# Hammocks for Leopard Geckos



## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

I was thinking about getting a hammock for my Leo to make use of all the space i the viv but where abouts should i put it? hot end or cool end? as in the hot end he would be fairly close to the bulb, but i have a heat guard, but even so...

Just wandering what you guys thought


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## Breadrun (Mar 1, 2007)

my first thought is why your hot end has a bulb?


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## IndigoFire (Apr 11, 2009)

Breadrun said:


> my first thought is why your hot end has a bulb?


 
Some people do use heat bulbs for leos...dont understand it myself. But at the end of the day, so long as you get the correct temps, is there much difference between a bulb and mat?

I personally use mats. I wouldnt use hammocks though, leos can be quite clumsy climbers, and if you put it to high up, it might fall and hurt itself. I know the can and some like climbing, but some are clumsy.


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## Velosus (Feb 26, 2008)

two things... as said.... what bulb is it? they dont need a heat bulb, and i seriously doubt they would use it. never heard of leos using a hammock.

try some of the 'Fake rock backgrounds' on this site, just do a search, theres loads!
this would make better space of the height width and depth of the viv!

good luck

Ian


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## Dean Cheetham (Jun 1, 2009)

My thought is that leos are not a climbing species really so why a hammock? Lol


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## Breadrun (Mar 1, 2007)

Also a point to be made about hammocks is the material! leo's claws also stick in my clothes and I have to be very careful when picking them up, the worry i would have is whether the leo would get its claw stuck in a hammock and then stress itself, ravell up etc

Also i know some poeple dont mind about natural habitat but you would have to wonder where a leo would be able to climb a hammock or something similair in the wild


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

just for somewhere else to chill! I use a bulb as i have a wooden viv and don't want to end up with a fire on my hands. And for plenty of other reasons. He does perfectly well with a bulb. 

I just thought of a hammock as i saw some photos once of lots geckos on a hammock. But yea, come to think of it, they are quite clumsy so i think il stick to no hammock lol.

Going to have a look at the background things though  thanks


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## ivan.reho (Dec 21, 2009)

tanyarussell said:


> just for somewhere else to chill! I use a bulb as i have a wooden viv and don't want to end up with a fire on my hands. And for plenty of other reasons. He does perfectly well with a bulb.
> 
> I just thought of a hammock as i saw some photos once of lots geckos on a hammock. But yea, come to think of it, they are quite clumsy so i think il stick to no hammock lol.
> 
> Going to have a look at the background things though  thanks



i just built my self a fake back round but i beleave mine is a bit to high if you was to do this try not to make it to high for her or him

and i will also be puting a reptile glow 2.0 tube in mine


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

tanyarussell said:


> just for somewhere else to chill! I use a bulb as i have a wooden viv and don't want to end up with a fire on my hands. And for plenty of other reasons. He does perfectly well with a bulb.
> 
> I just thought of a hammock as i saw some photos once of lots geckos on a hammock. But yea, come to think of it, they are quite clumsy so i think il stick to no hammock lol


i wouldn't worry so much about starting a fire - i use heat mats in wooden vivs, but as long as you have a thermostat, there shouldn't be a problem! i use a 2% uv bulb now in my leo vivs and found found them the tenants to be much more perky and active than they were before. 

as for a making use of all the space in the viv, i glued in cork bark shelves in 2 of my vivs - easy to do and takes little time. tbh, only one of my leos uses the extra space, and that's only to leave me turds anyway!


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## TeamX (Apr 20, 2008)

our geckos love their hammock! one of them spends half her time on it.

we thought it was a bit of a crazy idea at first but tried it out and they seem to quite enjoy sitting up there.

ours is made out of a plastic mesh type stuff so they can grip on easy. its about 4 inches up above the hot end and i think it works out as quite a good "inbetween" temperature resting point (not too hot, not too cold). it is a triangle shape in the corner and we have a thick vine thing leading up to it one side and touches the top of their cork hide the other side. it is nailed in place for stability.


