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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Humid Hides For Leopard Geckos

Humid or moist hides are vital for leopard geckos health. Without access to proper moisture and humidity most leopard geckos have trouble shedding. Some will even experience toe loss and problems digesting food. But what exactly is a humid or moist hide. The best way to provide a humid hide is a plastic container with a hole for access. The container should have 2-4 inches of perlite, vermiculite, or moss on the bottom. This substrate should be moist but not sopping wet. A good way to test this is to squeeze a ball of this substance in your hand. It should drip slightly but not pour water. Heat is essential, so place this container over the hot side of their enclosure.

We have found that a hole placed on the top of the container is much better that one placed on the side. Leopard geckos are good climbers and good diggers. A hole on the side often leads to all the vermiculite being kicked out of the container. One note of caution. Baby leopard geckos should never be given a humid or moist hide with perlite or vermiculite. Instead their moist hide should be a damp paper towel in small plastic container. It is very easy for baby geckos to eat the perlite or vermiculite and become impacted. We lost one of our very first babies to impaction this way and it was only after months of care that our other babies were able to pass all the perlite that they had eaten.

More reptile care and health imformation at healthy reptile blog