Humid hide part time?

[bluedog]

The guy at the reptile pet store told me to remove the humid hide and only offer it a few days a week since my leo tends to go in and stay like a lump 24/7. We took out today and rearranged his space and he has been very active and even pooped (yay - hasn't since he got here on Sunday). Ever since I made the hide about 2 days ago, he had been in it almost 100%.

Anyone else do this?

 

[snakegirl]

well lets face it, Give us a cozy soft sofa and we will not get up from it...Yes?
same with leopard geckos, If you give them a nice humid hide *or just something they like* they will not LEAVE IT. i have a female i gave a rock cave too, wouldn't come out for ANYTHING. till i took it away now she is running around like the rest, Just like telling them "Stop laying around lazy lizard!" lol

 

[STUTFL]

There's a reason mine is named "The Spotted Thing Under the Fake Log."
He loves his little log hide, won't bat an eye at anything else I've given him so far (other than occasionally posing dramatically atop the water dish :tongue3: ).

 

[ajveachster]

Our cool hide also acts as the humid hide. We spray down the paper towel when we see a gecko going into shed.

 

[GeckoNub]

I have a similar problem with my female, so much so that i make sure its nice and warm in the humid hide cos she will stay in it all day and then i worry when shes a bit cold.

But i do keep the moist hide in all the time. I can never tell when shes gonna want to start shedding and stuck shed is not fun :main_no:

It just means i have to keep the moss wet a bit more but shes worth a little extra work :main_thumbsup:

 

[STUTFL]

Yeah, if you can't tell for sure, better safe than sorry.
Mine's got lots of dark spots, so I can see him go pale around shed time.

 

[Riyo]

Personally, I only give them a moist hide when I see them going into shed. Geckos that camp out in a moist hide 24/7 can potentially develop a respiratory infection. I also keep the moist hide on the cool end to discourage them from staying there constantly.

I've never had any issues with doing it this way and have actually have had better results. (I say this because I used to keep their moist hides moist 24/7 and I actually had one develop a RI because he liked it so much. After that happened I only offered a moist hide when they are shedding...A lesson well learned for me, trust me.)

 

[STUTFL]

Now that's a good point. Just because they like it, doesn't mean it's good for them. My hamsters camped out/nested right up against the water bottle - also animals from a habitat where water is normally a luxury.
Their bedding got all wet and soggy and it couldn't have been healthy for them. Finally I just moved the water bottles up and made them harder to sit under.
They just didn't know what to do with free-choice water like that, I guess.

 

[GeckoNub]

Oh dear i never thought about getting an RI Yoshi is good with his moist hide and only goes in when needed but Daisy is a bit of a moisty camper

Im gonna try moving is further away from the mat and then if that doesnt help i might be best takin it out and putting it in when i see shes getting ready to shed.

I guess leo's are more like us than we give them credit. Baths are nice, but not so good if u spend all day in it hehe.

 

[bluedog]

It made a lot of sense and it is a really reputable reptile store, not chain pet store... I had take apart the hide (tupperware) to get him out of there, the little bugger. I was worried he would get too cold also.

 

[breanna-banana13]

There's a reason mine is named "The Spotted Thing Under the Fake Log."
He loves his little log hide, won't bat an eye at anything else I've given him so far (other than occasionally posing dramatically atop the water dish :tongue3: ).

i have been wondering what the heck that meant!

 

[ez2animate]

i take it out after he shed, then put it in a couple weeks later, when hes ready to shed again.

 

[STUTFL]

i have been wondering what the heck that meant!

:laugh4: When I tell people his name, I just say the acronym with an accent as if it's something obscure and German. :tongue3:

 

[Haligren]

Tiamat just loves her cool hide. It's one of those exo-terra hidey caves that you put up against the glass and it has a magnetic outer part that you can remove to see in. Although recently when I get up in the morning she's squatting in her warm hide.

Mandarin's favorite is the moist hide for sure. I mist mine about once a day and I only have paper towel in there. It dries up pretty fast so I'm not really worried about them getting an infection. I make sure to mist it twice a day or more if I see that they are going into shed. I don't see Tiamat in her's very much, but I know she sheds in it as I've found skin in there before.

 

[Geckonut]

I too have a leo that spends way too much time in his moist repti-shelter hide. It is cozy for him but when I take him out he is way too cool which is not good for many reasons. Removing the moist hide except for shed time is an interesting concept that might be worth exploring further. I'd love to see more input here from the long term gecko folks who may chime in on this topic. Nice thread!