Why wont he come out of moist hide?

[loislane24]

My adult male leo rarely comes out of his moist hide. He has had problems with dehydration before, so I spray the inside of the hide every morning and evening.

He hates when I do that, and tried to bite me when I sprayed this morning. I worry that I'm making him mean b/c our most common interaction is something he HATES.

Is it a problem for him to be in there all the time? Can anyone explain why he does that? I have heard about respiratory problems being a potential issue. Is there any truth to that?

I feel like he's always hiding, and I'm always annoying him!

 

[acpart]

Many of my geckos get into habits where they'll want to be in a certain place all the time. Sometimes it's the humid hide, sometimes somewhere else. It's not unusual and I don't think it's likely it will cause respiratory problems. If at all possible, maybe you could take him out of the humid hide before you spray so he doesn't have to get sprayed on.

Aliza

 

[loislane24]

Thanks. I feel dumb that I for some reason didn't think about taking him out of there when I spray! I guess b/c I'm always in a hurry when I do it. I'll try doing that.

 

[prettyinpink]

None of my leos like it when you spray when they're in it. I'd also suggest to do that

 

[Dog Shrink]

Can you tell us a bit more about your set up? Temps lighting substrait hides ect. Also do you just spray his hide or do you spray the entire tank?

 

[prettyinpink]

Was going to add that my girls do not come out of their moist hide. They just wont. So I have a feeling that they like the substrate. You can just not spray the hide and watch for him to start shedding, that's what I do. If I leave their moist hides in there I just don't spray it.

 

[loislane24]

Thanks guys.

@Dog Shrink I was wondering if my setup has anything to do with it, so thanks for asking. I have a 20 gallon tank, with three hides: one in the cool side, the moist hide in the middle, and one on the hotter side. The moist hide is a tupperware container with holes cut out of it, and some spagnum moss.

The substrate in the tank is newspaper. I've experimented with reptile carpet and sand, and now I'm on newspaper. I've been considering switching to paper towels.

I have an undertank heater and a red light that I keep on only during the day. With the red light on, it is 96 in the very hottest corner of the tank, and then about 88 in most of the hot side, and it goes down to 76 on the very coldest part of the tank. Do you think he is possibly hiding/stressed out/too hot from the red light?

When I spray, I usually just spray in his hide, but sometimes I spray the whole tank. I usually don't bother spraying the whole tank b/c the light dries it all up so quickly. Maybe my answer is getting rid of the light?



@prettyinpink Yeah, I'll definitely start taking him out before I spray. And maybe spraying less. I spray in there b/c he got dehydrated last time I stopped spraying in there. I've heard that some leos like to lick their water off walls instead of drinking out of the bowl, and I think that might be him. I feel like I'm a gecko hypochondriac!!!

 

[prettyinpink]

Your setup sounds fine. Sounds like he's like my guys and just liking the moss.
If you want, which is what I did. You can take his moist hide away, which forces him into the other hides. I did this for my guys to make them get comfortable with the other hides and it worked. I also, like I said just don't spray it when they're misting. But I'm nervous too about them getting too wet

Does make me wonder about the substrate and if they'd just like the moss (dry) in just the regular hides. Makes you wonder

Do you have a water bowl for him? You said he was dehydrated, how did you know?

 

[Dog Shrink]

gecko hypochondriac... omg join the club your set up seems pretty good. Only thing I can comment on (and this is a subject of great controversy) is you keeping your hot side at 96. I use to keep my leo at between 91-95 and backed off the heat if it got to 98 (which it rarely did go to or over 98) but I noticed even with heavily misting every other day my leo had fragmented sheds. It was too hot, the humidity was shot despite my misting. After Eros' 2nd bad shed I installed a second moist hide (tupperware with paper towels insted of just the one built into his rock formations with sphagnum moss. Apparently Eros doesn't like the feel of moss since he was never exposed to it before coming to me at 7 mos old.) and lowered his temps to the 88-92 range. he has had 2 sheds since the change and both have been perfect. He is eating more, doesn't seem as sluggish when handled, and imo all around doing much better. I think a lot of it has to do with the temps they are raised at. Did you get yours from a breeder or what? I do agree with you on getting rid of the red light. Leos need belly heat and whatever it's adding to your ambient temps I don't think is really needed. He may be hiding out in the humid hide all the time 'cause it's cooler maybe... have you ever put a probe thermometer in there to se what that temp is ranging?

