# Leo Gecko Moist hide nightmare



## shakey787 (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi all

i recently purchased 2 baby Leo's a week ago and they are my first attempt at owning reptiles. 1 has begun to go that pale white, so i beleive she's begining to shed

i have made her a moist hide using a plastic food storage tub lined with kitchen paper, problem is that its hardly damp inside and the humidity is 70!!!! (using a electric probe hygrometer)
i realise high humidities can cause dramas for them, rest of viv is 20-30%

my setup is a 90cm L x 50 cm glass viv, with slate substrate
hot end is 92F, Cool is 71F and the moist hide is central around 84F

Im a first time owner, and im stressing out my head with these buggers lol
every new thing they do sends me loopy,

also i feed them twice daily 5-6 crix each per feeding, im gutloading with repashy bug burger, and dusting everymeal with repashy calcium plus, and i leave a small lid with calcium -d3 in their tank at all times
they have a hot hide, a cool hide, and their moist hide, plus another hide in the middle, (although they only use the hot one)

anyway any tips pointers or demands would be appreciated as im sh***ing myself

regards and thanks
Rob


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## Ignis (Dec 18, 2011)

Sounds like your doing just fine. =) 

Must admit that I've never measured the humidity of my humid hides I just use a snake den packed with moss, give it a good soaking when they're shedding and keep it fairly dry the rest of the time.


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## 53bird (Sep 30, 2009)

shakey787 said:


> Hi all
> 
> i recently purchased 2 baby Leo's a week ago and they are my first attempt at owning reptiles. 1 has begun to go that pale white, so i beleive she's begining to shed
> 
> ...


first off welcome to the forum :2thumb:

its great to hear you have put alot of thought and care into your new leos, just a couple of questions though, how and where are you measureing the temps on the slate substrate hot side? 
kitchen towl will dry out very quickly, i use moss in most, but i have a few leos that have tried to eat that, so i use shreaded bathtowl which both hold the moisture for longer, it will still need a light spray everyday though.


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## shakey787 (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi folks thanks for the welcome and getting back to me.

i have 3 thermometer in the viv all with probes 1 cool 1 mid 1 hot also im using an UTH for the hot side plugged into a lucky reptile thermo control ii, thermostat set to 92F the probe of which is attached and slightly inbetween the join of two slate tiles, the slates are resting on sand, but the leo's cant get to it,
all my other probes are ground level.

i tried using moss, but i worried about impaction, the problem is the paper towel isnt wet and the humidity is now 65%, i dont want to move the hide in case it gets to cold and if i move it to the hotter side itll be totally bone dry (ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH) viscious circle, 
is it the humidity that aids them shedding or the moisture?

should i of just got a cat and shaved it? maybe painted on some spots?

i love these little buggers but omg are they freaking me out. 

also the one whos shedding (Echo is her name original eh?) is usually not worried about my presence at all and has already walked onto my hand, she layed spread eagle earlier and raised her tail and moved slowly side to side, which i understand means piss off, but she was moving dead slow and refused food is this normal?

sorry about all the questions but id hate for them to suffer for my ignorance
thanks again its all appreciated

btw who said they were easy to keep?


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## 53bird (Sep 30, 2009)

shakey787 said:


> Hi folks thanks for the welcome and getting back to me.
> 
> i have 3 thermometer in the viv all with probes 1 cool 1 mid 1 hot also im using an UTH for the hot side plugged into a lucky reptile thermo control ii, thermostat set to 92F the probe of which is attached and slightly inbetween the join of two slate tiles, the slates are resting on sand, but the leo's cant get to it,
> all my other probes are ground level.
> ...


if your worried about the moss, get a old towl and cut it into strips, it holds the moister very well, i keep my moist hides half on the heat and half off, this normal slows down the drying out, most my leos choose there mosit hides to sleep in every day, i dont measure the humidity in them as long as there damp, ive never had any problems.

if they are new, they can take weeks even months to settle into there new home and new faces looking at them, i would leave them well alone for a few aweeks just going in for cleaning, feeding etc, then you can slowly gain there trust by moving your hand in, they will get used to you in the end, after awhile they will be sitting be the door waiting for you to come say hello, or i should say they just want feeding lol

i think i have lost a handfull of hair over the years with the worries these geckos put us through lol


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## shakey787 (Apr 15, 2012)

Cool ill give the towel a bash just now
ill also move the hide down the viv a bit
i just read the bible on leo's on this site and it does say the hide should be nearer the cool side

anyway thanks again 
its all apreciated
Rob


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## shakey787 (Apr 15, 2012)

Hi all
Just an update my little gecko succesfully shed last night,
after all that hassle and stress with the moist hide she just spent the evening rubbing against the inside of her hot hide grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
she emerged this morning all bright and shiny, also came running up to the glass at feeding time and proceeded to decimate a small colony of crickets,
ive had a good look at her and toes and eyelids look clear 
also not a sign of the shed so im guessing she nommed it up

but.....

Second leo "izzy" has now turned white:censor:

anyway thanks again all your input and time was appreciated


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## joze_leo (Jul 29, 2011)

lol, stop worrying and let them crack on with it! moist hide will aid them but most leos can shed even without anywhere near perfect humidity levels.
It will get easier btw  atleast they have a good owner if not a little overprotective  hehe.


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## shakey787 (Apr 15, 2012)

i know im being a massive girl lol.
anyway im off to the Falklands for a month so they will get a well deserved break from being overprotected.

lol sad thing is ill be phoning home for updates


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## NitrousandAlex (Mar 21, 2012)

Ignis said:


> Sounds like your doing just fine. =)
> 
> Must admit that I've never measured the humidity of my humid hides I just use a snake den packed with moss, give it a good soaking when they're shedding and keep it fairly dry the rest of the time.


:0 me too! Any way you're doing fine, btw after your gecko sheds she might not eat for a day after, just so you don't have to ask another question. Anyway the tank sounds perfect, but maybe get a bigger one when they grow to adults. :2thumb:


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