Levis care versus other Nephrurus

[Nocturnalnature]

As some of you have read in another thread, I recently received a 1.1 pair of levis. They both came in considerably smaller and lighter than what I expected, however both are now on the right path as far as eating and defecating.
I do have a few questions I was hoping those more knowledgeable with levis might answer for me. I currently keep Nephrurus amyae, wheeleri, milii, and of course now the levis.
Everything I have read says they burrow and dig. Neither of mine have burrowed or dug. The female does seal the hide on the cool side sometimes, but that's about it. I mist the cool side every few days, and the sand is moist enough to clump together, yet they simply don't have any interest in digging. How moist should the sand be to promote this behavior, or does providing two hides discourage them from digging burrows since they have ready made shelter?
Another thing that has me concerned is they seem to prefer the warm, dry side over the cool, moist side. The temps on the dry side are 87-89 and the cool side is approximately 74-76. I am worried about dehydration so I added a small water bowl tonight. Will they use this if they need it or should I just stick with misting every few days?
Lastly, they seem to be much more shy in regards to food than my other species. With the others, I just throw in the prey items and they eat them all in quick order. The levis on the other hand seem to get startled by more than one cricket or dubia at a time, which means I am spending more time feeding them than it takes to feed all of my other animals combined. Is it normal for them to be so wary of multiple prey items placed in their enclosure at one time?

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy them, but they seem much more fragile and labor intensive than any of the other Nephrurus, and I have to wonder if maybe I am not doing something right since they aren't showing the behaviors I have read about in the articles I found relating to their husbandry.
As always, any help or input is appreciated.

 

[mummabear]

Healthy levis should be no different to your other geckos. Some individual geckos can get a bit freaked by too many food items but this is individual thing not due to species. If i was you i would be happy they are not digging. They need to be kept a constant eye on because of their condition. And if they are not hiding then they will be out more and hopefully eating more. I would also be spraying every night as that male looks dehydrated. Don't expect them to drink for the bowl. You must rely on spraying the actual animal and a side of their enclosure. In reality them hanging out on the warm side is not going to really dehydrate them any more than being on the damp side. The wet sand is more to aid shedding than hydration. I actually don't let any of mine dig. The have fairly even depth of sand across their tub with 1 moist hide, with a bit more sand and i dry warm hide. I have found no issues at all with this. I only provide deep sand in their lay boxes when they are ready to lay.
Who know what the history is on your animals and they may actually be in poor condition for a number of reasons. We are only assuming it was just poor husbandry that can be fixed but it could be disease as well.

 

[Nocturnalnature]

Thanks for the reply!
He looks MUCH better than he did in the photo. His body is now filled out and I noticed last night his tail appears to be getting thicker as well. Certainly not what I would consider a healthy weight, but I am pleased thus far with his progress. The female is a plump little thing and has that nice, wide tail that many associate with levis.
I hope I didn't give the wrong impression that they are going down hill, because they are doing well. It just seems their behavior differs from everything I read. Virtually EVERY site I visited specifically mentioned the burrowing, which is why I was concerned about that. A few also said they will die if they don't seal their burrow, which obviously had me worked up.
The animals are still being misted, and I have visually seen each animal lick the water droplets from their face and walls, yet I can't get it out of my head that a decline is imminent since they don't follow what the websites describe as normal behavior they use to prevent desiccation.
The issue with the prey items is not a huge deal since I don't have a problem waiting on them to eat the first two prey items before adding more. If I add more than two both animals tend to get defensive and back away from the prey.
I will admit to being hyper vigilant when it comes to observing all of my animal's behaviors, so perhaps I am reading too much into it.

 

[mummabear]

I keep levis levis and pilbarensis in fairly large numbers and i have not had one die from not being able to burrow. It sounds like they are on the right track.

 

[knobfan]

They will not die if they don't seal their own burrow. The burrow is a small temp trap, like their own little temperature hole room. They thermal regulate themselves, your animals know how to do this. Whether closing the hole or not, it all depends on what the geck feels. I see it all the time, differences in sealing their burrow/hide. Provided you have a man made burrow eliminates the need for them to make their own. Trust me, they have all the survival instincts to make their own but you've provided it already.

The thing I would change is their feeding habits by adding one insect at a time. Do you have updated pics of your male?

 

[sciteacher]

Mine don't do a lot of digging either. My female will kick some sand to close off the entrance to her hide, but doesn't really dig in other areas much. My male often doesn't seal his hide entrance. I mist every 2 - 3 days for moisture. My young levis do seem a little more freaked out by multiple food items moving about than other species I keep, but my adults don't seem to be intimidated.

 

[Nocturnalnature]

I really want to thank you folks for helping to put my mind at ease.
As I mentioned, they seem to have settled in and don't seem to be in any distress at all. I believe my lack of experience with this species has me a bit unnerved, and I think I let the care sheets I read go to my mind just a bit.
Knobfan,
No new pics yet. He is coming around nicely so I don't want to take two steps back by adding the stress of taking photos. No worries though, I will update the thread in a month or so, once I'm confident the added commotion won't throw him of his feed.

 

[Douceboyz]

My levis levis only burrows if the substrate is around 3in deep and no cool hide available. He is also a shy eater but as soon as it's nice and dark you can hear him running around hunting.

 

[Nocturnalnature]

Just a quick update.
The levis are doing quite well. The little male is eating two dubia every other day on a consistent basis, and has had a good clean shed. Took a while to get over the hump, but they have settled in and have even gotten to the point where they will come out when I open the lids and take the prey item as soon as it hits the substrate.
Still not going to attempt breeding this year, but now have real hopes of being able to give it a try next season.

 

[Douceboyz]

Congrats! They are one of the harder geckos when it comes to acclimating to a new owner. But once you get over the initial hump they should be good from now on.