 

[prettyinpink]

I think your temps are fine. She said 96 is the HOTTEST it gets. Like I said my leos don't move out of the moist hide because they love it for some reason...only won't go in there if it's too cold in there. Although you want to measure the temps where his hot hide is, what's the temps ranging in there.
I still think either he doesn't like his hot hide because he's not used ot it or is just favoring the moist hide, which mine do and I've seen countless of others favoring also.

The red light you can get rid of as like dog shrink said, they like/need belly heat. Some people agree/disagree that they also need/like the air temp to be warm too.

One of my girls has a huge log hide...it covers one piece of a big slate tile which has temps from the 88-96 range and she can move wherever for the temps.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I think your temps are fine. She said 96 is the HOTTEST it gets. Like I said my leos don't move out of the moist hide because they love it for some reason...only won't go in there if it's too cold in there. Although you want to measure the temps where his hot hide is, what's the temps ranging in there.

Like I said... suject of much controversy... Maybe this thread ight help give a better idea of the general consensus on temps:
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=62570&highlight=poll+heat

Not all leos fit a standard mold... some like it hotter, some like it cooler, some like more moisture some less... again I would talk to the person you got the leo from if you can and find out more about how their set up was, temps, substrait, hides etc. Maybe at the very least it could give you a little more insight as to why your leo acts the way he does.

 

[UnicornSpirit]

Instead of spraying I just pour a small amount of water in (sometimes I will use a small water dish so I don't overestimate). This way, if my leo is in the hide it doesn't seem to disturb him as much. Try not to pour it directly on your gecko. The water will simply be soaked up by whatever material you provide in the moist hide.

 

[roger]

Like I said... suject of much controversy... Maybe this thread ight help give a better idea of the general consensus on temps:
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=62570&highlight=poll+heat

Not all leos fit a standard mold... some like it hotter, some like it cooler, some like more moisture some less... again I would talk to the person you got the leo from if you can and find out more about how their set up was, temps, substrait, hides etc. Maybe at the very least it could give you a little more insight as to why your leo acts the way he does.

Here we go again :main_laugh: Like pretty says keep a bowl of water in the tank for him to drink from.Your set up seems fine.There is nothing wrong with your leo spending too much time in one area or the other.Thats just where he wants to be.your leo is not acting abnormal at all.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Here we go again :main_laugh:.

Nope... that's all I've got to say on the matter... I posted some of the info she should have to make her own decision about how her temps are/should be... nothing else to say 'cept if you have more questions about temps you're better off searching the forum because it is always a heated debate.

 

[loislane24]

Thanks so much guys. This is the first time I've posted, and I am loving the community on here! :main_yes:

@prettyinpink: I do have a water bowl for him. I guessed that he was dehydrated before because he wasn't eating or pooping. It could have been constipation, too, now that I think about it. I soaked him and rubbed his belly and gave him water out of a little dropper thing and he got better. I get kind of ridiculous worrying about him drinking!!

@Roger Thanks for saying he is normal! :main_laugh:I think he probably just feels safe in there, but I was curious about whether there was something bothering him about the rest of enclosure.

@UnicornSpirit I'll try pouring it in, if he is in there and I need to get the area wet. I'll definitely try not to spray right on him, because it makes him so mad!

@Dog Shrink Thanks for posting that poll. I think I might experiment with dropping it down to about 92, and see if he's a little happier.

