Paper towels - comfortable?

[muffin_song]

Normally I use tile for Scooter's cage. Recently I added paper towels to her pooping corner, in an effort to make it easier to clean and reduce the spread of bacteria. Pooping corner is on the warm side, but not in the area covered by the UTH.

...now suddenly she's lying around in the paper towel-covered poop corner more more often :roll: Come to think of it, she also likes her cool hide, which also has paper towels underneath (I couldn't get the tile to fit perfectly).

I put the paper towels in on Monday. The silly girl has not eaten since then, and therefore has not pooped either on the paper towel-ed poop corner or anywhere else.* But has anyone else noticed leos enjoying their comfy "beds"?



* I suspect the going off food is because she looks like she's about to shed. Per usual, if this behavior doesn't change in about a week, I'll take her to the vet`

 

[JessJohnson87]

I have a washcloth under Ziggy's cool hide and he loves that thing, had it in the cardboard box before I made him a new hide and couldn't take it away. I had paper towels in the moist hide and added a little bit of moss to help hold moisture longer and he kicked up the moss to make a bed, so I just changed it over to moss. I put a piece of tile in his potty corner and he lays on that and switched potty corners to the side of the tank that has carpet....I thought he was constipated and started freaking out until I saw poop on his rock last night....

They are just so funny about their tanks :coverlaugh:

 

[Zux]

They are just so funny about their tanks :coverlaugh:

Haha I love that they are too, shows their character. I never thought about giving a comfortable bedding as I tried to model / am trying to model her terrarium around their wild environment, but I might lay some paper towel inside her warm hide and see if she spends more time there, right now she vastly prefers her Moist Hide "nest" as I call it.

- Shane

 

[JessJohnson87]

I thought I had a miracle tonight, Ziggy went into his warm dry hide but came out a minute later. Might put a washcloth in there to.

 

[JessJohnson87]

[MENTION=56047]muffin_song[/MENTION]

Amazing what one simple washcloth will do....

He never went into that hide until I put the washcloth down about an hour ago....

 

[Jonnette]

What a cutie I love his markings and his cute little eyes.

 

[LittleBird]

How cute Ziggy is on his washcloth! I'm having that problem with my girl right now too, we got her two brand new tiles on Sunday to replace her carpet. She likes the warmth but doesn't hang out on them very often. Instead she hides in her cool hide on her carpet which is on last 6ish inches of the tank and she hasn't pooped in there at all. I'm like, poop already! Tomorrow I'm going to try some washcloths and see what she thinks. Here's a snap of her briefly enjoying some belly warmth :?

 

[JessJohnson87]

That is such a cute picture! It's crazy how they like the soft feel of the paper towels, washcloths, moss/eco earth and carpet. The warm dry hide was just on the tile and he went in there before I put the washcloth under it but came out not even a minute later.

 

[LittleBird]

So yeah. Haha. As soon as I put the washcloth in she was all over it. I'm going to fluff up her other hide with one too.

 

[JessJohnson87]

Such weird little critters. My mom came for a visit last night and now he won't come out of his cool hide at all, I think he's scared of the 3 dogs :shock:

 

[Dinosnores]

I have paper towel on the poop spot in my guy's cage, too. The only time I ever saw him messing with it (besides when he's pooping) is to rub his face on it when he's trying to split his skin during a shed. I have him on tile, too, and he's in his hot hide sleeping pretty much all day despite it being such a hard surface. I might try folding a washcloth in there like you guys have done just to see if he likes it.

I have noticed him messing around in the humid hide a bit (it's eco earth in a tupperware, technically more comfortable than tile) but he seems to just like digging around in it and making little pseudo-burrows in there, not really sleeping there. He could just be weird, though.

Also those pictures are ADORABLE.

 

[JessJohnson87]

These Geckos have got it made......:crackup:

 

[muffin_song]

Following up on this thread, this is how I found Scooter when I peaked at her cage tonight:



"Where did my gecko go...? ...Oh."

Whatever makes you happy, sweetie!!!!

 

[JessJohnson87]

Peek-a-boo! :crackup:

That's cute though.

 

[muffin_song]

So Scooter has REALLY gotten into sleeping in her new "hide" :shock:



(Really child, why do I buy you expensive things when you just go for the paper towels )

This is now her go-to place to hang out when she's not actively eating, etc.

I do have a tank background, I guess it's time for me to put it up? I worry she doesn't feel secure enough.

 

[Zux]

That really is amazing how and how much she uses that.

Its a great example of how much they prefer 'hides' (using the term very loosely in this case haha) which are a snug fit making them feel more secure, similar to the rock crevices they are so often reported to be found in when in the wild.

I wonder if adding the folded towel in the same manner (so that she can wiggle in between the sheets like that) inside one of her hides would encourage her to use them more, forgive me if you already tried I haven't read the thread in a while.

 

[JessJohnson87]

I switched one of the hides out in my tank for a few days, Ziggy hated it. He loves his nice, snug, simple hides so long as they have a washcloth under them as a "bed." Take the wash cloth away and he's very unhappy. I had one lizard that would snuggle with me under a blanket, he was not happy hanging out with me unless he was under a blanket. I used to catch him under the carpet in his cage.

 

[LittleBird]

Awww Scooter! That is the cutest thing ever. It's like a little lizard sleeping bag