I don't think there's any need to remove her hides. She should go out and hunt without forcing her to, and that's likely just stressing her out (hence this behaviour). I feed my leo crickets in her tank without changing anything, and she goes all over the tank hunting. She only hides when she's done. Does she usually hide instead of eating? What time of the day do you feed her?
Yeah, that's when it's natural for them to eat. I feed as soon as I turn the light off, and mine chases them all over the tank. Even jumps when she feels the need.
I can't see how it would at all a good idea to remove all cover from the entire habitat of such a small animal that's evolved knowing it's a prey animal and their entire lives rely on having plenty of places to hide from predators. Bit like putting a person out into the middle of the highway and expecting them to not be stressed imo. Yes, uneaten crickets that aren't provided with something to munch on might bother the gecko. But I would think feeding only a few at a time or removing any extras when she's done or putting something in there for the crickets to eat would be better ways to deal with that. When I feed my leo, I give her a certain number, and if she's still hunting, I give her a few more (1-3, depending on size), and keep doing that until she stops hunting. Very occasionally one or two will be leftover, but I've never seen them bother her because they're normally too busy hiding themselves. I just don't personally think forcing something that knows it needs hides to survive to be out in the open and not allowing them anywhere to go is a good idea. And it trying so hard to get through the glass doesn't seem like a relaxed, content behaviour for a leo to exhibit.
Does she still do it with the hides in? Because I don't think it's likely that she would.
