Weird behavior

[Leonardo]

Nothing serious, but I couldn't sleep last night and I heard weird scratching coming from Lenny's cage so I got up to look what she was up to. I found her in the corner sleeping, or trying. She had pulled up two layers of paper towels and was curled up under them. She's an odd one.

I thought maybe she needed more heat. Usually I keep it around 90 on the hot side (which is where she was hiding) so I pulled up some of the paper towels and cranked the pad up to 95.
I also thought maybe the warm hide wasn't warm enough, so I put it directly over the pad instead of half on it.
We'll see what happens tonight.

I just thought it was some peculiar behavior and would be funny to share.

I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want to disturb her with the flash.

 

[lytlesnake]

I think these geckos sometimes want to burrow like they would in nature. Paper towels don't really allow for that. Does she have a moist hide with peat moss that she can dig in a bit?

Also be careful not to turn up the heat too high. You don't want to cook her!

 

[Stevie]

Covering yourself to become warmer, only works with warm blooded animals, since they emit heat. I think she just wanted to dig and since she could find the suitable substrate for that, she digged under the paper towels.

Greets,

Stevie

 

[david13]

yup ^^^^^

 

[Leonardo]

Well, I have...had several layers of paper towels which kept insulated from the heat pad on the bottom so I took 2 layers off. She's doing good, I think she did just want to burrow. She has a moist hide but its paper towels as well. I'll look into some peat moss to replace the paper towels.

 

[Cheaton]

I'm under the understanding that gravid females will dig before laying as well. Even if they're not fertile eggs this may be the case. Also, keep in mind, though they may not emit heat, and don't want to cover themselves they may dig for heat. In their environment it would logically be warmer just below the surface than on it.

Simple animals typically don't jsut want to do things for fun. Unlike dogs, or cats, who play and seem to have a sense of "fun" I'd guess the simple mind of a leo is much more driven by instincts. So to say it "just wants to dig" would certainly beg the question "why?". My guess... egg laying, or warmth seeking. I can't think of any other scenarios in which these particular lizards would dig.

 

[Stevie]

"Simple" animals as you call them, seem to do things for 'no reason'. Naturally this isn't true, but ethologist call it that way. What is actually said by this, is that the reason is not known to us (for instance, stereotypic behaviour). It's quite clear that an animal has to experience the exibition of the behaviour as rewarding in one way or another, otherwise it would do it ('fun'?). It's also possible that some kinds of behaviour are genetically 'build in the animal' because due to evolution it seemed advantuage to exibit some behaviours (for instance hunting behaviour in juvenile leopardgeckos). This could also count for other behaviours.

It's true that when she wants to lay eggs, a female starts digging in search of a suitable spot to lay the eggs but she could also look for water. Warmth seeking is in my opinion not a very good reason to dig, because the species usually get it's warmth from the sun or stones it lays on. In nature: the deeper you get in the ground, the cooler it usually gets. Leopardgeckos are known for their digging behaviour in the wild to create a hole to live in. The animal can start digging when she suffers from stress, or when she just want to check out the other side of the tank / substrate. You see, that one kind of behaviour can have many reasons, but they're not always known to us.

Greets,

Stevie

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have seeral geckos that like to get under the paper towel, and most will dig. Perhaps in the wind, they are diggin in search of grubs or worms.

 

[Cheaton]

"Simple" animals as you call them, seem to do things for 'no reason'. Naturally this isn't true, but ethologist call it that way. What is actually said by this, is that the reason is not known to us (for instance, stereotypic behaviour). It's quite clear that an animal has to experience the exibition of the behaviour as rewarding in one way or another, otherwise it would do it ('fun'?). It's also possible that some kinds of behaviour are genetically 'build in the animal' because due to evolution it seemed advantuage to exibit some behaviours (for instance hunting behaviour in juvenile leopardgeckos). This could also count for other behaviours.

It's true that when she wants to lay eggs, a female starts digging in search of a suitable spot to lay the eggs but she could also look for water. Warmth seeking is in my opinion not a very good reason to dig, because the species usually get it's warmth from the sun or stones it lays on. In nature: the deeper you get in the ground, the cooler it usually gets. Leopardgeckos are known for their digging behaviour in the wild to create a hole to live in. The animal can start digging when she suffers from stress, or when she just want to check out the other side of the tank / substrate. You see, that one kind of behaviour can have many reasons, but they're not always known to us.

Greets,

Stevie

You make some excellent points. However, the statement that the ground is cooler the deeper you dig is incorrect. In the evening in the desert the top layers will cool off very quickly, but the underlying layers that were also heated during the day will cool off more slowly and retain their heat longer. They are insulated by the sand on top. So an animal that lays on the surface of rocks immediately after the sun goes down may dig as the evening progresses to make use of the warmer substrate below the surface.

 

[Leonardo]

I have seeral geckos that like to get under the paper towel, and most will dig. Perhaps in the wind, they are diggin in search of grubs or worms.

Maybe so. She hasnt done it again since i modified it

 

[Stevie]

You make some excellent points. However, the statement that the ground is cooler the deeper you dig is incorrect. In the evening in the desert the top layers will cool off very quickly, but the underlying layers that were also heated during the day will cool off more slowly and retain their heat longer. They are insulated by the sand on top. So an animal that lays on the surface of rocks immediately after the sun goes down may dig as the evening progresses to make use of the warmer substrate below the surface.

That's true...didn't think about that. However, I believe that leopardgeckos warm up during dusk using heath emitted by rocks and don't dig, but you've got a good point there.

Greets,

Stevie