Hide Suggestions?

Hello. I've attempted to make my leo a moist hide. I made a tupperware container full of moist moss but she's not going in it. I tried changing to moist paper towels... still nothing. Does anyone have any advice on making moist hides? Any creative ideas?

Thanks everyone!!

Desiree

When you put your moist hide in the tank did you have it Half on the heat and half off? If not give that a shot. That will warm up part of the humid hide and produce the necessary humidity as well. And some leos wont go into there moist hides often. Some only go in when they are actually shedding so dont get discouraged right away. Like i said try putting it half on the heat and half off and leave it be for a few days.

I dont meant to interrupt, but when you say some dont go into the moist hide that often is it normal for them to never come out? My girl is new and she only comes out to eat then goes right back.

Umm well it depends i guess. Some say it could be bad and others would say its fine. I have a few baby females as well that spend 90% of there time in the moist hides. The females that stay in there the most are between the ages of 3-5 months old. Maybe some of our other members will chime in about them being in the hide all the time. I will do some extra research on that question and see if i can get you a better answer. I think what it will come down to is the humidity levels in the hide. High humidity for long periods of time i do believe can cause respiratory problems in leos but i am not 100% on that so like i said i will look further into it for us.

It's normal if they make the moist hide their main hide where they stay in most of the time. I have a few that are always in there. It's true hatchlings and young juveniles require higher humidity, so they tend to stay in the moist hide a lot. But I wouldn't worry too much about them either liking it or not liking it. Sometimes they use it when you aren't watching, such as when you are sleeping.

Just make sure the paper towel is moist, but not too dripping wet. They do enjoy warmth better than cold & wet spots so placing the hide above warm surface will help. Half warm half cool works fine, although these days since weather is getting really cold I just place it directly next to the warm hide on the UTH.

Also remember geckos like to feel safe. So depending on how you have built your hide using the tupperware container, they don't like containers that are too big, too tall, or holes that are too large. Here's an example of one of my hides:



You can also make the hole on the side, as some geckos don't like to climb up into a hide with top openings. But that's something you'll have to try with your geckos, because I have some that prefer top opening, some prefer side. This particular gecko in the picture for an example, he likes climbing over the hide and crawling down into the moist hide. It's like crawling down into a tunnel lol.

Okay thanks! I'm hoping its just because she's new and not comfortable to be out yet. Also her previous owner had her on sand, no uth, no moist hide, and she was with 4 other geckos not knowing the gender.

ashleyevan wrote:I dont meant to interrupt, but when you say some dont go into the moist hide that often is it normal for them to never come out? My girl is new and she only comes out to eat then goes right back.

haha it's okay. My adult female banana never comes out of her moist hide! She basically lives in there!

Yeah, my male albino is 8 mths old now and he has always loved his moist hide. I can't get him out of there and sometimes he won't even come out of it to eat! Think he feels safe in there. I don't spray it everyday cos its not good for it to be wet and damp all the time. As you can imagine, he has no problem with shedding and I don't find stuck skin on him.

Okay good! I just wanted to make sure it's okay for her. I spray it often because it dries up pretty quickly!

hahahha that sounds like banana although if she hears that I've dropped a superworm in her tank, she comes running out And she also never has any shed skin stuck

it will just take time. some of mine stay in thiers alot, others seem to only use them occasionally. keep in mind, just because you dont see it in there, doesnt mean its not using it, we cant watch em 24 hours a day...although i would love to! i put all of mine right on the heat tape, so the temps get high enough to create the right amount of heat...and my leos that use them alot, need it on the heat, because they will often go in there right after they eat. i use the sterilite sandwich containers with an intrance hole in the side, with really moist papertowels. they love em