recently shipped gecko hides ALL the time

Hi, so I had my parents ship my gecko, Rito (9yo), down to CA for me from Chicago. I've had him almost 3 weeks, and he will NEVER leave his cool/dry hide, even at night. I'm not sure what's wrong.

In chicago, where my parents kept the house pretty cold, he was under a basking light on the warm side, with a UTH. Currently I've upgraded the setup somewhat. He's now under a desert UVB fluorescent, with a larger UTH to regulate temps. I do need a rheostat, as the UTH can get the surface temps up to 100 if I'm not careful--but I've had it on a timer, and the temps are now around 85 (warm side) to 75 (cool side.)

He hasn't been eating either--a few waxworms every couple days. REFUSES super worms, and when I tried feeding a pinky the other (he used to FREAK OUT for those) he wanted nothing to do with it.

Any help/advice appreciated!!

He is just upset. It is a stressfull trip for a leo to be shipped. He is in a completely different environment and all the sounds and smells are different so he is probably just hiding, would be my guess. There are a couple things that I notice though.

First off, the UTH is great but is needs his belly heat to be between 92 and 98*. They really need the belly heat to digest their food. I would also get rid of the light. Leos are crepsecular(meaning they are most active in the evening and early in the morning) so he really does not need light and will actually be bothered by it.

Those are the things that I can think of. Please if there are any other things you notice let us know. Also, there may be others on here that think of other things.

I hope that he starts coming out for you.

And WELCOME to the forum

Hi thanks for the response...

What's strange to me though is that the hide he's spending all his time in is the cold hide--where surface temp is around 75. He won't go near the warm side. This is the first I'm hearing that a normal light cycle would be bad? I've heard a flourescent UVB is the way to go not just from the pet store but from Leo books?...I just measured and the current temp on the UTH side is 98. I've turned off the light for now, hoping to hear some other opinions on it...

Out of interest what leo books is it that says this?

Lights are completely not needed and sevre no purpose really.

Hey there, it appears I'm mistaken. My book seems to agree that there is no specific light requirement, however when it references full spectrum UV lights for plants, it does go on to say it wont harm the animals. Also fwiw, the petsmart leopard gecko pamphlet claims they need "a 12 hour light/dark cycle: if room light does not provide enough light use a flourescent bulb to provide additional daylight". This is probably where i got the idea from. Going to leave the light off for awhile and see what happens though...

Yeah there are certain lights which can be used to provide a day/night cycle. But if they are in a room which simply has a window then they will recieve that cycle from the natural light coming in from the window.

UV lights won't do them much harm and it can actually be beneficial in some severe calcium deficiency cases. But there's no need to run your electricity bills on something that isn't needed and your leo will sleep through.

Yeah unfortunately my apartment is pretty dark during the day when I'm gone, so I thought this might be a good alternative--but if it might be irritating I'll try turning it off for awhile.

Other things to note--he has made one poo since he's been back, everything looks good in that department from the few waxworms he's been eating since he came back...but yeah I'd obviously like to get him moving around/using his humid hide/eating regular mealies and superworms again. Thinking about trying tomato worms as well in a couple weeks when he's feeling more up to normal food again...

But in the meantime I'm hoping there isn't something drastically wrong with setup/living conditions to cause him more stress.

Also I should note that right after shipping him, the first 2-3 nights he was here he was out and about exploring the new enclosure--not sure what happened to make him retire to the cool side.

Just wanted to bump this...Still have the light off, no noticable improvement, and again staying on the cool side pretty much 100% of the time...Getting pretty worried now as he is refusing to eat even waxies as well (been about 4 days since last feeding)...

Don't panic hon... it could be a week or 2 before he eats because of the shipping. If you could fill out our care questionaire it would greatly help us dfind out if there are any other husbandry issues taht could be causing him discomfort. http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t134-please-read-and-fill-out-with-your-health-questions

In addition the optimum heat range for most leos is bnetween 88-96*F. Some like it hotter, some like it cooler. If you're keeping yours at 98 and he is consistantly in his cool hide then I think that's a big hint that his floor may be too warm, BUT on the same token he IS thermoregulating so if it is too warm he could just be more comfortable where he is in the cool hides. Also if your nights are getting cooler he could be trying to brumate in which case he will slow down activity and eating and is very natural.

I think your leo is just unsettled. I think you need to completely leave him alone for a few days, let him recouperate and get use to his new surroundings. If you're worried about him not going into the warm hide, disinfect the tank and hides. There could be something he smells that is putting him off that side. If you're worried he isn't getting a good enough day/night cycle then you can simply use a 7 watt night light bulb or a 25 watt regular incandescent bulb in a light fixture set on a timer to simulate your area's natural sunrise and sunset times to aide in his cycle, but believe me even with the smallest window, unless he's in a cave, he will be able to tell day/night simply from ambient air temps, moisture in the air, and the amount of light in the room. There is no need for a UV bulb or flourescent, both are much too bright and will hurt their eyes (esp. red eyed leos) causing them to recess into hides when they should be out. Since leos are crepuscular they are most active directly after sunset and right before sunrise. Try feeding at those hours, or if you see him up and wandering around. Keep offering food on a regular schedule after you give him a few days peace and eventually he will accept it when he feels comfortable. When my boy Eros brumated this past winter I was lucky if he was eating 2 superworms a week. Leos can go upwards of a month with out food with out much ill effects (aside of some weight loss). Just make sure he has a suppliment dish available (I suggest both multi vit. and a calcium with D3 since he isn't getting ANY suppliments/nutrients while he is off food, or you could just go with a calcium & D3(they need D3 to absorb calcium so this is a must at this point imo) suppliment dish at the very least for him to lap at will) and fresh water at all times until he's eating regularly again.

Good luck