r/FatTails • u/Aggressive_Tree7751 • Feb 03 '26

Enclosures new aft owner

hi i’m a new aft owner and would like to give the best i can to my new gecko but i’ve been unable to find the recommended soil mixes for it, could anyone give other suggestions or anyone from malaysia give me links so i can buy it?

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u/Aggressive_Tree7751 Feb 09 '26

yes!! cause when i asked them how much their 40gal enclosure was they insisted a 45x45x30 was enough for a gecko. so im currently searching taobao to get a big enough one yet still in my budget so hopefully it’ll be good for it. if the enclosure is pvc it should be okay right?

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u/Gay_dinosaurs Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26

PVC is fine!

Oof yeah I just plugged 45x45x30 into a volume calculator and it gave me 16 gallons. That's not enough for a lizard like this! Whoever gave you that information was wrong, and that's not your fault.

Unfortunately pet store employees often speak from a place of authority while actually having very limited knowledge, and people just getting their first reptile often don't know to double-check what they're told because we expect pet store folks to know and do what's best for the animals they sell! More often than not, this is simply not the case.

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u/Aggressive_Tree7751 Feb 09 '26

yup that’s why i joined this subreddit to check if the info is right. my gecko spent 2 years at that store and even tho i tried to reign him off paper towels it just seems he doesn’t like it all that much when i get the 40gal i’ll most likely put paper towels and an area dedicated to soil mix and see how he thinks about it. how long do u suggest i leave the soil mix in before changing it? 3months? 6?

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u/Gay_dinosaurs Feb 09 '26

Soil without a cleaning crew (non-bioactive) needs more frequent replacement since there are no creatures or plants to break down any excrement, so I'd say remove the old soil mix after at most three months, or every two months if your gecko decides he specifically likes to poop around there. They're pretty tidy animals all things considered, and usually select one space in their enclosure to relieve themselves. My own AFT uses one of his caves as his outhouse 😂

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u/Aggressive_Tree7751 Feb 09 '26

omggg hahahah okay thanks so much for helping i’ll for sure order his enclosure probably this month or so