Knob-tailed geckos heating and tank size questions

[Reptiles101]

I'm getting two knob tailed geckos bursting with excitement
just have a few question with heating and tank size.

okay so....I need a heat mat, what's a good brand for heat mats? how am I meant to connect it to a thermostat? Do I buy a thermostat? What should the basking temperature spot be? As for tank size is a large/low exo terra terrarium (90x45x30 WxDxH) a suitable size for a couble of knob tailed geckos? And is red reptile sand a suitable substrate to use?

 

[mummabear]

Tank is fine, red sand is fine. Not sure on brands of heat mat, choose one that is not too big. A thermostat is always good. You just plug the mat into the thermostat set it so you get a warm spot on top of the sand of about 30-32. Check with thermometer. Make sure you have moist sand up one end under their hide and dry sand above the heat mat. Hide in each end.

 

[Reptiles101]

Thanks mummabear, what wattage dose the heat mat have to be? and where would I get thermostat from?

 

[Thyla]

I use the 7 watt 28x15cm heat mats for my 20-30 Litre click clack containers. An enclosure of your size of almost a meter in width and half a meter in depth, I would recommend a much bigger heat mat, say the "430mm x 280mm, 17" x 11" and place it on either the far left or far right side of the tank. Any brand is good, so long as its not the fat green type of heat mat (you'll know it if you see it). Thermostats can be expensive, I use a range of brands and find the cheap imported ones just a good as the expensive locally bought thermostats.

 

[mummabear]

To be honest I'm not really sure what wattage heat mat you will need. It depended on a few parameters. How thick the sand will be, how close to the bottom of the terrarium it will be. At a guess maybe around 20w? You can buy thermostats online, at your pet store, herpshop etc. The choice is yours. I would think a cheep on/off thermostat would be fine for 1 enclosure with a heat mat.

 

[LaDeDah]

I use the 7 watt 28x15cm heat mats for my 20-30 Litre click clack containers. An enclosure of your size of almost a meter in width and half a meter in depth, I would recommend a much bigger heat mat, say the "430mm x 280mm, 17" x 11" and place it on either the far left or far right side of the tank. Any brand is good, so long as its not the fat green type of heat mat (you'll know it if you see it). Thermostats can be expensive, I use a range of brands and find the cheap imported ones just a good as the expensive locally bought thermostats.

Why wouldn't you recommend the green heat mats?

 

[Thyla]

Why wouldn't you recommend the green heat mats?

I have read a few posts on this forum when they have overheated and caused burning injury to the reptile.
My rule of thumb now, don't use green heat mats or heat rocks (same reason).

 

[Reptiles101]

I rang up a pet shop today, and they said not to use a heat mat, as they often fail and can course serious burns. They also said if I use a heat mat the gecko won't be able to have a cool side to retreat to. The pet shop said to use heat lamps, so the geckos can retreat to a cool side so they don't over heat. headlamps are better to use they said.

now I'm confused do I use a heat mat or a heat lamp? I've never owned a knob-tail before and don't want to burn/cook them.

also the pet shop said I need uv lighting as well...do I need UV lighting?

 

[eddie123]

Don't trust pet shops they have no idea

 

[Reptiles101]

Thanks Eddie I always think that when I walk into pet shops...so I use a 20 watt heat mat connected to a thermostat set to 30-32 degrees Celsius that covers one third of the bottom of the tank?
Do I still need to use a uv light.

 

[Radar]

Being nocturnal, probably not.

 

[Reptiles101]

Ok thanks Radar.

 

[Bananapeel]

As Radar said, no UV is required. Also a heat lamp is a silly suggestion. They are nocturnal and it would have to be an infrared one. These geckos don't need over head heating. Just a basking spot without the need of light.
I cover a bit more than 1/3 but less than 1/2 but that's just me.

+1 to Thyla. No green matts. They are also the usual cause of fires that are associated with reptiles. Nor is it good to use heat rocks. Both cause burns.

So pretty much:
sand
tank
heat matt (whatever size suits the enclosure size)
cheap eBay thermostat
Sloped sand (2 or so cm of dry sand on warm side, 8-10 cm moist sand (for burrows) on cool side. Not sure on exact measurements but should matter hugely.
mist them occasionally for drinking (they lick the water of the tub or themselves, and keep the cool side moist)

and FOOD!!!! Yay!

feel free to ask any more question.

 

[mad_at_arms]

So pretty much:
sand
tank
heat matt (whatever size suits the enclosure size)
cheap eBay thermostat
Sloped sand (2 or so cm of dry sand on warm side, 8-10 cm moist sand (for burrows) on cool side. Not sure on exact measurements but should matter hugely.
mist them occasionally for drinking (they lick the water of the tub or themselves, and keep the cool side moist)

and FOOD!!!!

Purchasing and reading some books on geckos would be wise investment for their future also.

 

[NickGeee]

Exo terra have great heat mats, they're quite expensive but reliable... For me at least

 

[Bananapeel]

That's a very good idea Mad_at_arms. I never thought to add that.

 

[Reptiles101]

Thanks bananapeel and mad_at_arms, what would a suitable book be to get? Oh another question I have is it ok to house a few knob-tailed geckos together in a tank (90x45x45)?

 

[mad_at_arms]

Keeping and breeding Australian Lizards edited by Mike Swan
A Guide to Australian Geckos & Pygopods in Captivity by Danny Brown

 

[Reptiles101]

Thanks mad_at_arms, is an IMIT thermostat ok to use?

 

[Thyla]

Yeah I wouldn't trust pet shops for advice on reptiles. An ordinary pet shop will probably allocate about 5% of effort into reptiles. Whereas this forum's almost sole focus is on reptiles and attracts amateur keepers through to experts who write reptile books and herpetological scientists.

If you read my earlier comments I suggest using a heat mat which would take up approximately 30% of your enclosure floor space. This allows the geckos heaps of space to go to if they want to cool down.
Also, these geckos are nocturnal so providing a heat lamp to bask in doesn't come naturally for them (heat lamps are recommended for dragons because they are diurnal).

Because they don't get sunlight, they will lack the ability to make vitamin D3. That's why I highly recommend you buy a D3 supplement to dust the feed 2 out of every 3 feeds. You should be able to find these at good pet shops. I use one called Repti-cal.

EDIT: I would avoid keeping more than one adult male in a tank. Multiple females or multiple female and a male should be ok