Moss

[lilynels]

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In my immature attempts to create a wet-hide for my guy I decided to use spaghnum moss in a small tupperware on the warm side. He ended up consuming a large amount of the moss for some unknown reason and ended up getting impacted, which is a whole different story. I always watch him eat to ensure he doesnt accidentally eat any substrate and I have always used eco carpet with the exception of in his moist hide. I have now removed the moist hide and have heard that using paper towels are pretty popular but I am scared that he will try to eat those as well.


Let me hear your opinion, thanks!

[Elizabeth Freer]

Welcome aboard!

Is your wet box/humid hide on the warm end of your leo's enclosure with temperatures kept just about the same as the warm dry hide? Unfortunately, some leos eat sphagnum moss and others have eaten paper towel strips. Was your leo unusually hungry at the time?

I have always used compacted sphagnum moss in my leo's humid hide.

Here's an alternative wet box substrate that's been recommended recently by one of GU's leo keepers. @Geecko123 is using it for his leo now as far as I know.

Natural Sea Sponges for warm moist hides from Amazon......Geecko123 -- May 2019
Click: https://www.amazon.com/4-Pack-Sponge...2DXFQTT8QSM60H

[lilynels]

thank you for the response! my leo is a juvenile gecko and i've been feeding him around 5-6 crickets a day with a few meal worms here and there so i don't think he was hungry. and yes the hide was on the warm side and at a good temp. he had his first shed since i got him around the same time i realized he was impacted. i watched basically his whole shedding process throughout the day and didn't see him go into the moist hide once. would it be a terrible idea to not have a moist hide for him and possibly alternatively misting the warm side occasionally or would that be a bad idea.

[Elizabeth Freer]

thank you for the response! my leo is a juvenile gecko and i've been feeding him around 5-6 crickets a day with a few meal worms here and there so i don't think he was hungry. and yes the hide was on the warm side and at a good temp. he had his first shed since i got him around the same time i realized he was impacted. i watched basically his whole shedding process throughout the day and didn't see him go into the moist hide once. would it be a terrible idea to not have a moist hide for him and possibly alternatively misting the warm side occasionally or would that be a bad idea.

You're welcome!

You could mist the moist hide regularly, not the entire warm end.

Have you some idea what the room humidity ranges? I suggest 40-60% humidity for leos. If room humidity is less than that, leos often depend upon warm moist hides more.

Are you meeting these temps?

Temperatures - A temperature gradient from warm to cool maintains your leo's health. Here's a temperature guide for all leopard geckos as measured with the probe of a digital thermometer or a temp gun (and controlled by a thermostat set at 91*F/32.8*C):

• Warm end ground temperature: 88-92 F (31.1-33.3 C) inside a leo's warm dry hide and his moist hide too!
• Cool end ground temperature: 70ish-75 F (21.1-23.9 C) Usually the cool end ground temperature matches the room temperature where the enclosure sits.
• no greater than 82ish F (27.8ish C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the warm end
• no greater than 75 F (23.9 C) air temperature - 4 inches above ground on the cool end

Leave the heat mat/UTH on 24/7. If you wish, during the night turn off overhead lighting/heating (~12 hours on and ~12 hours off) unless ambient room temperatures drop lower than 67ish*F (19.4*C).

[Marillion]

I use old 100% cotton bedsheets cut into thick strips inside the moist hide to retain moisture. I hand rinse them out with very warm water every couple of days and replace after a little while. One bedsheet can provide a LOT of strips for a gecko hide and it would be exceedingly hard to eat them I would think... An additional benefit is that the 100% cotton bed sheet pieces retain moisture very well. I use this rock lair by Zilla. It does a good job holding in the moisture and looks great, besides.

[HolbyCity]

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My leo has never eaten moss in her humid hide. She licks it and thats it. She did however eat EcoEarth (a very small amount and I removed it immediately). Some leos just have different tastes lol