# Some gecko questions



## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Hey i was just have a few questions:

1. How do i keep the sand moist in my gecko enclosure? I spray it every day a few times but is this enough?

2. How deep should the sand be for my female? Can it be less deep for the male?

Thank you

P.S it's a smooth knob-tailed gecko


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Also, what kinds of things can i use for hides that i could just find in the house?


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

Use can use things like trays for flower pots or you can make little tents out of carboard and sticky tape.

Apart from misting the wall every few days u should also mist under their hides especially when shedding
Bout 2 inches deep for the substrate will be fine for both of them


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Levis Levis, Melbourne


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

sorry i edited it to include those answers


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

i dont really think it needs to be that damp but just spray the enclosure every 2nd day and it should be fine. is the female gravid or not? hides you can just use bark or small flower pot saucers with a hole made in one side.
cheers
mark


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## Jay84 (Dec 24, 2009)

I just spray the cool end of their tub every other day. This keeps it sufficiently moist for them. It dries out within a day but they have been doing fine with this method.

As for depth of sand its your choice on how you like to do it. The sand in all my tubs is less than 1cm deep. When the females are due to lay i put a laying box in with them, this comprises of a 3L sistema tub, hole cut in the side for access, and filled with moist sand. This works well for me and the females always lay inside these.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

ok great no i don't have geckos yet but just making sure everything is okay. my setup seems fine according to you guys so i guess im set


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

post a pic.


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## kupper (Dec 24, 2009)

m_beardie i thought you said your gecko died ???? but in this thread at 2 this arvo your telling everyone you dont have a gecko yet?


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

It did die and I'm getting another pair soon thats why im preparing all the setups etc...


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## Jay84 (Dec 24, 2009)

Oh how did it die?


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Yesterday was really hot and he died in the heat


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

m_beardie said:


> Yesterday was really hot and he died in the heat


Jesus a desert species dying from heat?
You must have let it get pretty hot.
You should not be running any heat during the day at this time of year unless you have a well air conditioned room


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

a knob tailed died in the heat? how hot was it? must have been bloody hot to kill a desert animal.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

He may have died from something else I am still not surre


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

Either way im sorry to hear about it.
You need to figure out what killed it before you make the same mistake twice


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

m_beardie said:


> He may have died from something else I am still not surre


How hot did it get?
Did u have a heat source running? could it have malfunctioned?


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

i am sorry to hear that m_beardie. do you know how hot it got. but yeah hope you get your new set up goin well and this new pair go well and breed fo you.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

*Tanks*

Here are some pics of each one The one with red sand is for the female. I am yet to put in some extra hides.


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## kupper (Dec 24, 2009)

is that proper dessert sand in the left one or that crystal stuff?


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

Should out some rocks in there for them to rub their sheds of and to climb on
it will also add to the looks


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Thnx greeny. Just had a new heat mat and turns out it was quite powerfull. Almost too hot to touch I think this was what got the poor little guy. Thank u for your sympathy.


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## Jay84 (Dec 24, 2009)

That terrible !

Why have a heat mat, not running on a thermostat, in a tank that is covered.... on a hot melbourne day that reached 38 degrees ?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

Sorry but i find that really irresponsible. Poor gecko.

So in addition to my previous advice on your new enclosures....... get a thermostat, and dont have lids on the enclosures.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

Ok thank you for your advice I have obviously learned from my irresponsible mistake


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

looks good beardie, as geckoman said id put a rock or two in there for them. also i probably wouldnt put a lid on that tank, 1: it seems too humid and 2: as long as the walls are high enough the gecko cant climb out so theres no need.


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

I agree with Jay ,those are fish tanks not terrariums
U need to have a mesh lid not just vents


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## greeny1 (Dec 24, 2009)

dont be too harsh jay84 we all make mistakes. i know i made a few as i started off but now im more knowledgable and wont do it again. but i do get what your saying.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

thanks for your support greeny, i really have learnt. i won't keep the lids on, but will there be any danger? I might get some mesh to put over the top just incase. Thanks for all your advice. Kupper, i don't know what it's called but i asked for red sand and they gave me that at the pet shop.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

also, when the young ones hatch.. do you house them together and how old before you are allowed to sell them?


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

You can sell them at any age but it is irresponsible to sell them before they are feeding regularly
Imo you should focus on keeping them alive and healthy for at least a year before at even think about breeding


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

yeah wasn't planning to breed straight away because i need to get an incubator still.


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 24, 2009)

I would not bother getting an incubator just yet.
Y don't you get some hatchys so you can get used to looking after juveniles and then once they are old enough to breed at least you will have some experience in husbandry


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## kupper (Dec 24, 2009)

it looks like that nasty crystal stuff which from memory is actual a plastic resin base which when ingested is no good for your critters 

go to bunnings and get some white washed play sand 

works wonders ,


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## Jay84 (Dec 24, 2009)

m_beardie said:


> Ok thank you for your advice I have obviously learned from my irresponsible mistake


 

Sorry, i didnt mean to sound too harsh. But im sure you have been on APS long enough to have read of the dangers of reptiles overheating etc. Have the new cages set up and running for a week and get a thermometer that records max and min temps. Keep an eye on this and then once u are confident the thermostat is working then put the geckos in.

How much of the floor is covered in the heat mat? Before i built my gecko rack i had mine in open topped tubs, with 1/3 of the floor heated, with an open topped tub there was no way the temps could reach such dangerous extremes.

Like the others have said, dont even think about breeding yet, how old are the geckos you are getting? Learn the husbandry of these first, ensure they are mature enough and of good health before putting the sexes together.


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## m_beardie (Dec 24, 2009)

yep. well the heat mat is big enough to coverthe whole floor but i have put it so that it only covers one third and i am going to put it under the tank because it is too hot.


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## wiz-fiz (Dec 24, 2009)

if u have lego lying around u could use that 2 make hides? thats what i'll b doing when i get a reptile.


Will


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## Jen (Jan 7, 2010)

I don't see a water bowl?


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## greeny1 (Jan 7, 2010)

geckos dont need a water bowl jen, you mist the walls of the enclosures ro fake plants and the gecko a little to keep there water up. water bowls arent neccesery


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## Sarah (Jan 7, 2010)

geckos just need misting they dont really need a water bowl, i provide one but a very shallow one.


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## GeckoJosh (Jan 7, 2010)

All i found water bowls do is drown crickets etc and encourage the geckos not to use their lay box as they will go under their bowl instead


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