My girlie might just go insane.

[lizardlove]

Okay, so from a technical standpoint Sappho's home is healthy for her. She's my only gecko and is living in a 10 gal tank with a heating pad on the bottom on the left side. She's got a little hide there. On the cool side she's got a ceramic food and water dish, and a cut-out Cool Whip container as a moisture hide. She lives on paper towel (SO easy to clean... Well, it was, until she started pooping on top of the Cool Whip container...).

It's good for her, but it's so ugly... She seriously might catch boredom and die in there. I would. Even if she'll survive it, any suggestions to liven up her home that would be safe and healthy for her? Here's a picture of her setup.

I need to clear off her moisture hide tonight... She thinks it's the toilet. Never goes in it, just poops on it. :main_rolleyes:

 

[Pepper]

If you move the cool hide she will probably poo in that corner.

You could put something next to the coconut, like a climbing branch/tree thing.

And maybe a small branch or something in the center.

 

[LeapinLizards]

You could add some fake plants or wood? I know a lot of people here build second stories (you can use the search to find those). There are a lot of options! At least you have the general husbandry under control.

 

[Spooki]

you could get some aquarium/terrarium background and use it to cover up the cool whip hide and add some large rocks to climb and bask on. there's a bunch of stuff you can do.

 

[LizMarie]

background and plants make a BIG difference in small tanks and don't take lots of space. A plus I've seen with the plants is that some Leos like to hide in them at times.

I also have a 10gallon.. I changed the humid hide and the dish is now a petri dish.. I also have a small toilet paper roll in there.

The new humid hide.

 

[jakemyster44]

depending on what you want to spend, you can buy repti-carpet, a 3-in-1 hide, and other "rock like" hides. Driftwood, and fake plants are always a great addition too! Here are some links to products that will "liven" up your enclosure:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1683 - if you get two you can rotate them in and out when the other is getting cleaned.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=2410 - you could get one of these and cut it down to fit the back wall... its just foam, so its VERY easy to trim.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=829 - A great, natural looking hide.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1054 - IMO the BEST humid hide that looks naturalk on the market.

With any/all of those added to your tank, you will still have a very safe/clean tank but it should look nicer. Hope I helped!

 

[lizardlove]

Thanks a bunch! I've seen people with really pretty tanks and stuff, but some of them seemed a bit inappropriate for a leo. For instance I saw a leo house with a beautiful natural rock waterfall, but it could potentially raise the humidity to dangerous levels and result in a lung infection. I want her to have a nice home, but want it to be safe. I think I'll replace the dishes with little rock ones, and will definitely consider getting plants for her to hang out in. I also like the background, might do that too. I'll go to Hamburg this February so I'll look for some nice stuff there. Thanks a bunch!

 

[BettaDragon]

I think we need to somehow put that "Isle of Lesbos" sign on her coconut... Joking aside, wood looks pretty in the tank. Mine hated it and normally just knocked it over but maybe Sappho would like it. Perhaps another hide might work. You've seen my gigantic popsicle stick fortress of doom, if you have the patience, you could make something like that. Mine love to climb in that thing. They do like to climb at times so something higher up might be good.

 

[lizardlove]

She actually really likes her new setup. I tried to take a picture, but I couldn't get a good one. I figure she's too small to climb on top of stuff, but she will eventually. Adjusted really well, and she started eating again, which is a good sign. Bowls are a little more shallow than they were, so she can see the mealies. Downside is that they can now climb out and drown themselves in the water... Maybe if I throw some baby carrot pieces in there they'll use that for moisture and stop skinny dipping. Haha, she has this tall cool hide that's shaped kind of like a large butte in a desert - it's about 10" tall. It's sort of funny. It's not very deep in there so she can't really hide without a head or tail sticking out, but the tall part is hollow, so she'll stand on her hind legs and chill in that for minutes on end before realizing she's a quadruped.

 

[laurlaur12]

I had the same issue, a tank with everything needed, but it was SOOOO boring. Thanks for the ideas you guys are giving. I think i may create a background with Photoshop so Newton can look like she's hanging out on a beach with some of my friends. i will have to try it out though, it may look kinda creepy

 

[lizardlove]

Haha, that would be cool! Maybe if I ever get a second terrarium for a second leo I'll get a background with like a mini pic of the streets of Tokyo with little people running. She looks like a little dinosaur.

 

[Range]

depending on what you want to spend, you can buy repti-carpet, a 3-in-1 hide, and other "rock like" hides. Driftwood, and fake plants are always a great addition too! Here are some links to products that will "liven" up your enclosure:

...

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1054 - IMO the BEST humid hide that looks naturalk on the market.

With any/all of those added to your tank, you will still have a very safe/clean tank but it should look nicer. Hope I helped!

That's exactly what I'm using for my humid hide right now, it's a bit big compared to the rest of the tank but the problem is that they spend all their time in there - when they're not shedding I just let it air out a little and then put the top back on with no moisture so they don't get skin problems or anything.

 

[BettaDragon]

Darcie, I was talking to Cris today and he told me you need to decorate the tank with Greek columns. lol, count on the history nerds to take the name Sappho too literally.

 

[lizardlove]

Tell him to make me a full Greek tank setup and I'll do it. I wish I was good with making stuff, her hide would be a little Parthenon and the background would be some warm Mediterannean scene... Sigh.

 

[BettaDragon]

They make those fish tank greek columns. Maybe we can use them. Knowing Cris he'd probably put something weird in it. He thought about setting up a dragon I got for the dart frog tank to spew fog and have a red light in it's mouth. We'll think up of something. should be fun.