Unsure about humid hide?

[maddyfish]

I pick up my Gecko tomorrow, and I have a nice home set up (20L, UTH, 2 hides, water dish, supplement dish, supplements, and a supply of crickets, also I am working on a cricket colony), but I am unsure of a few things about the humid hide.
My humid hide is a tupperware container with an entry hole cut in it. I have glued plastic leaves to it for appearance purposes. I was planning on using paper towels inside it and keeping the towel moist.
Is paper towel ok? I don't want my gecko to look like "poor comet",
How moist should it be?
I have read both; should it be on the warm, or cool side? Is there a correct answer to this?
My tank is 88-90 on the floor of the warm side and 75-77 on the cool side.
I have read about some sort of moss for the hide? I prefer towel if useable, as I am unsure where to get moss? Money is no object, but distance is and availability is, I don't travel much. That's why I'm starting a cricket colony. I have arranged a cricket/mealworm exchange with a local person who raises mealworms for another lizard.

 

[johnnyboy4783]

paper towels is fine or you can buy moss, any petstore should have moss. i put mine in the middle so it is on the uth a little bit

 

[gaparicio]

Paper towels are ok but they tend to dry out quicker than anything else. You're going to mist the hides on a daily basis.

 

[JConley]

Coconut husk works excellent for me!! 1 brick of it would prob last years. It expands like crazy. "Very important it expands like 100 times its original size" so only a little is needed.

I learned that the hard way i bought a brick of it, and broke off half and got it wet and BAMO i had enough damp coconut husk to fill 500 hides!!:main_laugh: My wife laughed so hard that day i will never live it down!:main_laugh:

 

[maddyfish]

What kind of moss do I ask for specifically?

 

[JConley]

I use Zilla coconut husk $3.50 for a brick of it.

If you want to use moss i seen people use SPHAGNUM MOSS or PEAT MOSS.
I just dont use it because i dont know if anything has been sprayed on it.

Paper towels are good to but dry out very quickly.

Happy mosh pitting!!

 

[Ccrashca069]

I use paper towels but misting every day isn't a problem for me. I do that every morning or afternoon when I am feeding, checking water and spot cleaning.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I use sphagnum moss and have no complaints. It deffinately holds moisture better than paper towel. However, my only suggestion is to wrap the moss in paper towel if you have a young leo. You don't wanna risk impaction. After about 6 months I stopped using the paper towel and have only moss in there.

I also, don't keep it moist all of the time like most people say you should. I spray it every couple days unless she is starting to shed. In that case, I make sure it stays moist. Easier for me, no problems for her.

 

[Hale]

I am using bead-a-beast...but I'm not liking it too much. I have to spray it several times a day to keep it moist. I set it up four days ago when I bought the stuff (had geckos for just about a week), when I noticed the normal darkening its patterns and just the slight hint of greying, so I know he's getting ready, and has learned to use the hide this morning...or decided he needed too.

That coconut stuff sounds really good though. Where would I find that?

 

[blizzard]

i use bed-a-beast. it's a soil additive for gardening and an alternative to sphagnum peat moss. i only have to moisten it every two-three days and my leo seems to have no problem shedding. she seems to like it too she actually lays and sleeps in it.

 

[godzillizard]

bed-a-beast is the same thing as coconut husk. i think some people also call it coir.

Hale: Are you soaking the dry bed-a-beast in water to let it expand, so you can then squeeze out the excess water until it's the right consistency?

 

[Bodon]

i use paper towel and always have, its cheap and always around the house. If you use the other stuff and ever run out at least you know the humid hide will be alright with paper towel around. It does dry out pretty easily though.

 

[maddyfish]

OK, now is there a DEFINATIVE answer for hot/cool side placement of the humid hide?

 

[Scott&Nikki]

OK, now is there a DEFINATIVE answer for hot/cool side placement of the humid hide?

No definate answer. If you put it on the hot side, it will dry up quicker. I have mine in the center and its been great for me.

 

[blizzard]

i heard the bed-a-beast is the major export for sri lanka. so i kinda like to buy it for that reason too because the tsunami.