cricket4u
New member
That may be your answer.
Edit: You did say moving between his warm hide and the humidity hide. That's fine, unless he is moving too frequently. For example, more than 4 times during the day.
Last edited:
Leopard Gecko Bowser: ceramic heat emitter, night viewing bulb, setup ?s, & all
- Thread starter Bowser
- Start date
Edit: You did say moving between his warm hide and the humidity hide. That's fine, unless he is moving too frequently. For example, more than 4 times during the day.
Bowser
New member
So how do I increase the overall humidity? I still want to get a waterfall, but that's probably down the road. How do you keep yours up? If they are desert dwellers, why do they need/want so much humidity (out of curiosity)?
cricket4u
New member
I run a humidifier in the room. I wish I was a leopard gecko so that I can answer that question.:lol: I can only imagine that the humidity in burrows would be higher. If he is the type that's comfortable laying in the humidity hide for a few hours, he should be fine.
Last edited:
Bowser
New member
Maybe they were geographically misplaced by their "creator" and were really meant to go to a tropical atmosphere! hehe :biggrin:
cricket4u
New member
Bowser
New member
Bowser pooped in his cool hide AGAIN!! After I had moved it! Lol guess he does like the shelter! But now he has no cool hide to lay in...unless he wants to stay in there with it. Btw, his poop stinks!! You cant smell it from outside the cage, but when u clean it, for something so small, it packs a wicked punch! It almost smells human! Like a port-a-potty!
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Guess for now anyway, Bowser needs the security of an outhouse
. Things could be worse, Mike, like pooping in his water dish! Have you room to give him a 2nd cool hide? Maybe the outhouse could be the smaller of two cool hides?
Bowser
New member
Guess for now anyway, Bowser needs the security of an outhouse
Animals do some weird things, that's for sure. Pooping in your water bowl is certainly up there, though.
The turtle shell hide takes up a decent amount of floor space...about 7 inches long and 5 inches wide. Adding another hide to the cool side will pretty much eliminate any real additional space he has. At the moment, he doesn't seem too fond of the cool side anyway. He goes over there, but he REALLY feels safety and security in his warm hides. I do have a large java log in the middle of the cage that we can walk through to get away from the heat and still have a little shelter, albeit not as much as his hides.
I really like my cage set-up, but I still have to work on a few things.
On another note, the impatient side of me is wondering how long it really takes (roughly) for the gecko to get used to his/her owner to the point where they aren't scared or shy anymore. Bowser has been getting better and seems to be a little more curious of me lately, but still reverts to hiding when I am standing at the cage. Now, granted, he hasn't even been here a week yet, so I am aware that I am REALLY impatient about this lol. But he is soooooo damn cute! I feel like Elmyra from Tiny Toons whenever I see him out of his hides :biggrin:
Don't worry though, I have not touched him once yet, and don't plan to for a little while yet.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
:idea: Leo's day time is your night time. Unless you are crepuscular too.
Bowser
New member
Well I am crepuscularly curious ;-) and like to view him late. I don't go to bed til around 12-1 and I'm up at 7, so I'm still around for several hours of "his" day time. Like I said, he seems to be getting a little better with me, but he still prefers if I'm not around. And my impatient side wants him to love me as much as I love him :sad: I know, I know...I'm a bit TOO impatient. Time is everything.
Bowser
New member
Bowser is quite the climber!!!!
Ok, so while I knew Leopard Geckos were good climbers, I didn't imagine HOW good. First, let me explain the situation. Since I got my cage at the reptile expo, the screen top was warped in didn't sit level on the cage. It bowed in the middle lifting the sides and corners. I could not lock down the top, even though I was able to, because once locked down, the glass doors wouldn't close properly. BTW, it is an exo terra. I called the guy I bought it from and he contacted the supplier and had a brand new top sent to me. Well, I only got it yesterday, but Tuesday when I got home Bowser was OUT of his cage and clinging to the top of the screen and corner of the cage!!! :yikes: I freaked out! Apparently, he scaled the exo terra background, found the opening at the top left by the curled up corners of the screen top, and got out that way. I guess I can comfortably say he has literally explored his entire cage!!
What I feel bad about is that he still doesn't trust me and is very scared of me, so when I tried to pick him up and put him back in, he leaped out of my hands back onto the screen, ran to the other side, FELL OFF the cage, landed in my jewelry box upside down, ran OFF that, and then I caught him and was able to get him in. Certainly not my most delicate handling experience. I thought for sure there would be some physical side effect to all this, but luckily, there wasn't. The only thing it seems to have done was take me back a few steps in gaining his trust. Thank God the new top came yesterday and is locked down solid now. But man, that was scary.
