Once more, the gecko has a death wish...

[STUTFL]

Now sure, climbing to the top of an object (usually me) and then leaping gracefully off is pretty much par for the course ... but today he's apparently taken some lessons from burrow-crazy Ed the Tortoise.
There's a smallish pile of rocks in his cage - normally it's very stable. There's one large, flat rock resting on two slightly smaller rocks and the cage floor. You could shake the cage around and it wouldn't budge, there's nowhere to for it to go.

The gecko loves it, because it's right by the water dish, it's a fairly tight fit when he wedges his whole body in there, and there's a little gap from which he can observe the world (like he's doing in my avatar).

I don't know if I made the space smaller during a tank cleaning or what, but today I heard this "THUNK THUNK" and nearly had a heart attack - I thought something had collapsed on him somehow.
Nope, he's just got his upper body wedged in there and his hind feet braced against the dish, and he's apparently trying to excavate a larger hide by digging up this one. I've seen him hunch his back up like this and try to shove my hand out of the way if I don't leave him enough room to squeeze under it, but I swear ... I didn't even know he was strong enough to move that whole rock with his shoulders. Maybe he's just moving the water dish? Either way he's going to bring the whole thing down on him if he keeps at it too long. Time to change the cage decorations, I guess.

 

[chechatonga]

If he really loves the rock pile then use a strong non toxic glue to hold them together. Elmers glue or hot glue may work.

 

[Dandizette]

I'm with the glue idea. Lizards don't like having their hiding places taken away or shifted. This way, he'll be able to still try and dig without hurting himself and maybe will eventually realize he's getting nowhere?

Leopards geckos can be quite the little construction artists though, when whim suits them. My female has a toilet paper tube in her tank that she likes to crawl into and sit in with her nose and tail poking out of each end. Sometimes though, she pushes her roll around and a few times has managed to stand it upright for no fathomable reason at all. And she'll leave it standing up for a few hours, curled around the base, only to knock it over again and push it somewhere else.

 

[Tony C]

If he really loves the rock pile then use a strong non toxic glue to hold them together. Elmers glue or hot glue may work.

Gorilla glue is an excellent choice as well.

 

[Northstar Herp]

Gorilla glue is an excellent choice as well.

If you do go the Gorilla Glue route, remember to wet the surfaces with a wet paper towel, and then only use a very small amount, since it foams and expands as it cures.

I think if it were me I might use PL polyurethane construction adhesive, though I don't know about how safe it is for animals, though, just that it's the most impressive glue I've ever seen.

 

[steve905]

Use liquid nials the stuff is super strong and will conform to your rocks, also, it looks like poop so it will blend in with most tank decorations....

 

[STUTFL]

:laugh:
I'll look into some glue, though it'll still need some rearranging if I glue it as the water dish currently forms the back "wall" of the hide, and I need to be able to move that.

 

[shadowdragon619]

nice! this morning i found my baby gecko's hide in the middle of his tank. okay, he's like three months old...but still...i was like...how in the hell did you manage that?!

 

[mascutt]

If he really loves the rock pile then use a strong non toxic glue to hold them together. Elmers glue or hot glue may work.

That's what I did for mine. I ripped the sprouts out of the pineapple palms here - they are in a V shape. I cleaned them, made sure there were no splinters or anything sticking out anywhere, then I zig-zagged them together to create a sort of climbing bridge. Once I got it the way my gecko likes it, I hot glued it together! Works like a charm and she climbs it all the time now