Added: 4 years ago
From: ErikPaterson
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  • you should of just put the title as IM POOR YHIS IS MY LEOPARD GEKO SET UP ITS TAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!

  • news paper is roung when the gecko goes in his water and comes out wet the ink in the paper starts to damage its skin when wet and will kill

  • Are you related to xefpaterson

  • @Joeink100 Nope & I have no idea who that is either :)

  • Sand is fine but to be safe just take them out to a different tank to eat so there is less LESS risk of impaction.

  • @alicia no the heat mat shouldn't get that hot

  • One questoin : ) DONT WORRY ITS NOT ABOUT ABUSE :L just wondering i live in england and tbh the heat over here is a little poop, and i have a glass viv, but my heat mat only gets up to about 30degrees (its ohnly small), do you think if i was going to get a gecko it would be better in a plastic viv so that the heat can get through better??

  • Would a heatmat melt the plastic on a faunarium/vivarium?

  • why has everyone got like a plastic thing, i've got a glass one 23gallons, is this ok?

  • @Warrior7885 Thank you for the kind comments - Much appreciate having someone with the capabilities of independant thought commenting on the matter.

    I am aware the enclosure is the bare minimum for the gecko but it serves it's purpose for the video.

    As you'll be aware it's a 'how to' guide not a 'this is what you should do or else!!' set of rules...

  • Would the 'experts' who watch this video care to detail where exactly you feel I am 'wrong' or abusing my animals? And give me evidence of HOW I am wrong.

    i.e. 'The viv is too small because it's at least double the length of the inhabitant and at least 1.5x it's length in width, the standardized measurements for a lizards enclosure.'

    Thanks.

  • EPIC FAIL....

  • animal abuse -.-

  • @ViennaJukeBox Please, do give a detailed account of how this constitutes Animal Abuse. I'm interested to know.

  • @ErikPaterson so i have now 4 Leopard Geckos at home and i have a much bigger terarium and i live in Austria There we must have a three or more times bigger terrarium or viv... for only one Leo. So i dont know how this is in your country... but i would not put my Leos in there ...

  • @ViennaJukeBox So your opinion is different to mine, therefore you must conclude that I am abusing my animals?

    Standard vivarium measurements are viv length = 2 x lizard length, viv width = lizard length (STL) at a bare minimum. This is a bare minimum and would certainly suit smaller geckos that are growing on, even if you chose not to keep a fully grown adult in there.

  • thats to small man thats animal abuse

    !!!

  • animal abuse

    man thats to small!!!

    shame on you man

  • could you house 2 juviniles in this

  • lol nice,still,if u want sumthin that looks good and is easy to clean and healthy use repti carpet

  • Can u use Coco fiber.? I dont want my lizard to die by it.

  • using anything they can swallow is like murder

  • i love the contempt in your voice dude don't give in to these peole tell them where to get of people have their own way of doing things and sand works for many people

  • in that setup u could probebley spray a little water under half of that hide so theirs humidity

  • i have a leo to and its tank setup is in the video response

  • i use aspen rather than sand so they

    cant get impacted and it still looks good

  • I know this is an old vid but i have to say that news paper looks like trash. ur 1st vid was fine. who cares what everyone else thinks. we all do what WE feel is best for our Geckos. I have been using superfine sand and rocks since the 90s and have yet to have a problem. As long as u take the proper steps ur Gecko will be fine.

  • haha i have the same hide. mine are in 30g reptile tanks though

  • hi m8 i think myself for keeping leos i agree with you as i have breed for my company for 5 years and i find it better than paper and they are from sandy places not places were the ground is made from newspaper so i am with you

  • they arent from sand they live in the more rocky areas... and newspaper and papertowels ARE better because there is NO chance of impaction and prolongs a geckos life... the captivity life expectancy is relativity higher because there is no rocks or small amounts of sand to ingest like in the wild

  • I use lino indstead of newspaper.

    Its looks alright with the dark exo terra background

  • HOWEVER there are bad substrates:

    Silica based sands, most hardware store play sands, excavator substrate, shvings, wood chips, mulch, corncob bedding, coco-fibre.....WORST- Walnut shell bedding and INDOOR/OUTDOOR CARPET..

