Strange behaviour?

[feeblminds]

Hi I have two female leos both about six months old. I house them in a 90x45x45 tank.

The leos are very playful but I am concerned that I maybe misreading their playfulness. About a month or two ago the geckos started to climb the glass at the front of the tank, sliding down when they reached a height. I figured they wanted to come and play as I do let them out every other night.

About one month ago one Leo started to start jumping off a high branch and face planting the glass door, sometimes she would repeat this act a few times.

Finally a few days ago, she climbed the tanks backdrop and began to mission impossible the mesh top of the tank!! Getting half way she fell and scared herself. Again she still did it again! To stop this I have removed the back drop to avoid the big falls.

I'm wondering if this is normal, are they really just thinking it's playtime or is there more likely something wrong with the Leo or habitat?

 

[feeblminds]

I also forgot to mention that they shed every three weeks and both usually stay outside the hides. I have four hides, diff temps and one moist. But the leis are always outside the hides, even when sleeping or shedding, sometime they go in moisture hut when getting rid of bits of skin but 99% of time they are out.

 

[Alex G]

What are your temps? It sounds like it might be really hot on the floor of your tank.

 

[feeblminds]

Hi thank u for your reply. I had wondered this myself. I have two digital thermometers. Temp in tank is usually 79-84f. I have a heat mat under substrate but this covers about half the tank so the back is warmer than the front. I do also have a heat rock which I have been since told can cause burning but it isn't too hot and both leos love lying on it after eating, I wouldn't expect them to sit on it if it was too warm.

 

[Alex G]

The heat mat should be under the glass bottom of the tank, not inside it at all. And heat rocks are notorious for malfunctioning and having "hot spots". Reptiles do not react as quickly to intense heat as humans do, so it's extremely possible for them to literally cook their bellies sitting on the heat rock without knowing.

 

[Alex G]

Did you resolve this?

 

[Raiquiis]

Hi,

I think that is perfectly normal.
The geckos leopard like to climb up and down things and to "discover" new places.
My gecka sometimes climbs the background over and over, more than 10times. She climbs to top, and when she wants to go down she falls almost everytime.

When she discovered the place where i take her out and in, and saw that i do the same things always, she went almost every nights to that place and scratched the glass for about some minutes, waiting for me to open the window and take her out.

And sorry about my english.

 

[feeblminds]

Alex, I tried taking the heat rock out and putting the mat under the glass. Both options made the tank too cold so had to revert back. I understand what u say about heat rock so might have a look at a heat light instead.

In the meantime I replaced the ridged background with a flat picture one so they can't climb it. I pit some vines in instead which they are quite happy climbing.

It looks like the head first into the glass has stopped. Although they still claw at the tank front from time to time.

Raiquiss, thank u for ur reply. I'm glad it's not just mine that exhibit this behaviour.

 

[Alex G]

I would really, REALLY recommend against having the heat mat inside the tank. If any liquid or gecko poo gets on it, it can short circuit. It's not made to be used in that way. How are you measuring temperatures? You said you had two digital thermometers... do these have a "probe" on them that you're using to test the temperature of the floor, or are they fixed to the wall in the air above your animals?

 

[feeblminds]

At moment therms are on back wall, should I put on floor?

 

[Alex G]

You should put them on the bottom of the tank, outside.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Undertank heaters (UTH) are just that- affixed to the underside of the tank, per instructions. Floor temp is measured by placing the probe on the tank floor. Ambient temp is air, which is what you get from the tank sides and not the measurement used for leopard geckos. Hope this helps