Is my leopard gecko lazy

[Geecko123]

hey, I don't know if this is the right place but OI guess it has to do with my leos ( Citrine ) health

so the question is, Is my gecko lazy or do they usually lay in hides all day?

so Citrine is a 10 month old male super mack snow who is very close to 8 1/2 inches. all he does is sit in his warm hide sleep and bask, he basks like any leopard gecko ( with a his tail or head sticking out of the hide in the UVB. he does sometimes climb but usually all the moving he does is moving from his warm hide to his moist hide. I have been experiminting with temps to see which one he likes better and he really likes 93-96 degrees, his cool side fluctuates between 68-72 degrees. I have noticed ( I recently put in a 13 watt reptisun 5.0 ) that since I put his UVB UVA lamp in he does climb/move more than before. one more thing, he is very active and loves climbing when I take him out of his cage. ( sorry if this is a silly question )

 

[Hilde]

Reptiles are cold-blooded (ectotherms), so they conserve energy as much as possible. It's hard for them to "replenish" their energy, wasting it on useless activity isn't a good thing.

They will explore their surroundings to find food, shelter, mates, check for intruders, and other necessities, but they won't go for a jog in the park for no reason, it wastes precious energy.

You'll see them resting for hours on end, aware of what's going on, watching, waiting, but not much else.

Exercising them is not necessary, they don't need it, and can be detrimental to them, since they aren't made for long activity sessions. Short burst of activity, to escape or catch prey, is about all they can safely manage.

Don't worry about him being lazy, he's just doing what he's designed for - absorbing heat, conserving energy, digesting his meals while he's warmed up enough.

 

[Geecko123]

thanks so much, usually when I have him out he will crawl around for a bit then crawl onto my hands and sleep.

 

[Hilde]

In his view, he checked around, nothing to worry about, so it's time to stay put, conserve energy, and maybe absorb some of your body heat.

 

[Hilde]

This is a summary of research done on the effects exercise has on reptiles (ectotherms). The whole paper is available as PDF, if you want to read all the technical info.

Exercise performance of reptiles.
From the vantage point of thirty years of study, we can sketch the general features of activity capacity and performance ability in reptiles. Extant reptilian groups all share low levels of maintenance metabolism and ectothermy, with their consequent advantages (Pough, 1980) and disadvantages. Among the latter is a limited capacity to expand aerobic metabolism, limited in comparison to the relatively great costs of terrestrial locomotion. Particularly at low body temperatures, reptiles outstrip their aerobic capacities with any exercise more intense than a slow walk. Anaerobic metabolism, particularly anaerobic glycolysis, can be used to fuel bursts of intense activity. As a consequence, however, physiological disruption and exhaustion are entailed. Under field conditions, many reptiles alternate long periods of quiescence or slow movement with very brief bursts of exertion. Other ectotherms with a similar pattern of metabolism have been shown thereby to extend performance beyond that supportable by either aerobic or anaerobic metabolism alone (Weinstein and Full, 1992). Even with careful alternation between these metabolic modes, reptiles remain particularly prone to exhaustion during vigorous activity, as least as judged by our mammalian frame of reference. Their capacities for burst activity and exertion have been shown, at least in some species, to be important determinants of their natural survival.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7810376

 

[Sg612]

hey, I don't know if this is the right place but OI guess it has to do with my leos ( Citrine ) health

so the question is, Is my gecko lazy or do they usually lay in hides all day?

so Citrine is a 10 month old male super mack snow who is very close to 8 1/2 inches. all he does is sit in his warm hide sleep and bask, he basks like any leopard gecko ( with a his tail or head sticking out of the hide in the UVB. he does sometimes climb but usually all the moving he does is moving from his warm hide to his moist hide. I have been experiminting with temps to see which one he likes better and he really likes 93-96 degrees, his cool side fluctuates between 68-72 degrees. I have noticed ( I recently put in a 13 watt reptisun 5.0 ) that since I put his UVB UVA lamp in he does climb/move more than before. one more thing, he is very active and loves climbing when I take him out of his cage. ( sorry if this is a silly question )

It’s not a silly question. You want to know what is normal, nothing wrong with that.

Are you asking if your Leo would run on a treadmill:biggrin: or are you just asking if it’s normal for them to lay in a hide all day? They should be active at some point of the day. In my experience they are very curious about their surroundings and almost nosy like. Mine would climb on things and explore their enclosure on a daily basis.

 

[Geecko123]

I am just asking if it is normal for them to lay around, Citrine does climb her enclosure but not every day, like every 2 days.

 

[Sg612]

I was just being silly. The jog in the park make me laugh and I thought about a Leo on a treadmill.:biggrin:

Do you provide any over head heating? If your Leo only has a warm spot, chances are it’s not going to want to leave it. The heat from the UTH tapers off quickly within an inch or so leaving the rest of the air too cool. The only way to know if this is the reason, is by adding heat from above using a CHE on a thermostat. You will then have to find a way to keep a fair amount of moisture in the air(humidity).

I forgot to mention, they will also not be very active if the conditions are too dry.

 

[adewey]

My girls seem very chilled and contented, apart from where food it concerned, oh and trying to run away from my scary hand