    GOOD/SAFE- Calci sands, white & red hagen sand, home depots king washed playsand, white & red zoomed reptisand, paper towel/newspaper

  • dcalci sand big nono

  • Excavator substrate is fine its not loose like sand. and calci sand sucks

  • Sand is fine for all leopard geckos, even hatchlings. They are born in rocky places and they eat sand naturally to help grind and digest food. The problem lies when keepers do not dust their crickets and the leopard gecko eats sand to try n get extra calcium/minerals.

  • ye eric i dont like newspaper eather it looks cheap and scruffy and sand is ok for leapord gecko when they are adults they are from packi stan for christ sake and there is sand there its just when they are young as u pointed out. i keep mine on woodchippings and it is fine and just to let u no i am gettin another 2 leos and am thinking about breeding carnt wait

  • I think the other vid was better :D

    Newspaper is crappy and ugly

  • hey erik the sand u where using is actully a good sand man made stuff is jaged uinder the microscope and all rough but the stuff you where using ive seen a picture and the stuff is rounded and from the dessert so the sand is basicly good just dont feed onj the sand and that sand i reckon is pefuctly fine

  • i just use bottled water cause its been filtered and nothing is added to it

  • th3killl3rzombie, no. Leopard geckos don't have bladders so their urine is solid.

  • hay i like your vid but i have a ? so i have made a custon tank and its made out of wood so the bottom is wood were do i put the heat mat, I has kichin tiles that are left over can i put them over the heat mat and will that sufice

  • good vid erik.

  • hey erik, i think your last video about leopard gecko setup was great and really helped me when first getting my gecko in July. Happy birthday and Happy Christmas anyway for the 25th

  • erik dosnt newspaper keep in the smell of urine so that why im gonna use woodchip but are wood chips ok?

  • just bought my leo today very happy with it.

  • am no emo haha

    just lack enthusiasm and had bad hair lol

  • are leopard geckos interactive at all? (I ask this because they are nocturnal, or do they change their sleep patterns according to their surroundings? I ask because I'm thing of getting one.

  • very tame leos do often walk around during the day, but they don't make a habit of that.

  • hey, dont worry about what people say about the other vid, its stupid they think geckos can die from it, and i am not saying they cant cause it has happned BUT! in the wild they dont live on fucking news paper and they continue to live sooooo well i think they'll be just fine!

  • And how do you cool down your heat pad ?

  • to my knowledge, no heat mats dont burn out

    id say from when it was a baby until it hits around 6/7 inches, or an adult for a couple of weeks - as a temporary Q/T enclosure and to cool down the heat pad, you should use a thermostat

  • Okay thanks man , My birth day aint for a while so im getting ready to get a fattail :) Thanks for the help Erik

  • is it ok if i use a heat lamp or dose it now heat it enogh its a red one so they can't see it

  • a heat lamp would be ideal, providing you use a thermostat with it

  • Hey i have 2 question , so here comes the very stupid one does a heat pad burn out ? And how long can you keep a gecko in that cage for ? Im thinking of getting a fat tail and keeping it in the cage till a i get a 10 gallon

  • Cheers for the vids mate. I've just got an interest in having a gecko ( always wanted one as a kid but never had the money) so this video has helped me out a good bit.

    I'll have to decide if I have the room first, I have 2 cats, pond with koi, and aquarium with 8" catfish

  • stop complaining, you can clearly see he looks after his reptiles and takes good care of them. he doesn't need help by the looks of it and if you think something is wrong point it out and don't whine about it. eric is very good at what he does.

  • heat mat and heat lamp are fine

    have a hideout in the cool and warm part of the vivarium tho and just get bark and stuff

  • Im trying to help, because your husbandry practices are retarded and you cant understand how to properly care for geckos. you dont have to be a f'in asshole when some helps you, and yes, you need help..

  • that is very mature, i applaud your maturity.

    herpetoculture is about opinions & my videos show what works for me, if you don't agree then so-beit so long as your animals are healthy then thats fine.

    i knew within the supposed mature way you spoke was a simplistic and angry person.

    dude... you need to relax.

  • I was just trying to help, no need to get mad about that..jsut my .02 that your probably going to throw away.

