This kit contains everything you need for the care of a Viper Gecko in a naturalistic vivarium, complete with live plants and a clean up crew! It includes:

1. Exo Terra Glass Terrarium (24x18x18)

This glass terrarium makes it easy to enjoy your Viper gecko. Opening front doors provide easy access, and a screen top permits adequate ventilation.

2. Dome Lamp/50w Halogen Bulb and Green Glo LED Fixture

Reptiles are ectothermic – they cannot regulate their internal body temperature via metabolism like us, and are dependent on the environment for their temperature needs. Thermoregulation – the movement of an animal from an area of a higher temperature to a lower temperature in order to cool down, or from an area of lower temperature to higher temperature to warm up – is very important for your pet gecko. Biobedding Desert naturally absorbs heat, so we have to provide any needed heat from above. This mini dome lamp and halogen bulb will provide the thermoregulation your gecko needs to thrive. Run the light on for 12 hours a day, then turn it off overnight.

The provided 24" LED fixture will provide plants with the lights they need to thrive, and should be run on the same schedule as the heat bulb.

3. Digital Temperature and Humidity Gauge

Being dependent on their environment for their temperature needs, it is important to keep your gecko at it's proper temperature. Ideally, the air temperature on the warm end should be between 80-85F (it will be warmer on the surface of the heat pad) during the day. At night, the temperature can easily drop to 60F, as long as the Viper gecko has the ability to raise it's body temperature the next day.

Humidity can be a little trickier with geckos. Too low of a humidity, and the lizard can have trouble shedding – the shed will come off in patches, or become stuck to the animal, instead of coming off in one clean piece with proper humidity. Too high humidity, and the gecko can develop respiratory problems. Generally, an ambient humidity of 30-40% is fine with Viper geckos, as long as a clean bowl of water is present at all times. The enclosure can be misted with dechlorinated, distilled, or reverse osmosis water to increase ambient humidity.

4. Cork flats x 3

In nature, geckos spend much of their time in burrows, under logs, etc – out of view. This is important to replicate in captivity for the gecko's well being. Our natural cork flats hold up well in the bioactive environment, and look very natural - because they are! Place two pieces of cork on the warm end of the enclosure, and the other piece on the cool end.

5. Josh's Frogs BioBedding Desert (10L)

This bioactive substrate is perfect for your Viper gecko. We recommend placing about 1/4 of the bag in a bucket or other watertight container, and adding dechlorinated water to it until it sticks together when sqeezed. Squeeze out excess water, then place this damp layer at the bottom of your tank. Add the rest of the biobedding to the enclosure and cover the wet layer completely.

6. Josh's Frogs No Escape Food Bowls - Small

Mealworms are a kind of beetle larvae, and make a great food source for Viper geckos. This food bowl is specially designed so that mealworms cannot escape the confines of the bowl, and are thus easily consumed by your gecko.

7. Water Dish

A water bowl large enough for the gecko to soak in is an important feature of it's habitat. This greatly facilitates gecko's ability to shed, as well as hydrate itself. It is important to provide your pet with fresh water daily, as the water bowl will often double as a latrine.

8. Josh's Frogs Spray Bottle (16 oz)

In their natural habitat, Viper geckos get moisture from their diet, as well as from morning dew. To replicate this dew, lightly spray the enclosure every night. Make sure to use declorinated, reverse osmosis, or distilled water.

9. Medium Driftwood

A bit of real wood really makes this habitat kit appear more natural. Manzanita is naturally rot resistant and really adds to the desert asthetic. It also provides visual barriers, hiding places, rough surfaces for your gecko to shed on, and more surface area for your animal to utilize.

10. Josh’s Frogs Dechlorinator (4 oz)

Use with water to pull out harmful chlorine. This will help provide the best water for your pet.

11. Clean up Crew

These springtails and isopods will colonize the damp portions of Biobedding Desert, especially around the base of plants, under the water bowl, and under humid hides. They'll venture out at night to consume shed, poop, and dead insects.

12. Josh's Frogs Desert Plant Kit

Finish off your bioactive kit with some live plants! These plants have been carefully selected to grow well in this environment, and will thrive along with your gecko.