Digging madness

M

majahawt

New member
Oh my god, Donut is so noisy!

Ever since we switched to tile, he's started digging so much! As shown in this photo, the left (cold) corner is still covered with beech chips as there's nowhere around that cuts tiles. It's not like he dislikes the tile, he spends the entire evening flopped down on it comfortably but at night he'll face towards the climbing wall and dig away until most of the chips are over the tile. When he's done with that, he doesn't stop. He'll try to "dig" the climbing wall, as well as the floor and the doors.

I had to cover up the corner with just a DVD-case and an (so far) unused Exo Terra Canopy Cave just so I can get some sleep. I'm pretty frustrated, not only does he make a mess but he makes so much noise and he's driving the cat crazy as well.

Seeing as I can't cut tiles, any tips? Should I just remove the chips from the corner and keep it bare? I do have a bag of excavator clay laying around (it was supposed to be for after we move) so I'm considering putting that in there instead so he can actually dig down if that's what he wants...

[EDIT] He's still trying to dig, on the DVD-case :shock:
 
Last edited:
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
How about replacing the beech chips with a double layer of paper towels?

Here in the USA Seventh Generation manufactures absorbent brown paper towels...like Bounty towels.
 
M

majahawt

New member
jinete said:
I can't even get mine to come out of his hide. Lol. Wish you luck.
Click to expand...

He used to be a timid little guy! He would only come out of his hide when we weren't in the room and then when we came back, he'd dash right back in. He's always been a grumpy dude but lately he's started coming up to the glass and demanding to be picked up. It's mostly just age, they really chill out a lot more when they grow up :3
 
jinete

jinete

New member
I have his favorite hide facing the front glass so we can peek in and see him in it. I was thinking of turning it around so that the back of that hide is closest to the front glass. That way it would face the back of the enclosure. Maybe if he can't see us as much that would make him more likely to venture out. Thoughts?
 
M

majahawt

New member
jinete said:
I have his favorite hide facing the front glass so we can peek in and see him in it. I was thinking of turning it around so that the back of that hide is closest to the front glass. That way it would face the back of the enclosure. Maybe if he can't see us as much that would make him more likely to venture out. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It is possible! Our youngest is still a bit skittish so her warm dry hide is facing away from us. She'll hang out in it with her head out, relaxing or sleeping. She can't see us unless we come up to the tank at an angle. It's definitely something you could try!
 
JIMI

JIMI

New member
My leo also had a short period of digging madness. His enclosure is in my room so you can imagine how crazy that drove me during the night:-x. He really liked scratching up the paper towel; I removed them because I was concerned that he might eat the pieces he was ripping up. This was accompanied with wall climbing, but the digging didn't last long. I changed up his enclosure a little bit at the time and added things to keep him busy which did help. He eventually stopped on his own. Maybe your's will stop on his own as well.

It'd be a good idea to place the hide in a way that it is offering the most security so that he feels more comfortable. With time he will probably feel more comfortable with you. When my leo was around 5 months he also stayed in his hide a majority of the time. Now he's almost 2 years and he's pretty adventurous. He generally does not like being handled so I gave him as much privacy as I could for the first few months so that he could grow accustomed to his enclosure without worrying that I was going to come over and grab him. I think adding a CHE to keep the air around 84F helped as well. That was pretty much what worked for my particular gecko. Occasionally he even sleeps outside of his hides while basking out in the open under the heat lamp or in another hidden region that he seems to treat as a hide from time to time. He has about 8 hides in his enclosure in different temperature ranges so it's not like he's being forced to lay out in the open!

Good luck with your geckos!
 
M

majahawt

New member
So I tried paper towel and he immediately went over to tear it up, as well as attempt to eat it (I've seen it once before - he thinks the little nubs are bugs or something). I made a nice little hill out of Excavator with a couple of holes, as well as his cold hide underneath for support. I let it dry for a full day (blocked off half the tank so he could still be in it) and then blowdried a bit in the evening. It's not dry yet of course but I figured that the slightly soft clay will allow him to dig out any areas he wants before it dries (and tbh I just felt really bad for him with only half a tank ;-;). I did hear him do a little bit digging but it was a lot more quiet, not to mention a lot more brief. I went over to see what mess he's made and there was NONE! I expected Excavator everywhere but nope. He hasn't kicked any more moss out of his hide either.

He's just a little weirdo, I guess
 
M

majahawt

New member
Update: after I put in the Excavator, he's completely stopped digging as well as scratching the glass. I guess maybe he was just being pissy about the beech chips, lol. He spends a lot of time over at the Excavator now, he really likes laying on the tiles with his head on it like a big pillow :>
 
M

majahawt

New member
I think we have to cut down his feeding to every third day instead of every other, lol. Tried feeding him some roaches and he goes all "OHMAGAD ROACH YUM" the second he sees them but then he either lets them crawl under him and forget about them or they disappear around a corner (like behind the water dish) and he seems to think they've disappeared from the universe :roll:
 
hmarie186

hmarie186

New member
Edgar does this too. It'll be right in front of him and then he gets hunting eyes but then half-heartedly nips at it and it runs away. I think your Donut is Edgar's brother from another mother LOL!
 
M

majahawt

New member
hmarie186 said:
Edgar does this too. It'll be right in front of him and then he gets hunting eyes but then half-heartedly nips at it and it runs away. I think your Donut is Edgar's brother from another mother LOL!
Click to expand...

Haha sounds like it! A lot of the time we get the half-interested sneak over to the food and then he licks it and is like "meh" and just walks away. Eclair will stalk and run all over her tank to catch stuff. I guess they just get lazy about food when they grow up :>
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top