  • i don't need help... if i had asked for help your opinion would be recieved well, but since i had not asked for help, i do not require it.

    i'm not mad im more fed up as your the latest in a long line of people who feel the need to "help me"...

  • Regardless of whether they "can" shed without it, they still should be there jsut incase it is needed. Why even take the chance? That just doesnt make sense..?

  • they shed fine, i don't see your problem, the geckos are perfectly healthy your just trying to find something to complain about...

  • second, i did not see one humid hdie in any of your leopard gecko tanks. Correct me if im wrong, but I just didnt see any. They are essential to the well ebing and health of your geckos and greatly impact whether geckos ahve good or bad sheds. I highly recommend adding one.

  • they do not need them at all, all my leos have perfect sheds & no, i do not have moist hides at the current moment in time.

  • First, if you hate newspaper, why do you use it in quite a few of your gecko tanks taht I saw in your rep room tour.

  • i dislike it, but i never said i hate it & yes i do use it now.

  • have you seen the tanks at like petsmarts were you turn the thing and the glass slides just wanted to know if its worth th 50 bucks i have a female leopard geck about 2 years

  • how big is that viv ??? repley quick

  • 18inches x 12 inches

  • Erik is smart lol.. dont judge him..i personaly like paper towel just to be safe thogh(my opinion). my preggo females are like 50g but like 8inches long lol(the eggs are very vissable now).

  • use a heat pad or mat

  • u need 3 hides not 1

  • as a matter of fact 1 will do, it is mere opinion that 3 is required

  • nice erik =]

  • Hey Erik!..What Do You Think Would Be A Good Price For About Two Female Leopard Geckos?

  • hey, the normals may go for £25 each depends on the morphs you go for

  • not if you coat their food with a calcium powder but you can use one if you like

  • yes that heats half of the vivairum to 30C

  • nope, not true no

  • Would newspaper with ink be a good idea? Thinking about it I would say not, but do you have any clue?

  • hello, fresh newspaper is not a good idea, but it is said that if allowed ton dry out for at least 2 weeks prior to use newspaper poses no threat

  • ive been told by many people that aspen is good because it disilves is that true

  • dissolves? no, and for leos is isnt good... for some larger lizards and many species of snake it is good, but for leos no.

  • hey what substrate is that and my leopard gecko hs swallowed some chippings is he going to die and what should i do?

  • 2 week old newspaper, which has allowed the ink to dry.

    your gecko may not die, but he should not be on bark chippings, that is one of the worst substartes to use in my opinion, paper/reptile carpet/tile etc are the best substrates to use

  • hey good vid and i only have a heat mat, is that all i need to heat him up?

  • yep

  • is it NESSASARY to use a uv bulb

  • nope

  • can u shred the news paper and use it as a substrate?

  • i suppose you can but its better to leave it whole as then it is less likely to be eaten & cause problems

  • ok thanks.

  • you dont need 2 hides, but it is better to have them

  • i feal sorry for the liz in suck a small cage

  • it was a juvenile and the cage is plenty big enough

  • sure

  • hey erik!

    just watching this video before i go to the show and pick up an adult pair!

    And what marley song is at the end?

  • sun is shining, and mind and post a video up :P

  • its loading now lol

  • sun is shining, and mind and post a video up :P

  • your write sand is better

  • how much would i need to spend to get and keep one

  • probably about £100 initial costs then around £5 a week for the rest of its life

  • hey man, i know you prolly dont, but that crate is very small and they could get stressed. I am not assuming, i am just sayin, so please dont yell at me

  • not gonna yell, just gonna say that it is ample size for a juvenile, adults would need bigger, i used this as it was easier for me to make the video with

  • well I've been keeping the male with the females so im gonna try putting a male and a female in the smaller cage for a week like you said

    thanx do u have msn??

    therefore its a faster way of comunication and maybe you can help me because I have never bread anything before!

    thanks again!

  • ok nice 1!

    I am 14 i have 2 females and 1 male...

    I have an exo-terra terrarium for the male wich is i think 1.5ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft

    and i have a have a home made terrarium wich is 4.5ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft

    i want to breed these geckos so...

    should I keep the male in with them? or put the male in at night till morning??

    what do you suggest??

    p.s I mite be buying another female soon...