He's really been on the move a lot lately though, regardless of that fiasco. He's climbing whatever he can and is out a lot more often. I've been having issues with keeping a higher humidity level in his cage, but luckily these past couple days here have been very rainy and humid. I leave my windows open and allow the room the get humid. This has raised the air humidity level about 15%...I am at 35% now. Still a little low, but much better than the previous 20%.
I also picked up the exo terra night glow bulb...it is AWESOME!!! It puts off 50 watts of heat and gives a nice dim moonlight glow in the cage. It is not overwhelming and does not light up the entire cage. He seems to have no problem with it as he is out all the time now during the night.
Anyone have an idea about when Bowser may forgive and forget that whole out-of-cage experience? I'd love to get on his good side, but don't know how.
Ok, so while I knew Leopard Geckos were good climbers, I didn't imagine HOW good. First, let me explain the situation. Since I got my cage at the reptile expo, the screen top was warped in didn't sit level on the cage. It bowed in the middle lifting the sides and corners. I could not lock down the top, even though I was able to, because once locked down, the glass doors wouldn't close properly. BTW, it is an exo terra. I called the guy I bought it from and he contacted the supplier and had a brand new top sent to me. Well, I only got it yesterday, but Tuesday when I got home Bowser was OUT of his cage and clinging to the top of the screen and corner of the cage!!! :yikes: I freaked out! Apparently, he scaled the exo terra background, found the opening at the top left by the curled up corners of the screen top, and got out that way. I guess I can comfortably say he has literally explored his entire cage!!
What I feel bad about is that he still doesn't trust me and is very scared of me, so when I tried to pick him up and put him back in, he leaped out of my hands back onto the screen, ran to the other side, FELL OFF the cage, landed in my jewelry box upside down, ran OFF that, and then I caught him and was able to get him in. Certainly not my most delicate handling experience. I thought for sure there would be some physical side effect to all this, but luckily, there wasn't. The only thing it seems to have done was take me back a few steps in gaining his trust. Thank God the new top came yesterday and is locked down solid now. But man, that was scary.
He's really been on the move a lot lately though, regardless of that fiasco. He's climbing whatever he can and is out a lot more often. I've been having issues with keeping a higher humidity level in his cage, but luckily these past couple days here have been very rainy and humid. I leave my windows open and allow the room the get humid. This has raised the air humidity level about 15%...I am at 35% now. Still a little low, but much better than the previous 20%.
I also picked up the exo terra night glow bulb...it is AWESOME!!! It puts off 50 watts of heat and gives a nice dim moonlight glow in the cage. It is not overwhelming and does not light up the entire cage. He seems to have no problem with it as he is out all the time now during the night.
Anyone have an idea about when Bowser may forgive and forget that whole out-of-cage experience? I'd love to get on his good side, but don't know how.
cricket4u
New member
So I see you have had the chance to witness their climbing ability.:biggrin: They are very good at escaping if they have a chance. Well, I think you had this false image that all leopard geckos tolerate handling. I have a 12 year gecko who has never accepted being handled. Until this day taking him out is so stressful no matter how patient and calm I have been. Some will calm down as they get older, but the fear will never leave them.
He will be fine. Put your human emotions aside. You have only had him for a short period. You are Sasquatch remember?:lol:
He will be fine. Put your human emotions aside. You have only had him for a short period. You are Sasquatch remember?:lol:
Bowser
New member
About 2 feet :shock:
Luckily I had mail in it so he didn't actually land on any jewelry. But like I said, he was scared initially, but seems to have gotten right back to his ways again. He's been very active. Just a little more scared when he sees me now. The paranoid side of me was afraid he was going to drop his tail from all the stress and fear!
Last edited:
Bowser
New member
I am glad it was a short fall. I can only imagine you were a nervous wreck. He will get over the scare quickly. Just bring him something good to eat.
I wanna get some hornworms...are they yummy??
cricket4u
New member
I asked my geckos and they said, "Yes, very yummy!" :biggrin:
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Whew!
Glad Bowser was still close to home after he escaped. Keep him in lockdown now, just like you have done.
Patience is the answer for becoming buddies with Bowser.
Glad Bowser was still close to home after he escaped. Keep him in lockdown now, just like you have done.
Patience is the answer for becoming buddies with Bowser.
Bowser
New member
crickets...ohhhhh boy!