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

TeamX said:


> our geckos love their hammock! one of them spends half her time on it.
> 
> we thought it was a bit of a crazy idea at first but tried it out and they seem to quite enjoy sitting up there.
> 
> ours is made out of a plastic mesh type stuff so they can grip on easy. its about 4 inches up above the hot end and i think it works out as quite a good "inbetween" temperature resting point (not too hot, not too cold). it is a triangle shape in the corner and we have a thick vine thing leading up to it one side and touches the top of their cork hide the other side. it is nailed in place for stability.


 aw wow, so four inches from the bottom of the viv? What size viv you got? Would you mind sending me a link to where you got yours from? Do you use a bulb or a mat? I'l always be sticking to a bulb but just wandered incase i need to alter the height of the hammock


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

donia said:


> i wouldn't worry so much about starting a fire - i use heat mats in wooden vivs, but as long as you have a thermostat, there shouldn't be a problem! i use a 2% uv bulb now in my leo vivs and found found them the tenants to be much more perky and active than they were before.
> 
> as for a making use of all the space in the viv, i glued in cork bark shelves in 2 of my vivs - easy to do and takes little time. tbh, only one of my leos uses the extra space, and that's only to leave me turds anyway!


hey im gunna stick to heat bulb as he gets on fine with it. I read an article recently about UV bulbs as some people did use them and some didn't, and i didn't bother, but the article was saying more research proves they really do use the UV. How did you attatch the uv bulb? could you send me a link as to where you got it from as im thinking on payday im going to get one. Do you need a guard for it? Me Leo's viv is directly in front of a window and he gets loads of light in the day. Do i just turn it off at night? Sorry for many questions but as i never used a uv bulb before i never researched into it.. lol thanks!!


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## TeamX (Apr 20, 2008)

tanyarussell said:


> aw wow, so four inches from the bottom of the viv? What size viv you got? Would you mind sending me a link to where you got yours from? Do you use a bulb or a mat? I'l always be sticking to a bulb but just wandered incase i need to alter the height of the hammock


our viv is 2.5 foot by 18 inches by 18 inches. we use a heatmat so the hammock catches the heat rising up. the hammock was bought in a shop - cannot remember the brand sorry but i think it was sold as something for beardies. you should be able to find it or soemthing similar on most reptile product websites.


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## TeamX (Apr 20, 2008)

should probably add it was labelled as a "reptile hammock" in case that helps your search


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

TeamX said:


> our viv is 2.5 foot by 18 inches by 18 inches. we use a heatmat so the hammock catches the heat rising up. the hammock was bought in a shop - cannot remember the brand sorry but i think it was sold as something for beardies. you should be able to find it or soemthing similar on most reptile product websites.


aahhhh lovely, well, thanks very much for your help


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

tanyarussell said:


> I read an article recently about UV bulbs as some people did use them and some didn't, and i didn't bother, but the article was saying more research proves they really do use the UV. Me Leo's viv is directly in front of a window and he gets loads of light in the day. Do i just turn it off at night? Sorry for many questions but as i never used a uv bulb before i never researched into it.. lol thanks!!


UVB bulbs for geckos are a personal choice, but I believe that every wild animal, whether nocturnal or not will be exposed to UVB to some extent, that's why I use it now for my leos. I've also read more scientific studies that are for UVB exposure than against/neutral. UVB doesn't pass through glass, so your leos will only be getting UVA exposure, which, as far as I understand, doesn't promote vitamin D production - in fact I just read a paper that linked UVA exposure to vit D breakdown in people that work indoors, so get very little UVB exposure (may not be so relevant to reps tho......) 



tanyarussell said:


> How did you attatch the uv bulb? could you send me a link as to where you got it from as im thinking on payday im going to get one. Do you need a guard for it?


For my set ups, I'm just using a standard screw fitting bulb holder with a Repti Glo 2.0 bulb - these bulbs are energy efficient and so release very little heat. Not using a guard for them, as there's no way the little ones can get to the bulbs, but if they could reach them, I'd advise getting guards. I only keep them on for a couple of hours a day - in the afternoon to extend the day a bit for them, as it gets dark early still. Easily done with plug timers to connect to your lights! Check ebay for this stuff - it tends to be a bit cheaper on there than most other places I find, and you can usually find what you're looking for.


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

donia said:


> For my set ups, I'm just using a standard screw fitting bulb holder with a Repti Glo 2.0 bulb - these bulbs are energy efficient and so release very little heat. Not using a guard for them, as there's no way the little ones can get to the bulbs, but if they could reach them, I'd advise getting guards. I only keep them on for a couple of hours a day - in the afternoon to extend the day a bit for them, as it gets dark early still. Easily done with plug timers to connect to your lights! Check ebay for this stuff - it tends to be a bit cheaper on there than most other places I find, and you can usually find what you're looking for.


