Spraying of water

[Moose1960]

After reading various posts in various forums I am a bit confused :confused:
I was told buy the pet store guy to spray my gecko with the water every day so he hets use to it and drinks off himself.
Also to spray the sweat everyday to keep it moist.
Then some people it seems spray the whole cage as if it rained everyday.
I admit i do not have a humidifyer temp thingy :D and will be getting one soon.
But what does everyone else do.

[Youkai]

A leopard gecko? Those do not need to be sprayed at all...
Supply them with a shallow water dish, and a humid (sweat) box, and that's all they need.

It doesn't shower every night in Pakistan/Afghanistan. :D

[Alicewave]

It's actually not a good idea to spray the cage for a leopard gecko. When water comes into contact with the urates it can create toxic ammonia which can cause health problems. The moisture in the water dish and moisture hide is all they need.

[Moose1960]

thank you both.
Another reason why this forum is as good as it is...and another reason why dont take pet store people as gosspil..I do realize all are not like that and some are very knowledgable.

Again thanks

[Just Me]

I don't know EVERYTHING about Leos. But in my own experiences I've had bad sheds if I don't spray regularly. They don't need to be swimming! But a few light mists everyday makes a huge difference in my Leos.

[Katatonic]

Bad sheds occur when a gecko does not have access to a humid site, as they would in nature (such as a humid, abandoned rodent burrow). If your home is overly dry, you should mist once a day to raise ambient humidity. You should be spraying each hide box, containing a medium to keep consistent dampness, to maintain your level of humidity necessary for proper shedding.
This may require you to spray daily in a dry home, or every other day or so in a home with a humidifier. Also, to avoid overly dry cages and the drying out of humid hide areas, buy properly sized heat pads, and keep your dampened hide on the side OPPOSITE to the heat source.
As for petstore employee advice, take everything with a grain of salt and make observations on your own successes and failures and use that to advance in the future.
LATER.

[SnowSnake]

Hi Just Me,

Do you have a humid hide box? If yes, whats in it? is the opening very big? whats the box (what type of container)?

If no, you should really get one! Take a margerin container (emptied and washed), cut a hole in the side so that your leo will fit in and have some space on each side, add some spagnum moss (I find this works better) to the bottom of the container and humidify each time it dries out or before its completly dry. :D

keep this box 24/7 on the "hot" side of the leos' tank.

cya,
SnowSnake

[SnowSnake]

Katatonic noted above that keeping the humid hide on the hot side made it dry out very fast which is true but if your hole isnt too big and you re-humidify it every day/2 days you'll be fine with it on the hot side! Keeping it on the hot side makes the water evaporate and make water droplettes and makes the air inside the hide more humid :)

SnowSnake

[Katatonic]

Go ahead and keep the hide over the heat source if you enjoy spraying things down every 8 hours.
Sorry. Overall cage temperature should raise the humidity inside the box to sufficiently aid in the shedding of the leopard gecko, and to keep it over the heat pad or under a heat lamp tends to compromise the purpose of the humid hide area initially. Replace it with a rock if you're aiming for a basking site.

[SnowSnake]

My little male uses it for both purposes!! When he is about to shed he goes in it and when he just ate he climbs on it and basks on it!! lollll

he likes it very much and with the spagnum moss I only re-humidify it every 2 days and the moss is still humid.

[Katatonic]

Congrats. Thank you for the patronizing information about how the water cycle works.
Show me a fully mature, gravid gecko that can enter a hole small enough so it does not permit quick evaporation when placed over a heat source. Also, if you're into breeding, placing a humid box/nestbox over a heat source spells utter doom for laid eggs.
Noted above, if overall ambient temperatures are sufficient, this will cause the evaporation inside said hidebox.
Have a great night people.
LATER.

[SnowSnake]

SORRY!! but I didn't meen to start a fight! I was only telling Just Me how to set up a humid hide! I don't have a fully mature and gravid female and I don't breed my leos yet, but when i will I will get the info for it.
So if you want to add something to what I said or comment something I said plz do it in a grown up matter :). Putting down someone wont get you higher.

Cya,
SnowSnake

P.S. Im still learning about leo reproduction, so thanks for the humid hide info :D

[Just Me]

SnowSnake,
Yes, I have a HIDE box, not a HUMID box. Its a coconut. My leos like them fine. They use it to help get shed off and its nice and dark for them. They're not females, so they don't need a humid box to lay eggs. Its much easier for me to mist them once a day than to change and spray spagnum moss all the time because of bacteria. But thanks.

