Leopard Gecko in a 50g Hex Tank Setup Thoughts...

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polish

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 9, 2008
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Ne, IN
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I've got my old 50g Hex tank I no longer need for fish so I am going to clean it out and hopefully use it for a Leopard Gecko or two...

The footprint is 24" x 24" between the panes and 28" between the seams. I figure this should work as well as a 10g or 20g tank people say you can keep them in. I also plan to make it two levels with either some slate or other rocks. I know they don't climb all that well so I'll make it a very small slope so it could easily climb up and down, mostly just to increase usable space since it's a 24" tall tank. I've been researching them for a couple months now and feel I should be able to care for one or two of them without any issue. My GF wants a Crested but we found out they can't live together after research so we are just doing Leopard(s) for now. The tank has glass tops with a small gap in the back where HOB filters normally go, should I cover this gap or keep it open for air flow?

I plan to get a Zoomed Medium heating pad which is 8"x12" and place it under half the bottom for the heated side with a dry hide on that side.

Then another hide on the other side with moist paper towels or moss as I read that is needed for shedding.

Along with a shallow water dish and food dish with proper supplements added to the diet as I read that is very important.

The bottom will likely be tiled with maybe a few stones and some plants perhaps. I read Sand is a no-no, so I am not doing sand.

I also plan a smallish light on top for daytime viewing along with some added heat because I keep my house fairly cool all year.

Am I forgetting anything?

Thoughts on this setup?

Thanks :)
 
another dish just for the calcium powder, they'll supplement themselves when needed.

Ditch the gravel, same problems as sand, ingestion-impaction, go with paper towel, tile, repticarpet, basically anything that isn't a loose substrate. (You really love it at cleaning time, just run a shop vac hose in there then wipe everything down.)

Instead of wasting all that height as open space, why not lay the tank on it's side and make the top a side opening screen? More floor space will make your leos happier and it's a unique way to use a hex tank.

Make the top full screen, they need plenty of air flow to keep them healthy and keep the humidity down.

If you use moss in the moist hide it can double as a lay box in the future (they'll already be used to it).
 
Thanks for the info. I will add another dish just for the powder as well and ditch the glass tops. I can make a full screen top easily.

I never said gravel though, just floor tile with some large rocks on top for Aesthetic reasons and to give them some areas to climb on.

I would lay it on it's side but the way the tank is that wouldn't work so well. Each pane is 13" wide by 24" tall so on it's side it would be less floor space. Not to mention there isn't really any way to remove one pane without removing both the top and bottom trim and this would be uber hard. It's a 30 year old tank with like 1/2" glass and super thick silicon seams, way to much work to modify it. Good thought though.
 
If I were you I would get a crested gecko or two... It would get way more use out of that tank and are really awesome.
 
I vote for leopards. They are wicked cool.
 
Chad55;4117728; said:
If I were you I would get a crested gecko or two... It would get way more use out of that tank and are really awesome.
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We may get one eventually, but for now we are going to only tackle one species at a time. I can always convert this one over to a Crested Home and move the Leopards to a normal 30g tank or something in the future.

Pharaoh;4117733; said:
I vote for leopards. They are wicked cool.
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:naughty: My thoughts exactly.
 
That looks awesome, I hadn't seen that thread before. I will definitely use some of your ideas on a rock wall. Thanks a bunch... :)

I notice you have some sand in there to keep the rocks stable, I may have to do this as well and was concerned they would try to consume it. I guess it's not so much of a worry when there is only a small amount and not the entire bottom of the tank. I had originally planned on all sand but read numerous places that was a bad idea so I changed the plan.
 
polish;4117866; said:
That looks awesome, I hadn't seen that thread before. I will definitely use some of your ideas on a rock wall. Thanks a bunch... :)

I notice you have some sand in there to keep the rocks stable, I may have to do this as well and was concerned they would try to consume it. I guess it's not so much of a worry when there is only a small amount and not the entire bottom of the tank. I had originally planned on all sand but read numerous places that was a bad idea so I changed the plan.
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There's a lot of numbskulls out there that ruined it for the rest of us responsible reptile keepers. I've been keeping my leopard geckos on a mixture of playsand and soil for over 17 years now and I've never had a problem. If a leopard gecko is consuming sand, then it's not getting all the vitamins and minerals it requires. As long as you dust the food with calcium powder then your gecko won't have any reason to eat the sand. I only keep adults on this mixture, not babies or juveniles.
 
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