Humid Hide

I was wondering is it okay to use the humid hide only when she sheds because usually I don't keep it in their because my last gecko would never come out and he wasn't able to digest correctly. So I don't want to risk it but when I see my girl dory is about to shed I place in a humid hide in-case she decides she needs it. Is that okay? or am I in the wrong doing?

You CAN certainly do something like that BUT 2 downsides imo... 1... why assume that just because your last gecko did it that dory will... kinda not fair to her really, esp. if it's a humid hide it should be just about as warm as your hot side hide right so it shouldn't mess with digestion if you're maintaining proper temps... 2 sometimes you don't see much of a difference between regular and about to shed leos. My leos last shed he didn't ghost up at all and the only way I knew he had shed was some fresh stuck shed on 2 toes. Keep in mid that having a humid hide in there serves a few purposes aside of a place to sauna... it also aides in the proper humidity of your viv.

Yeah, dory doesn't deserve to be without a humid hide. I just don't want to make the wrong choices so I am trying to be as safe as possible. I keep it sort of by the under tank heater is this correct? On another forums before I joined this I was told to keep it on the cooler side so I had it on the not so warm side and I think that's what might of caused the digestion problems. I am not sure though, but I will keep it in there though so she can go in when needed

If the purpose of the hide is to truly be a 'Humid" hide it needs heat... a cool moist hide generally isn't needed and can cause respratory issues with prolonged exposure as well as the lower temps affecting digestion if that animal is drawn to spending more time than needed in that hide. Heat is what makes proper digestion in leos... belly heat in particular, and heat plus moisture is what is going to help properly balance the humidity levels in your viv so... if you're going to use a moist hide you should do it properly and make sure a fair portion (say 75% of it) is heated imo.

Best to keep it in, but some gecko's dont need it at all. Just depends how good your gecko is at shedding. Most of mine don't need one and have no problems. Learn your gecko and you'll learn her needs.

Kermit wrote:If the purpose of the hide is to truly be a 'Humid" hide it needs heat... a cool moist hide generally isn't needed and can cause respratory issues with prolonged exposure as well as the lower temps affecting digestion if that animal is drawn to spending more time than needed in that hide. Heat is what makes proper digestion in leos... belly heat in particular, and heat plus moisture is what is going to help properly balance the humidity levels in your viv so... if you're going to use a moist hide you should do it properly and make sure a fair portion (say 75% of it) is heated imo.

Thanks for this, I have had the hide in now for a while and she seems to like it, I keep it where theres heat, and make sure it's humid enough.

Jordan wrote:Best to keep it in, but some gecko's dont need it at all. Just depends how good your gecko is at shedding. Most of mine don't need one and have no problems. Learn your gecko and you'll learn her needs.

Thanks for this too, I think she does better with the hide because when I woke up the next day there wasn't any shed left.

Yes, I have some that have never used their moist hides as far as I could tell and they are just fine without one,but I have others that ALWAYS have a moist hide in with them. They are all different.

smsararas2 wrote:Yes, I have some that have never used their moist hides as far as I could tell and they are just fine without one,but I have others that ALWAYS have a moist hide in with them. They are all different.

I see what you mean my other leo didn't need one but dory needs one.

Glad to hear Dory is adjusting so well. Keep up the good work

I'm really confused here.
So how warm should it be in the humid hide and how do you measure that temperature?
Also how moist should it be and can you use moss from the garden as long as you wash it?

Moss from the garden can't be teralized to ensure its mite and parasite free so might not be a good idea. You can buy "frog moss" sevral places tht is safe. Also I don't really hthink many monitor their moist humid hides... I keep mine on top of my hot side hide and it gets heat from that enough to make vapor in the humid tub. I do keep mine in eors' ank 24/7 and he has used it when his hot side was too warm and to assist in shedding. I just keep paper towels folded and moistened in there but he does also have a moist hide with sphagnum moss in it that he rarely uses. I think because he was tub raised he doesn't like how the sphanum feels. I guess the sphagnum is just helping his overall tank humidity since he never sits in it

I mostly use kitchen roll for banana's moist hide.. I put it half on the heat mat and half not.. it's quite big I spray it everyday.. and change the piece of kitchen roll every 2 days When I can afford some sphagnum moss I use that.. it's about £3-£4 a box because I buy the zoo med one.

Every morning I find her chillin' out in her moist hide she really likes it And she's shed everytime without a problem.. she has never had any shed left on her toes yet .. one day she had some near her cloaca and top of her tail.. but it came off within 2 day