Ok, so as you all know from my posts, Bowser is very shy and scared of me still, rightfully so since it's only been 1 week. Well yesterday when I got home from work, he was basking on top of his java log hide (first time I've seen him up there!). He slowly crawled down and made his way to his warm cave once seeing me. A little later I saw him emerge with a perked up head and he made his way all the way to the other side by his water dish. I thought I was going to get to see him drink, but he didn't want a drink. He put his perked up nose against the glass and kind of pecked it. At first I didn't know what he was doing. Then, I remembered he perked up like this once before. Alas, the reason? He heard all the crickets outside!!! I felt horrible...the little guy wanted crickets so bad! So last night I made it to Pet Smart just in time to pick up an infrared temp. gun, some hanging foliage, and of coarse, CRICKETS!!! I've never fed him crickets before. I had the crickets dusted with calcium/D3 since I was going home to feed them to him right away. I know, I know...it's best to gut load before feeding, but like I said, this was something that HAD to be done then! If you saw his little face, you'd understand! But the crickets there looked very healthy...they were all very plump and a lot of them were eating the food and drinking the water in the tank. So I got home and started the process. I bought 10" tongs which really came in handy. I opened the bag and used the tongs to pull out one cricket at a time and I dropped it right in front of Bowser. I've never seen him move so fast!! He was like lightning after it! It was the cutest thing to see him chase down the crickets and gobble them up! He ended up eating about 9 or 10 before he was done. The last one in there he didn't want, so I went and got it out of there (those things are hard to catch with tongs!). He went in his cave and relaxed for a little while afterwards, digesting I am assuming.
This morning, would you believe it, he actually heard me moving around (he was sleeping) and he popped his little head out of his cave to see what was going on. Usually when he does this it is just to see where I am and make sure I don't bother him, then he slowly retreats back in. Today, he popped his head out, and continued to come out! He came all the way out as I was standing right there (he never does that) and he came up to the glass. I put my hand up against the glass and he touched his nose to the glass. He looked up at me and opened his mouth a couple times like we humans do when we first get up. he stayed there and kept looking at me. I decided maybe him smacking his mouth was a sign he was hungry again? I went and put another cricket in his cage but he wasn't interested. I got it out of there and he was just walking around a bit. before leaving for work I put my hand in the cage next to him and just opened it up and he actually moved his head towards it and (I think) smelled it! He then slowly (but not really cautiously) moved past my hand and went back to his cave. SUCCESS!!! He didn't seem terrified of me or tentative! I was so happy!!!! :yahoo:
I guess after feeding him some crickets, I'm a bit of alright now to him :biggrin:
Excited to go home today!!
Ok, so as you all know from my posts, Bowser is very shy and scared of me still, rightfully so since it's only been 1 week. Well yesterday when I got home from work, he was basking on top of his java log hide (first time I've seen him up there!). He slowly crawled down and made his way to his warm cave once seeing me. A little later I saw him emerge with a perked up head and he made his way all the way to the other side by his water dish. I thought I was going to get to see him drink, but he didn't want a drink. He put his perked up nose against the glass and kind of pecked it. At first I didn't know what he was doing. Then, I remembered he perked up like this once before. Alas, the reason? He heard all the crickets outside!!! I felt horrible...the little guy wanted crickets so bad! So last night I made it to Pet Smart just in time to pick up an infrared temp. gun, some hanging foliage, and of coarse, CRICKETS!!! I've never fed him crickets before. I had the crickets dusted with calcium/D3 since I was going home to feed them to him right away. I know, I know...it's best to gut load before feeding, but like I said, this was something that HAD to be done then! If you saw his little face, you'd understand! But the crickets there looked very healthy...they were all very plump and a lot of them were eating the food and drinking the water in the tank. So I got home and started the process. I bought 10" tongs which really came in handy. I opened the bag and used the tongs to pull out one cricket at a time and I dropped it right in front of Bowser. I've never seen him move so fast!! He was like lightning after it! It was the cutest thing to see him chase down the crickets and gobble them up! He ended up eating about 9 or 10 before he was done. The last one in there he didn't want, so I went and got it out of there (those things are hard to catch with tongs!). He went in his cave and relaxed for a little while afterwards, digesting I am assuming.
This morning, would you believe it, he actually heard me moving around (he was sleeping) and he popped his little head out of his cave to see what was going on. Usually when he does this it is just to see where I am and make sure I don't bother him, then he slowly retreats back in. Today, he popped his head out, and continued to come out! He came all the way out as I was standing right there (he never does that) and he came up to the glass. I put my hand up against the glass and he touched his nose to the glass. He looked up at me and opened his mouth a couple times like we humans do when we first get up. he stayed there and kept looking at me. I decided maybe him smacking his mouth was a sign he was hungry again? I went and put another cricket in his cage but he wasn't interested. I got it out of there and he was just walking around a bit. before leaving for work I put my hand in the cage next to him and just opened it up and he actually moved his head towards it and (I think) smelled it! He then slowly (but not really cautiously) moved past my hand and went back to his cave. SUCCESS!!! He didn't seem terrified of me or tentative! I was so happy!!!! :yahoo:
I guess after feeding him some crickets, I'm a bit of alright now to him :biggrin:
Excited to go home today!!