gecko advice please.....

[lilmissrazz]

Im gettin 3 marbled hatchies in about 2 weeks.... i was wondering should i use a heat cord under the substrate of one side of the tank or get a basking light?? if i need a basking light what kind should i ge t??? They will be housed in a 150 litre tank, im gunna make a mesh lid for air flow etc and will probably cover 1/2 of the tank with glass to keep the heat in etc. Ive googled and looked thru forums and have found little lighting and temp info on for these guys, some ppl say no light some say a light... im confused lol also should i dust their food with calcium?? if so what kind?? Just wanna get all the facts so i'm ready when i get them... Also i was going to get play sand for substrate... should i have some kind of other soil type substrate aswell?? What living plants would be best to have in their?? preferably from kmart, big w etc. I dont know the exact age of these lil ones as of yet but what kind of cricket should i get??? and how often do i mist one end of the enclosure?? sorry about the long winded post but need a lil help so im all set when the lil guys get here thanks in advance. Will post pics when i have the tank set up.
Razz

 

[lilmissrazz]

anyone??

 

[Vincey]

Bump

 

[lilmissrazz]

gettin them in one week actually.... common pplz lil help

 

[hornet]

marbled hatchis in a 150l tub? i keep geckos that small in chinese containers, in the big tub you will rarely see them, i keep them in chinese containers with washed sand from bunnings, a milk bottle lid for a hide and another lid for a water bowl, also in a big tub they may not find food and starve to death

 

[Sdaji]

How do you get Marbled Gecko hatchlings at this time of year? Very few people actually breed them (although sadly they're poached en masse), and I'd have thought they'd be quite difficult to breed out of season.

They don't need a lot of supplemental heat - I've seen them active in the middle of many winter nights in several locations in Victoria, sometimes even when I'm wrapped in heavy clothes and shivering from the bitter cold. Ideally you'd probably have a spotlight aimed at a rock in a giant enclosure (150L or more ) but it's complete overkill and not at all practical, so realistically you wouldn't be giving your geckoes the best of care. I've bred them in 10 litre tubs using floor heat (sparingly).

 

[lilmissrazz]

unfortunetly i only have this tank free im planning on takin the crix back legs off etc for feeding and i'm gettin them off a breeder in bris. Theres no way i would let them starve to death. I just bought a heat cord off ebay... so it would suck if i dont need it now lol would they appreciate the extra warmth?? like you said its a big enclosure. It sounds huge but its about 1 and 1/2 foot square roughly. what kind of spot light?? just a regular light bulb like a 75 watt or 100 watt???

 

[hornet]

cant you get a few chinese containers together?

 

[lilmissrazz]

i have a 52litre tub lol would that be better???

 

[hornet]

yea would be better

 

[Tsidasa]

ok seriously, can't everyone get their hands on chinese food containers?

 

[lilmissrazz]

i didnt say that i couldn't did i?? Thanks for being so helpful Tsidasa

 

[lilmissrazz]

so each one in a chinese container hey?? with sand and like a toilet roll for a hide?? will they ever be big enough to go into that tank??

 

[hornet]

i use milk bottle caps with an entrance hole cut in them

 

[Tsidasa]

i didnt say that i couldn't did i?? Thanks for being so helpful Tsidasa

you just seemed to be ignoring it :lol: no need to be snippy =p

 

[Lozza]

go to the reject shop and get a 9litre tub for $2 or $3 and put some air holes in it (very small airholes lol, they can squeeze thru very small gaps) -that would be plenty big.
I dont have any heat on mine.

 

[lilmissrazz]

oh like cut the mik bottle up a lil?? sorry im kinda daft lol

 

[hornet]

i also prefer to keep separate just to make sure all are eating well

 

[hornet]

just get the lid of a milk bottle and with a knife cut a cresent for an entrance hole

 

[lilmissrazz]

lol @ reject shop. Sorry bout that snappin but its been so frustrating tryin to find help