So, id have to screw this into the back of the viv? Which means il have to empty it out of the sand as the wood shavings will go everywhere? Ahhh thats a good idea a couple hours when the days are shorter!! Are plug timers just ike the bog standard ones you can get in most hardware stores? Thank you so much for your help!!

p.s would i attatch it just to the top at the back of the viv?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EXO-TERRA-REP..._Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item2555bb932c

is that what i want? and then buy the bulb fitting thing seperate? And im lucky cause i already got a hole in the top if the viv just big enough for the wire


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

I just use these: 

ES SCREW FIT ANGLED BATTEN LAMPHOLDER ,CABLE & PLUG KIT on eBay (end time 05-Feb-10 09:29:00 GMT)

They screw in to the side of the viv as are angled. They're not ceramic tho, so can only be used with low wattage bulbs (which most compact fluorescent bulbs are). Shouldn't need to empty out the viv as long as you can get in to screw the fitting in. Probably best to use a UVB bulb over where the heat source is, as they do emit a small amount of heat, and you don't want to heat the cool end. But, you're using a heat bulb, so this bulb holder may melt near it! Standard plug timers should do the trick.

Not used the long fluorescent tubes myself - I just use the compact ones:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exo-Terra-Rep..._Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item3a54ae7a89


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

donia said:


> I just use these:
> 
> ES SCREW FIT ANGLED BATTEN LAMPHOLDER ,CABLE & PLUG KIT on eBay (end time 05-Feb-10 09:29:00 GMT)
> 
> ...



you guys are being soooo helpful!!!!

well, it says you can use this with heatbulbs, so maybe it wont melt? il just give it a try. I think i'l have to get the boyfriend to wire it though lol!!! and then obviously just lead the wire out the viv through a small hole and bobs your uncle? lol Man i'm sorry to sound so thick but i like to get everything right before i actually do it if you know what i mean


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

tanyarussell said:


> well, it says you can use this with heatbulbs, so maybe it wont melt? il just give it a try. I think i'l have to get the boyfriend to wire it though lol!!! and then obviously just lead the wire out the viv through a small hole and bobs your uncle? lol Man i'm sorry to sound so thick but i like to get everything right before i actually do it if you know what i mean


No worries, when I was looking into it, I had NO idea about wiring and what equipment would go together. Managed to wire it all up, but with some help from the OH. The holder says 'suitable for lamps up to 60W', but the compact bulbs are low wattage (13W/, so will be fine. General rule of thumb is the higher the wattage, the more heat a bulb emits. 

Here's a pic of the bulb set up in one of my vivs:


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

donia said:


> No worries, when I was looking into it, I had NO idea about wiring and what equipment would go together. Managed to wire it all up, but with some help from the OH. The holder says 'suitable for lamps up to 60W', but the compact bulbs are low wattage (13W/, so will be fine. General rule of thumb is the higher the wattage, the more heat a bulb emits.
> 
> Here's a pic of the bulb set up in one of my vivs:
> 
> image


awwww ok so i might be able to put the wire in the hole i already got for my probes  I like what you done with your background with painting it  and the bark glued onto the sides, i like it lots  

ok so i think im all set to buy it all on payday and know what i'm doing now 
thank you so so so so much!!!!!!!!!!! i cant wait to get it all now roll on payday!! cuz im also getting some new rock features on payday wooooooooop


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## donia (Apr 15, 2009)

Just measured the bulb holder cable and it's 5/6mm, if that helps you any? I think most people don't use UVB with leos and they seem to have healthy little ones, so don't worry about it too much. 

Went a bit over board with the painting, but I get one idea, then another, then another.......:whistling2:


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

yea i think il end up doing it when i move out as my lil one can run around my new bedroom wth the bf watching him whilst i screw this and do that and sieve his sand etc etc lol.

Lol i know what you mean, you look at it and then "oh just this little bit there, and this little bit here" keeps going and going lol!!!


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Geckos do love comfort, one of my rescues has a wee hot water bottle that he sleeps on, even though he's got loads of hides.
Its not on we just keep it in for his comfort.
And alot of people give leos basking spots, if the tanks big enough that it doesn't affect the cool end temp, i dont see the problem with it


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## beckyl92 (Aug 21, 2009)

im thinking of getting a hammock for my leo.
one thing that im confused about is how does it get onto the hammock?
would i use some kinda ramp?


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## tanyarussell (Apr 9, 2009)

beckyl92 said:


> im thinking of getting a hammock for my leo.
> one thing that im confused about is how does it get onto the hammock?
> would i use some kinda ramp?


they sell ladders, have a look on 888 website, they have them on there next to the hammocks.  Although im not sure the leos would use the ladders?? cuz they attatch flat onto the wall of the viv


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