the next tank, same thing, until everyones been fed. Works good for me and keeps my tanks much more cleaner and healthier I think. JMO tho.

Personally I am not a fan of sand, so my substrate of choice is the terrarium carpeting, and if I was to use something else it would be Forest bedding by TREX (I think)

[peterm15]

i was thinking the carpet.. is it used with success.. how hard is it to clean..

i was re thinking it and i should really get off the sand.. its nice and all but maybe... this will tie mne over for a little longet then ill replace it..


when you did start useing were they raised by that method or did you just start doing it one day... i tried it once but no luck... they were mare content with trying to get out than to eat..
thanks for the opinions on sany everyone... youve all made me think...

[TheWulf]

I use forest bedding (which is basically shredded coconut husk). It looks great and is much safer than sand.

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Here's the pic I promised (I promised, so I gotta deliver!!)

Side view:

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Here's the pic I promised (I promised, so I gotta deliver!!)

Top view:

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

It may take a few times for them to get used to it, BUT think of it this way too; it ensures your geckos are ALL being handled, even if its a small amount, everyday or second day. Plus if you wanted you could feed each one at a time and see exactly how many critters your gecko eats. (put in 10, 5 missing = 5 eaten)

The carpeting is easy to clean. I actually vacuum out the poo almost everytime I am feeding them (while they are in the feeding tank) and I take the carpeting out every week or two and saok it in piping hot water and a very small amount of very mild dishsoap. I then rinse it extremely well and place back in the tank after I let it dry out. I picked up a secondary carpet so that I have a clean one waiting. I just take dirty one out, vacuum out poos, vermiculite and any other debre, and then wash tank out quickly if it needs while its totally empty. I put the cleaned mat back in and I can clean the dirty one later.

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

The way I do things may take a little amount of time, but I think it's worth keeping my geckos happy and safe. I am a little leery about bacteria buliding up, so I rinse my geckos caves and hides (they're all durable, polyester resin material that you can clean very well) when I clean my tank carpeting usually too.

Maybe I am just too obsessive LOL

[peterm15]

cool... i may just do that...

what the heck is on top of the cont???

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Oh I have to use saran wrap in my chicken incubator. The fan that circulates the air was drying out the eggs and they would collapse, even tho the humidityand temp was good. So I stretched saran wrap over the containers and poked holes with a toothpick. Keeps them nice and moist and keeps the babies from running all over the place when they hatch. There is just enough room for the two to hatch out. This also helps me keep hatchlings from getting mixed up if I have multiple sets of eggs hatching at the same time. Heres a pic of my incubator:

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Heres the pic: sorry lol

[peterm15]

cool... i was think a hovabator in time.. but right now ill prob just use a home made.. but im gonna have alot of eggs.. 2 leos and 3 cresties.. so i may need both.. lol

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

Here's the basic idea for a home-made incubator.

Put your eggs in moist vermiculite in the inside tank. Make sure that babies can't get out and drown tho. Oh yea and have a lid that covers the majorite of the top to keep the moisture in. A few 1 cm holes, (6 or so maybe??) in the lid too

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I've never made my own, but I hear that they work great.

[peterm15]

i hear the same.. ive got a few sites right now on it and theres more in another post.. im probably gonna use that reptillia method...

[Gregg M]

Peter, Its good you are rethinking the sand thing...... You have to remember that leos like to lick their surrounds alot..... They do ingest sand when they do this...... A sand impaction can take years to build up to the point where it will do harm to your leo, but by that time it is usually too late to do anything..... It is just not a risk that is worth taking..... Besides sand is not a natural substrate for leos..... They do not live exclusively on sand in the wild..... They may run into sandy patches here and there but that is not their prefered living situation...... Also, the sand in their area is alot finer than any type of sand you can get here...... It is a much different grain and it is actually more like a dust...... Anyway, you can use tiles or papertowels...... Loose substrates are not realy recomended.....

[peterm15]

thanks alot greg.. ill prob use a carpet or tile.. that way it would still be natural looking but safer.

[ydnic]

no dirt or peat either?