[depressor86]

im still new to leos, but i found when i had a humid hide on the cool end, its temp dropped and the water chilled him too much. i really dont mind spraying the hide daily, he loves to be in there :)

[Just Me]

I would also like to add something to this. I don't think the size of the hole always matters. Some have the entrance on the side of the box, rather than on top.

If its on the side, I'm assuming (common sense) that there will be less humidity escaping the box. For those with entrances on the top, its something that may have to be compensated for.

Some of us are breeders. Some of us are not. We shouldn't be making any assumptions. Lets all be mature about this. This is what the forums are about!! Learning! :)

Have fun and be nice!!

[Moose1960]

Gee I didnt realize people get so passionate...JK

This is what i was using as a hide/humid box, a store bought cave, I started first buy putting in halfof the box a bunch of sheet moss / terrascape products by hamilton reptile company. But I found it dried too quickly and crickets would hide in between the moss and the cave. Also i think i miss understood cause i filled it up to the top.
Now i just use paper towel/napkins and lay a bunch again just on half of the cave, but she can now lay on it. When i do my cleaning/feeding in the evening I remove the cave and it is wet/damp on the roof from the moisture. even tho the tank itself is around 20% humidity i assume the cave is a lot higher. This is the only place she lays in. I have another log like cover on the cool side but she barely goes in there. i have seen her at night just in the tank laying around various degrees toward the cool side.
The cave is above a UTH (rated for 15 gal tank so only covers 1/3 of the bottom) which has about 5 layers of newspaper then reptile carpet. Above it my heat lamp a red 50 or 75 watt bulb.(I forget and am too lazy to check right now lol)As you see in the pic the moist paper is only in half of the cave. She varies from laying on top to beside it.

Would you say this is fine. I have noticed her coat is starting to grey slightly so i am assuming she is going to start shedding soon. How long is the shedding process?

Thanks
P.S Caption should read .......hmmmmmm where do you think your going!!!!!

http://www3.sympatico.ca/m.d.nielsen/images/humid.JPG[

[Moose1960]

here is a shot of the whole set up
http://www3.sympatico.ca/m.d.nielsen/tank0001.JPG

[Katatonic]

I'm sorry, I must have been ignorant or something, and not realized an immature overtone that I may have cast off, snowsnake. My sincere regrets in having done so unknowingly. If you were implying that I am putting you down, I was merely having an educated argument, and I apologize for having it come across in the manner of immaturity. I had never intended on doing so.
If you were assuming that I was putting you down, please don't assume so, as I'm not trying to become higher than anyone.
LATER.

[Just Me]

Moose,
I think the setup looks pretty good. What is that between the light and the lid??

[Moose1960]

Just me:
A piece of smoked glass to try to keep some of the heat moisture in.

[Alicewave]

I use a rubbermaid container with the lid on and cut a lone in the side. Then I line the bottom with a LOT of paper towel which holds over a cup worth of water. Having the lid on really helps keep the moisture in. I only have to remoisten once a week with that method even on the hot side.

Moose, your setup looks good but you've got room in there to add a rubbermaid style moisture hide. It's best to have a dry hide on either side so the Leos can thermoregulate so I would use the two hides you have for dry hides and then make a moisture hide out of a plastic container. You can cover it up with some leaves if you want it to be more aesthetic looking.

Just Me, if you have a Humid Hide you will never have problems with bad sheds. Misting the cage will cause an undesired chemical reaction with the feces that is better to avoid. They don't need ambient humidity. Even males need a hidebox to shed, not just gravid females. Hope this helps!

[Linds]

Katatonic,
I'm sure nobody meant anything derogatory here, so please lets keep it friendly ;)

Just Me,
Humid hides are not nesting boxes (though they can serve the double purpose if you intend on breeding). All geckos, male or female, hatchling, or adults should be provided with one. This prevents any retained shed, which can lead to loss of digits. They are desert creatures hence they enjoy an arid environment, misting the enclosure is unecessary ;)

[SnowSnake]

Apology accepted Katatonic! :)
Lets get back to talking about our passion and love of reptiles :D:D

cya,
SnowSnake

[Katatonic]

I think both of us (snowsnake & myself) were just going by how our animals were set up and never stopped to think the others may be doing something different. It was ignorance on account of both parties... I agree, back on track people.
LATER.