Humid hide question

[Ozy]

So.. I did Ozy's weekly tank cleaning.. Took out her humid hide (which is just a shallow Glad container with some eco-earth in it and hole cut in the lid) Threw away the Eco-earth that was in there and scrubbed it with hot water, don't want nasty bacteria or mold in there. Put fresh Eco-Earth in, misted it all nice, then put it back in her viv with her favorite tea towel on the top, JUST how she likes it. And now she won't go in there? She used to sleep in her humid hide ALL the time, had a little burrow dug out and everything.. Maybe it's getting too small for her liking? Now she either sleeps in the cool hide or in her dry warm hide depending on how hot or cold she is.. Then when she wakes up she will go to the cool hide if she's been in the hot one and the hot one if she's been in the cool one.. Should I try a bigger container?? She HAS had the same one ever since I brought her home from P*tco as a teeny little baby and I've had her almost 5 months now, so she has grown.. ALOT. She still eats and poops fine and is her normal, grumpy self.. LOL

 

[Ozy]

Just had a thought.. I usually mist her hide with natural spring water and just recently started using tap water with repti-safe in it.. she didn't have a problem with it though when I was misting her old eco-earth with it....

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Maybe she's just growing up or wanted a change of pace? If she's not having an issue shedding I'm not sure I would worry about it. I have some adults that spend all day in theirs and others who only go in when they're about to shed. In general, my hatchlings seem to spend more time in their humid hides than my adults do - which makes sense as they grow more and shed more often.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Eh, my leo has bouts of not ever going in the humid hide, and other times never leaves. You could try going back to the spring water and see if that makes a difference. If not, then it's probably just her preference right now.

~Maggot

 

[Ozy]

True. She has never had a problem shedding, other than a couple of times where she had a little "skin glove" on her right front leg that started below the elbow, but after about a 5 minute soak it came off easily. Just to be safe, I put a bigger one in there and I'm going to start misting with spring water... can eco-earth go bad? When I got it I put the whole brick in a big bowl and let it expand, then just let it dry out and I break chunks off of it when I need it. Can anyone think of a better substrate for her humid hide that she can dig in? Since digging is a natural behavior I want to give her a place to dig.. I smelled the eco-earth and when it's dry it doesn't smell, but when I mist it, it smells like wet dirt with like a little hint of chemical? I had my husband smell it and he said it smelled a bit chemically.. said it smelled like artificial mulch or something...

 

[cassicat4]

What about torn up paper towel? Not so small that it could be ingested, but larger chunks? While neither of my Leos are diggers, I use layers of paper towel in my humid hides and my one absolutely loves it. If you used a pile of torn paper towel, it would at least still be diggable.

Another option is sphagnum moss, which I know many people use. It's great for digging. I have a hard time recommending it though only because I caught my one female eating it for no apparent reason so I had to switch it out. :/

 

[Lindz0518]

I will see my girl in hers everyday for weeks and then she doesn't use it for a month (that I see). I've only seen the little guy in his maybe 3 times at the most. From what I can tell, they use it when they need it. Just a thought, maybe it doesn't smell the same since it's new and she may take a couple days to get used to it.

 

[Ozy]

Yea, I've heard of people's leos eating the moss, so I won't be using that. I just don't want to risk it. I'm currently grinding up the eco-earth and putting it through a super fine flour sifter, so that it will be super fine and soft.. maybe she'll like that better. GOD she is SO spoiled!!!