Odd Behavior; "Tile sliding"

[Tree]

My gecko randomly decides to "tile slide" on the warm side of my tank...

Temps are fine, I keep a tile bottom on my tank and the hot side has an UTH with a probe that stays at a consistent 95.7-98.5 degrees.

She walks all over the place then casually "slides" around on her belly for a bit and if she bumps into the glass, she lifts her head up and slowly slides the side of her face on the glass.

She doesn't look distressed at all, and this doesn't happen very often. I'm just curious as to what would be causing it? Is this boredom? I swap everything around in her cage whenever I clean it...

 

[Stomlin35]

If I'm picturing this correctly... she may be trying to get some shed off of her body. There might be some left over on her neck that she can't reach, or on her belly perhaps.

I might be completely off base though (wanted to add: my oldest did this when i put her into her plain glass tank to clean out her main tank.. turns out she had some shed that was bugging her)

 

[Angel]

lol other than what it could be , this made me laugh picturing it wish you had video lol

 

[Tree]

She isn't shedding at all, and I've even checked her over for any possible external parasites and have found nothing.

Like I said though, she doesn't look stressed at all. It's like she gets tired, goes to stretch, and instead slides around on her belly a few times. It's always above the UTH, never on the cool side.

 

[MrLeoGecko]

1 of mine did this when she had a cricket leg stuck in the side of her mouth i feed her another and it went down and she stopped just a suggestion

 

[Stomlin35]

1 of mine did this when she had a cricket leg stuck in the side of her mouth i feed her another and it went down and she stopped just a suggestion

That was my other thought. She may have something stuck in her mouth.

 

[snowgyre]

Does she keep her tail flat? Does her tail wiggle back and forth while she does this? My females occasionally drag their tails as (I guess) they scent mark their territory. It doesn't happen a lot with the girls, although my male does it all the time.

 

[Tree]

She flattens out entirely, like a pancake!

I've thought she could be scent marking, perhaps that's what it is.

 

[steve905]

To make sure its not stuck shed place a small rock in the tank so she can have something to scrape against. Sounds funny though.....

 

[gothra]

You know what, I have a male gecko that does the exact same thing. Sometimes he just likes to move around by sliding or swimming across the floor. I think he is either trying to leave scent on the floor, or he is just too lazy to walk properly.

I wouldn't worry too much if you don't find obvious cause like stuck shed or MBD. My gecko has been like this for YEARS and he is perfectly fine.

p.s. He can walk and climb properly, but he just likes to swim around sometimes.

 

[GeckoNub]

Maybe shes just having fun U never skidded along a smooth shiney floor?

I hope you find out what it is and let us know

 

[mindgamer8907]

Funny, as I read this, I have a leo doing pretty much that, rubbing shed off her body. My only thought is that it could be she's enjoying a good exfoliation? lol I honestly don't know, doesn't seem to be a real problem, just something quirky, eh?

 

[Chipkali]

I just switched my cage over to tile and I noticed my gecko doing the exact same thing over the first few days. I just finished cleaning her tank tonight and she's at it again! It definitely makes me think it may be some kind of scent/territorial thing but who knows?