# Leo moist hide - hot or cold?



## kiania

From general forum/website browsing (here and elsewhere) and book reading, I've gotten somewhat confused. Some people suggest putting the moist hide (for a leopard gecko) on the heat mat to create a humid atmosphere (although you need to spray every day to keep it damp), and other people suggest it should be away from the heat mat at the cool side of the viv.

Is there a correct answer? Or is it a bit like the CHE/Heat mat debate where it seems to be more personal choice?


----------



## Nick_96297

You should put it in the middle, half on the heat and half off the heat, this is what many leo owners do. 

Nick : victory:


----------



## sheena is a gecko

personal choice really. As you say some people put it on the warm side to make it more humid but you have to keep on top of it to stop it drying out- this is probably a better option if you have a problem shedder IMO- Lots of people including myself have them on the cool side with no problems and others have them in the middle depending on how you lay out your viv : victory:


----------



## kiania

Well, at the moment I'm going to be having a support for the upper section about 1/3rd to 1/2 way along, so trying to work out which side of the support to stick the heatmat. And the placement of the heatmat will depend on whether the moist hide needs to be on it (and therefore the heatmat needs to be on the 'outside' of the support), or not on it (and therefore needs to be 'inside' the support).

So basically trying to find out before I finish organising the layout  If it is generally considered to be 'okay' for either side (or middle), then that is easier. I can always turn things around if I get a problem shedder (hopefully not - hoping my first foray into reptiles is a smooth one  ).


----------



## sam12345

For me it has to be the warm side.
No point in having a humid/moist hide if its not humid.


----------



## kiania

Thought of a further question. What is it that people put in the moist hide? I've heard vague mentions of moss and verm-something-cite (or something like that), but I'm a bit lost on that as well!


----------



## Big Red One

kiania said:


> Thought of a further question. What is it that people put in the moist hide? I've heard vague mentions of moss and verm-something-cite (or something like that), but I'm a bit lost on that as well!


Vermiculite......... I wouldn't use that personally as it can be ingested and is not good if that happens..

I use a mix, Sphagnum moss in some, paper towel in others and eco earth in some more.
If pushed, good old paper towel is hard to beat as it gets chucked once mucky (easy to see that too). Only issue is it can look like shed skin, so I use a plastic mesh over the top of it to stop the leos eating it accidently.

I actually have most of my moist hides in the cool end, as I noticed they weren't being used as much at the warm end. But that#s personal pref and has worked well for me.... :2thumb:


----------



## tozhan

Sphagnum moss is probably the most common. I think you mean vermiculite, but I wouldn't use this myself.

I recently switched to coconut husk bedding which is working well.


----------



## Debbie1962

> Vermiculite......... I wouldn't use that personally as it can be ingested and is not good if that happens..


Agreed. I stopped using this when I saw it coming out in the poop :gasp:.

I use spagnum moss and keep my tubs in the middle.


----------



## kiania

Vermiculite is the one I was thinking of. And now I can forget the name of it again if I don't need it  Sphagnum moss is probably the easiest, fairly sure I've got a tub of it in my invert box already, so win-win there! Thanks for the rapid responses, it is appreciated!


----------



## funky1

The range of answers on here just go to show the diverse ways ppl successfully keep their leos - different leos, and different keepers have different preferences; so long as their methods work for them, and all needs are met, then that`s the be all and end all. Hopefully, it`ll just help show anyone just getting into their leos, that `guidelines` etc are there to try and help based advice `overall`, and can be tweaked a little once you get a little experience of what works for you, and what doesn`t. Nowt is set in stone! :2thumb:

Personally prefer to have their tubs half on/half off the mats or strips - as it tends to help warm the contents of the moist hide up, without having it dry out too quickly. Same as Bro pretty much, that a range of mediums are used: sphagnum moss (fresh and microwaved to kill potential nasties), paper towl for younger ones (and always used for newbies too, so that any issues can be picked up easier during quarantine - and it helps reduce chances of anything spreading as it`s simply chucked away constantly), and also started to use more and more eco-earth lately as many of the leos seem to love.


----------



## Cornzz

Do leos eat their sheds?


----------



## MandK

Cornzz said:


> Do leos eat their sheds?


 Yes they do.


----------