  • if they are all breeding weight, then you can put 1 female with the male for a week, give him a few days to rest then [put the other ion for a week, and if you had another female you could keep them all together all the time (in theory)

  • thanks cos i have a tank with UV and a heat lamp and a heat mat for my geckos and was looking to get a bearded dragon or ball python so i can just moove them to a funarium yes??

  • i would leave the leo in the tank

    faunariums are not ideal for its entire life really, it is more of a temp viv

  • dont you need a lamp??

  • nope

  • 18 inches long and 12 inches deep

  • is calci sand ok for adult geckos ?

    I heard its less likely to cause impaction beacuse its digestable but many people disagreed. Any advice ?

  • i would say its fine. but it can cause impaction so you should monitor the gecko carefully

  • price differs from store to store about £10 is the average...

    they are 18 inches long, 12 inches deep and i dont know how tall they are...

  • large flat exo terra faunarium i use them to keep my oriental fire bellied toads in. i keep my leo in a 2 foot viv bit the faunariums are ok for baby leos

  • pet shops

    they are "large flat faunariums"

  • thanks for the vid. I need to know how my setup is so far. I have an empty 55 gal tank. dimensions are 3ft long x 2 ft high x 12" wide. I have papertowles in there for substrate, a vine with branches, a hide on the cool side, a moist hide on the warm but will switch if the geckos dont like it, and a lunar brite 100 watt bulb. I am picking up a heating mat tomorrow while picking up the geckos. I have a calcium dish and a water dish as well. Hoe does it sound?

  • it sounds good so far, so long as your temps are sitting right, its fine

  • i would put the moist hide in the middle and have a normal hide at either end. thats what i do

  • hey i have two geckos, i was wonderin if you could have theyre food dish and calcium dish in the same thing

  • yea, i would say yes

  • Hi, I just got another juvinile leopard gecko a few days ago and i think its a girl, but anyway, my two juveiniles live in about a 15 gallon tank with suitible decorations. But i have them on reptile carpet and it gets really messy from calcium, it starts to smell bad after awhile and it doesnt look natural enough,,,I was wondering if I should put calcium sand back in, with a calcium dish and feed them in a different container so they wouldnt eat sand.

  • no, you should just clean your repti-carpet more often, or use paper, or tile or something, perhaps you put a food bowl in and feed them in that, this avoisds spillage of powder

  • i love a natural vivaria its cool

  • impaction poses a fairly medium risk, it can show itself as a lack of poo, or small amounts of sandy poo, if you notice this you ened to take the gecko off the sand and put it nback on paper, make sure it has lots of fluids, & don't feed it until it has healed. also take it to the vets if you suspect impaction

  • i've got 17 geckos please help me erik

  • help you do what?

  • you have thrown some good an some very bad ideas out - aspen is bad for leos, it provides ample space for food items to bury and not be seen, subsequently, not eaten.

    and i should have mentioned in the video to leave the news paper at least 2 weeks before using it (this allows the ink to dry)

  • I was wondering if you knew what a house gecko is i was wondering if those were compatible

  • i know of them and have a friend who keeps them, im pretty sute they reguire higher humidity...

    Erik

  • Alright thanks a lot umm.. What are some capatabilities with the leos?

  • other leos, im not a fan of mixing species

  • I've only seen two of your videos but i think they're great. I was wondering if it's alright to keep a few leopard geckos with 1-4 of the same size anoles. I have a really nice, square viv with a longer base and a medium height side. My local petstores said it should be fine but just wanna check with you..

  • nah, you can't keep anoles with leos, anoles need higher humidity & different temps also each species carry different bacteria species that can be harmful to other animals, i personally wouldnt chance it - ever

  • how big does a viv hv 2 b if u hv 2 leopard geckos

  • 2 and a half feet long, 2 foot deep

  • help!!!!! my gecko is not eating and i have tried many diferent thing help!!!!!!!!!

  • how long has it been off food?

    and by not eating, do ylou mean its actually not eating or do you mean its not eating what people have said is average

  • my gecko hasn't been eating anything and i have tried a lot of different things like holding the food up to the face or leaving crickets in cage all night etc.

