Lazy Leopard Gecko

[skaterofguitars]

Hello everyone my name is tyler. i purchased a leopard gecko a week ago and she seems to be healthy. she eats good and poops regularly and all that. the only problem is that she never comes out of her hide. she sits in there all day and all evening. idk about night because im asleep. i also havent seen her drink water yet. is there maybe something wrong with her encloser that would make her not want to come out at all? i really would appreciate it if you guys could help me with this. thank you for your time.

ill explain her encloser. to the far right is her moist hide. i covered it with black ducktape to make it dark. i filled it with moist coconut fiber to hold in moisture. in the middle is her dry hide. its halfway on the heating pad and halfway off. to the left is her water bowl. in front of her bowl is her calcium dish which you cant really see and then to the right of that is just a cup with mealworms. (i take out 4-6 daily so she can eat them). i also have a small regular desk lamp set up to the left of the cage to add some warmth to the air. idk if it is necessary or not.

 

[skaterofguitars]

i forgot to add...

... also i forgot to add that she only hides in her moist hide. the one that is to the far right of the cage. she never goes into the dry one.

 

[kyahbean]

It's possible she's coming out at night and you don't see it because you are asleep.

One thing to keep in mind is that with leos, you don't want them in their moist hides all the time. They should only be using them for shedding and laying eggs if you are breeding them. As far as I know, too much exposure to humidity can lead to respiratory problems in leos. Someone can correct that if it is wrong, I just remember reading threads on here about moist hides and how it's bad for leos to spend too much time in them.

If she's a baby, that cool whip hide might be too big for her. When I got Puzzle (he's a fat tail, but the care is mostly the same) he didn't like any of his hides because they were too big. I got some little ones, and now he uses them a lot.

Also, what are your temps like? Air temp/floor temp?

 

[skaterofguitars]

the coolwhip hide is very big compared to her and the moist one is a lot smaller so you could be right about the size. do you think i should take out the moist hide for now or should i like take the duct tape off of it so that way its not dark anymore? the temperature of the warm side on the ground is 88. the temperature of the coolside on the ground is 72. is it necessary to have the desk light pointing towards the cage? could it be scaring the leopard gecko?

 

[acpart]

I have leos who spend all their time in their moist hides with no ill effects. I do have one leo with a mild respiratory infection that I am treating, but he is never in his moist hide. I think that as long as there is a humid and a non humid option in the cage, the leo will be fine to make his choice.

About the leo never coming out: if it's young, it's probably instinctive for it to keep under cover as much as possible which would allow it to avoid becoming prey. In addition, leos have different inclinations. I have one, for example, that is never in his hide and one that is never out.

It might come out more as it gets more comfortable.

Aliza

 

[skaterofguitars]

oh ok yeah that would make sense. either mine is just a shy one or shes just afraid because she is young. im starting to think that she is actually a baby and not a juvenile. i was looking at photos of babies and she looks like the same size. and im glad to hear that it wont bother her.

 

[kyahbean]

Yeah, definitely don't take the moist hide out, she needs it. I'm no leo expert, so definitely take Aliza's advice on that over mine.

I would try a smaller hide, though. It can't hurt anything and it will give her more floor space as well, because it won't take up as much room. I had to try a few different hides for Puzzle until he finally used a few of them.

The ground temps you want to range from 88-92 on the warm side, so you might want to up it a little bit, but as long as it doesn't go lower than 88 it should be all right.