First timer

[wood_nymph]

hey everyone, i'm setting up my first gecko enclosure and i'm just looking for a bit of experinced wisdom. i'm sure u're all sick of hearing these questions but here goes:

thermostats:
i'm wanting to heat the enclosure at one end with a red heating globe day and night and i'm looking at all the different kinds of themostats. i know there's your tradtional on/off ones, but i've seen a brand called microclimates that "dim" the power to control temp rather then switching on/off. i know this will be better for the bulb itself but what about the gecko?
substrate:
i realise everyone has their own opinons on this, but what do all you marbled velvet gecko keepers use? i know a lot of people say newspaper, but god it looks ugly and i keep thinking it's not natural for them. i may be hopefully getting an adult one to start with so can i use something more interesting then good old paper?

i'd appericate any advice here

[MrBredli]

You can use sand for the substrate. The Microclimate dimming thermostat is the best you can get. They are a class above any on/off type thermostat. Your gecko will be a lot better off also as it will have a constant heat source. With an on/off thermostat, the heat comes on until it's too hot, then off until it's too cold, then back on again. So your temps are all over the place. If you can afford it, definately get the dimming thermostat.

[wood_nymph]

thanks for the advice i thought they'd be good i just haven't heard that much about them. silly question but i've heard a lot of talk about sand causing impaction in gecko, although this may have been in another species since i was reading some info from out of aust

[MrBredli]

If you use the children's playground sand which you can buy from Bunnings, you should be right. Practically everyone i know who keeps geckos uses sand of some description, as did i when i kept them. I think the one from Bunnings would be your safest bet.

[MrBredli]

If i'm not mistaken, the Marbled Velvet Geckos are quite arboreal, so they wouldn't spend much time on the sand anyway.