Behavior - Burrowing

capergeo said:

I am a little confused about something regarding the natural environment of the Leos. Having had my two Leos (Markus/Hypo Tangerine male & Martha/Snow Mack female) for a short while I was advised by the breeder who gave my wife and I Markus to use a soft substrate in their cage.

Here lies my confusion - countless times I come across habitat setups where people use artificial turf, paper towels, tiles and so forth. Martha has this thing that she does periodically in the late evening where she walks around, eats, drinks, explores and then burrows into the substrate.

I have read that they naturally live in a rocky environment and there is the possibility of compaction should they consume any substrate. Is the use of flat surfaces such as tiles a cleaning convenience or a safety issue?

Is her burrowing tendency a natural behavior? Does it mean anything or is it just curiosity?

Thanks, Geo

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ajveachster said:

Burrowing is not uncommon in my colony. We use paper for tub substrate. We use paper towels in the hides for all non-laying animals. We use coco fiber in the hides for all the laying females. They will dig and hide under all of the above. I'll find animals hiding under the paper on the floor of the tub. Some of the animals like to ball up their paper towels. Some like to hide between the folds of the paper towels. Some of the females will dig in their hides even if they are not laying eggs at the time. Some will even dig in their calcium dishes, spreading powder all over. Sometimes I swear they have secret parties when we aren't looking. Gregg M. just wrote an article for gecko time about natural substrates if you are interested.

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