Thinking of making a mourning gecko viv

[mrcarabao]

Im thinking of making a vertical viv. Is it hard?
Ive seen pics.

I have a few questions about the viv and mourning geckos..

1.) How do you contain the bedding at the bottom of the tank without it spilling out? since the tank is flipped vertically. What material should be used?

2.) How will i utilize a lighting fixture? I read somewhere that glass filters out the uv rays needed for plants n lizards.

3.) Are mourning geckos easy to tame? They seem kind of skittish..so should I go with younger ones?

ok..thats all i can think of lol

a helpful response is greatly appreciated

[Austin]

Originally Posted by mrcarabao

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1.) How do you contain the bedding at the bottom of the tank without it spilling out? since the tank is flipped vertically. What material should be used?

2.) How will i utilize a lighting fixture? I read somewhere that glass filters out the uv rays needed for plants n lizards.

3.) Are mourning geckos easy to tame? They seem kind of skittish..so should I go with younger ones?

ok..thats all i can think of lol

a helpful response is greatly appreciated

1. I think most people attach plexiglass or glass to the tank to prevent substrate from falling out. If your really not up to it, you could just use paper towels for substrate and ditch that idea.

2. Plants don't need UV, and not all lizards so. So you might want to check if its an essential for mourning geckos or not to see if its needed or not. Otherwise you could set up some sort of light fixture so the light is faced towars the front of the tank and the UV can go through the screen.

3. Never dealt with mourning geckos, but if you want a tamer gecko, I wouldn't go with a baby. Most reptiles & amphibians aren't for handling anyways, and I would think such a small delicate gecko wouldn't be good for handling either.

[froggsong]

"Although nocturnal, in captivity this species is somewhat active and visible during the day."

They wont need UV lighting. If you want to provide a little bit, like with a 2.0 fluorescent during the day, you can get one short enough to fit inside the tank at the top and then mount it inside. A 2.0 produces so little UV that covering it with screen small enough to keep the geckos from fitting through would probably make it pointless to put it in there, so you'll need to heat test the bulb and fixture to see how hot it is. I have never used one so short, but I know that the longer tubes are generally cool enough to mount inside a vive without having to be covered.

Mourning geckos are very tiny. They are not "pets" really, but show animals. They probably wont tame, and you'll likely lose them if you try to take them out to handle them.

If you aren't planning to sell the babies any time soon, make sure you start out with a large enough vive. I have read that they generally lay a couple of eggs at a time, so your population could potentially grow exponentially pretty quickly. I have seen it written that you can house 6 in a ten gallon, so if you go with at least a 20G (or build a custom tank), you could probably start with three and be safe for quite a while.

Future is right about holding the substrate in. Most of us silcone a piece of plexi or glass across the inside of the tank lid on the bottom. You'll need to trim away any excess silicone from the tank lid first (only in the place you are applying more silicone), then apply a small bead to the inside if the tank frame, press the plexi/glass in place (try to press it as close to the tank frame as possible), then apply a bead to the other side of the plexi/glass and smooth with either your finger or a credit card (or comparable) with the corner cut off to the size you want the finished seam. It's very easy and holds up really well. You'll want the peice of plexi/glass to be at LEAST an inch taller than the top of your substrate, 2 inches is better.

[mrcarabao]

woooow

thanks!