Help with terrarium size and UTH size for an African Fat Tailed Gecko

Discussion in 'Enclosures, Heating & Lighting' started by jewels7, Aug 13, 2013.

  1. jewels7

    jewels7 Embryo

    Messages:
    1
    Hello everyone, I'm in need of some advice from you Herps. I am getting an African Fat Tailed Gecko. I've spent days searching online and have read dozens of care sheets, but I can't seem to find the specific information I'm looking for. It seems that the standard care sheet states that a 10 gal tank is the minimum size for housing an AFT. Is there a maximum? I decided to get an Exo Terra terrarium in the 24" wide x 18" deep x 12" high size. Is that too big? I could get the 18 x 18 x 12 size if it they prefer cozier living quarters. I have a bearded dragon, and his philosophy is the bigger the better when it comes to his living quarters, but then he never feels the need to hide either. An AFT might not appreciate the extra room a 24 x 18 x 12 provides beyond that of a 10 gal tank. My only reptile experience is my Beardie, so I need some input. The next issue is the UTH. They seem to be sized by gallons (20-30 gal or 50-60 gal etc) but my Exo Terra is sized by dimensions, not gallons. How do I determine what size of UTH I need to buy for my 24 x 18 x 12 terrarium (or smaller if I need to exchange mine for a smaller size). Is there a certain percentage of floor space that needs to be covered by the UTH? Is it better to run the UTH front to back in the tank or side to side? I don't relish the idea of removing the adhesive and "permanently" applying a UTH to my new terrarium just to test what the temps might be with any given size. There must be a better way to figure this out. Any thoughts? Also, I'd love opinions on whether Zoo Med or Zilla's UTH is currently better. Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it!
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  3. Tim3skimo

    Tim3skimo New Member

    Messages:
    145
    Hi

    I house my Leopard Gecko (I know a lot about AFT's) in a 40 gallon vivarium, she is very happy - AFT's are a tiny bit bigger so it will love it, the bigger the better.
    AFT's like long vivarium's (not tall, they are ground living reptiles. A UTH should cover 1/3 of the vivarium. It should come on the bottom, you want to raise the floor temperature.
    My heat pad isn't permanently attached to my vivarium either.

    With a glass tank the UTH has to come under the tank under the glass.
    I have a wooden vivarium so the UTH is inside the vivarium - mine doesn't get too hot, I don't know about Zoo Med or Zilla though.

    Honestly, both Zilla and Zoo Med are awesome ;) I live in South Africa...I use Repti Zoo because it's all I can find most of the time :/
     

Share This Page