  • how long has it not eaten for?

  • um now almost a week:(

  • has it lose weight?

    does it look visually unhealthy

    your gonna need to give me a little more info here i'm afraid :)

  • he used to be fatter but now he is skinney. he looks fine bright eys,fat tail, no mucus coming out his nose, tempature are ok, and i havn't held him in a while because i thought he might get stressed out to much and that would cause the not eating. but i dont hold him now because i need him to eat or he will die of hunger. there is always food in the tank

  • almost a week would be ok, perhaps take him to the vets if your that worried?

  • could be RIor did u check temps?

  • Scotland

  • Hi can you look at my videos and Give me some pointers since you seem to know alot about leopard geckos.

  • Erik Could you make one using a big tank because that would help me on were to but the stuff in the cage like water, hides,and climbing places thank you.

  • yes, i will try, but the viv being where the viv is, it could be a challange

  • I liked your old method, its all what good with you and your gecko.Idk ppl got mad with your other setup it looked find!(i dont like newspaper either)

  • i personaly hate newpaper for a substrate it

    just doesnt make the tank look natural i prefer the calcium sand (A MESSAGE TO ANY 1 THAT THINKS CALCIUM SAND CAUSES IMPACTION WHELL IT DOESNT AND I REALY WOULDNT WORRY IF IT EATS A BIT IT CONTAINS CALCIUM AND IS EASY FOR ANY REPTILE TO DIGEST DONT WORRY IF HE EATS IT) (BUT IF IT EATS PLAY SAND IT CAN DIE DO NOT USE PLAY SAND GUYS!)

  • Hey I have a juveinile leopard gecko, and I have had him in calcium sand for about 3 weeks, I feed him crickets and he will sometimes eat sand,He is fine so far but Should I switch to somthing else?

  • well, i would say yes, if the gecko is eating rhe sand purposely, but if you coat the crickets in a vitamin powder, this should stop, but its best to put it on paper for the time being

    Erik

  • hey Erik i need some help my gecko hasent ate for like 5 4 days its been eating crickets and meal worms but it hasn't ate and i havent bothered it or anything so im kind of nervous

  • for 54 days, or 5 days or 4 days, it should be ok, i mean are you sure it isnt eating, it might not be eating when you are there

    Erik

  • i not it eats like 2 3 or 1 meal worm and its been like 5 or 4 days

  • so it eats like a mealworm a day? (you need to word your question a bit better, with punctuation etc.) Because i do not understand what you mean.

    Erik

  • sorry i type to fast, it eats like 2 or 3 meaworms a day and im kind of scared and when i fed it baby crickets over the weekend it only ate like 2 and it normaly eats like 6 , and im getting worried

  • well, thats a lot easier to understand lol.

    the geckos diet should consist mainly of crickets or locusts, mealworms contain a lot of chitin (shell material) which is not particularly beneficial, perhaps you feed slightly larger, easier to see crickets and your gecko should eat, and the fact that it is still eating is good. If it had not eaten at all, then i would worry

    Erik

  • You also need a mosture box all the time because if they don't get all there shed of they might have it stuck on there toes. If that heppens and you don't notice they will just go in there mosture box. I dont have a mosture box in my hatchling bins there to small. Its a 10 quart tub so I just mist the whole thing every other day.

  • hence you mist them the day they go into shed, like i said

  • However you want to do it.

  • There not from pakastan there captive bred. Its best to use paper towel. I don't use newspaper it looks like shit. And when you have 6 geckos its alot easier to change.

  • i prefer newspaper because the daily newspapers are cheaper than sand if you have lots of leos then you dont have to use sand for each viv.

  • that is definately an upside to newspaper

  • hey quick question on christmas my cuz wants me to bring my gecko to his house he lives 2 hours away should i put it in one of those things u have ?

  • well you could, but i dont like moving them around personally.

  • well i think sand is the best becouse leopard gecko are from pakistan waer their is a lot of sand and i have read that they like to eat a littel sand like chickens so if you mix it with very fine corol sand and silice sand its a good subtrait

    the gay how roat the book is ray hunziker