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Baskdena warm den for reptile folk · baskden.comReptile Care Cheat-Sheet
🐉 Bearded Dragon
- Enclosure
- 4×2×2 ft min (120 gal); 6×2×2 ft best
- Basking
- 108–113°F / 42–45°C surface, on a thermostat
- Cool side
- 77–85°F / 25–29°C
- UVB
- T5 HO 12–14%, UVI 4.0–4.5 at basking · replace yearly
- Humidity
- 30–60% (bone-dry is a myth)
- Diet
- Omnivore — babies mostly insects, adults mostly greens
- Never
- Starter-kit tank · calci-sand · no UVB
🦎 Leopard Gecko
- Enclosure
- 36×18×18 in min · 3 hides (warm/cool/humid)
- Warm zone
- 94–97°F surface; warm hide ~90°F (overhead heat)
- Cool side
- 70–77°F / 21–25°C
- UVB
- Low UVB now advised — UVI 0.5–1.5 (0.5–0.7 pale morphs)
- Humidity
- 30–40% + a humid hide at 70–80% for shedding
- Diet
- Strict insectivore — no fruit or veg
- Never
- Belly heat-rock · "no UVB" myth · loose crickets overnight
🦎 Crested Gecko
- Enclosure
- 18×18×24 in vertical, densely planted
- Temp
- Room temp 72–78°F — NO hot basking
- Heat warning
- Sustained above mid-80s°F can be fatal
- UVB
- Low UVB a bonus — UVI 1.0–2.0 (Ferguson Zone 1)
- Humidity
- 60–80%, dried back to 40–50% between mistings
- Diet
- Complete CGD powder every 2–3 days · no live food needed
- Never
- Heat above mid-80s°F · constant sogginess
🐍 Ball Python
- Enclosure
- 4×2×2 ft min · hides on both ends
- Warm zone
- 86–90°F surface (overhead heat, on a thermostat)
- Cool side
- 75–80°F / 24–27°C
- Humidity
- 60–80% — the spec most people get wrong
- Diet
- F/T rodent ~10–15% of body weight, every 7–14 days
- Note
- Long voluntary fasts are normal if weight holds
- Never
- Cedar/pine substrate · "tiny tub forever" · dry air
🐍 Corn Snake
- Enclosure
- Full gradient with a hide on each end
- Warm zone
- 90°F surface from overhead heat, on a thermostat
- Cool side
- 75–82°F / 24–28°C
- UVB
- Recommended — T5 HO, UVI 2.0–3.0 · replace yearly
- Humidity
- 65–75% (more than old caresheets said)
- Diet
- Whole-prey rodents — a complete diet, no supplements
- Never
- No thermostat · bone-dry air
🌡️ Golden rules (all reptiles)
- Build a thermal GRADIENT — a warm basking zone AND a cool retreat, so they can self-regulate.
- Control every heat source with a thermostat, and measure with a probe or temp gun (never a stick-on dial).
- Get the enclosure, temps and UVB dialled in BEFORE the animal comes home.
- Replace UVB bulbs on schedule (~12 months) — output fades long before the light goes dark.
- Whole-prey for carnivores; gut-loaded, calcium-dusted insects for insectivores — supplement per species.
- Buy captive-bred, not wild-caught. Quarantine every new arrival.
- A proper setup costs far more than the animal — budget for it first.
- When something looks off, check the temps first — then ask. No shame in learning. 🦎