 

[roger]

Thanks so much guys. This is the first time I've posted, and I am loving the community on here! :main_yes:

@prettyinpink: I do have a water bowl for him. I guessed that he was dehydrated before because he wasn't eating or pooping. It could have been constipation, too, now that I think about it. I soaked him and rubbed his belly and gave him water out of a little dropper thing and he got better. I get kind of ridiculous worrying about him drinking!!

@Roger Thanks for saying he is normal! :main_laugh:I think he probably just feels safe in there, but I was curious about whether there was something bothering him about the rest of enclosure.

@UnicornSpirit I'll try pouring it in, if he is in there and I need to get the area wet. I'll definitely try not to spray right on him, because it makes him so mad!

@Dog Shrink Thanks for posting that poll. I think I might experiment with dropping it down to about 92, and see if he's a little happier.

loislane- your enclosure looks good.If your leo is eating and defecating then the temps are fine.What i noticed in the poll results are that ppl are offering the entire range of temps to their leo from 88 right through to 100 in one case .so there is a wide range of temps that ppl are using.If u offer a wide range of temps your leo will pick exactly where he wants to lay.For me the key would be to ask myself ,is my leo eating and defecating regularly.if she is than they are the right temps for your leo.

 

[Rosalie Spot]

It could be real warm in there and cold everywhere else. Check the temps.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Lights have been known to stress leos, affecting their activity and eating habits. I use paper towel in the moist hides, except for laying females. Instead of spraying them, I simply pour in a bit of water inside a corner from a measuring cup used to fill water dishes. Not many leos like getting misted, even the sudden noise of the spray bottle can startle them.

 

[Designer Geckos]

I know this may be going against conventional wisdom on the humid hide issue, but....

We do not keep humid hides in any of our setups after doing some pretty extensive monitoring on this. The only time we place humid hides or wet crumpled paper towels inside the hides is at shed time.

The reasons for this are varied, but mainly, the geckos LOVE humid hides because they are very comfy and will stay in there way too long. Since humid hides are not at our prescribed 90-92 degree range, we noticed that leos that constantly hung out in their humid hides had greatly diminished appetites....not good...and of course it very negatively affected their color intensity, particularly with lavender and albino leos. The albino leos will brown out quickly when not spending enough time in their warm hides. Then you also have the potential for respiratory infections with humid hides, especially in already humid areas like the Southeast where mold and fungus spore levels can be quite high.

So, none of our leos have humid hides placed routinely in their enclosures. All thrive, have great color, and are very healthy. If we will be away for any length of time however, we do place humid hides in with leos that are due to shed so they have the humidity they need in case they shed when we are away.

As an aside, being in Colorado, we have low humidity, and yet our leos have all done extremely well with this revised aspect of husbandry regarding humid hides.

Good luck with whatever works for you.

 

[prettyinpink]

I know this may be going against conventional wisdom on the humid hide issue, but....

We do not keep humid hides in any of our setups after doing some pretty extensive monitoring on this. The only time we place humid hides or wet crumpled paper towels inside the hides is at shed time.

The reasons for this are varied, but mainly, the geckos LOVE humid hides because they are very comfy and will stay in there way too long. Since humid hides are not at our prescribed 90-92 degree range, we noticed that leos that constantly hung out in their humid hides had greatly diminished appetites....not good...and of course it very negatively affected their color intensity, particularly with lavender and albino leos. The albino leos will brown out quickly when not spending enough time in their warm hides. Then you also have the potential for respiratory infections with humid hides, especially in already humid areas like the Southeast where mold and fungus spore levels can be quite high.

So, none of our leos have humid hides placed routinely in their enclosures. All thrive, have great color, and are very healthy. If we will be away for any length of time however, we do place humid hides in with leos that are due to shed so they have the humidity they need in case they shed when we are away.

As an aside, being in Colorado, we have low humidity, and yet our leos have all done extremely well with this revised aspect of husbandry regarding humid hides.

Good luck with whatever works for you.

Good to hear! This is what I've been doing :main_yes: and got some what nervous about it, but good to hear it's working well.