Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My son received two lil' fellas from Santa and they have been very shy and not eating a lot. Someone suggested brumation when I posted earlier, but I wanted to rule a few things out.

The first thing is enclosure temp. How does everyone measure temp? I have a very accurate probe type thermometer and get readings anywhere from 79 to 92 degrees. The actual rock under the day light reads at 92 and the air temp there is 88. However, a wall mounted reptile thermometer would read 84. The "in the shade" cool end temp is at 78. Again, I think that things are set up correctly, but I wanted to make sure since temp is so important.

The next thing is humidity. It has been very humid here lately and the enclosure humidity level is at 55 to 60 - about the same as the outside air level. My question is how to control the enclosures humidity level. The water dish is as far from the hot spot as possible. Would a smaller dish help? Would more ventilation help? Santa made a cool looking cave out of natural stone that we keep moist moss in - would a Tupperware style container help keep moisture inside the moist hide and therefore lower overall humidity?

Thank you for any answers to my many questions.

I have to admit that I am a leo nut since Santa arrived!
J

hi j, wow we sound alike. my son received 2 young leos from santa also and i have to admit i'm hooked on them. from what i've read it sounds like u have done everything correct. but i would be worried about the humidity. i read somewhere that the humidity should be between 30-40 and if its too high they are in danger of respiratory diseases. i would try leaving very little water in their dish and maybe eliminating the humid hide for now, until the tanks humidity decreases.
what have u tried to feed them??

My baby leo rarley leaves his humib hide. i have a 10 gal tank. UTH as heat and water dish is on "cool" side. and a coconut hide on cold side. but he like lives in the humid hide. is that a bad thing?
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1.0.1 Green Anole(tedo, bubbles)
1.0 Leo Gecko(Brut)

Yea, I am completely crazy about those little guys. So much so that I am even on a leopard gecko forum!!!

Neither of ours were eating much at first. It may be the colder weather or getting used to there new home, but I have tried both crickets and mealworms. I found that they like crickets in a bowl. This means that I have to chop their legs, but they are eating well now. One of them appears to be getting ready to shed so I don't feel like I can get rid of the humid hide right now. I posted a more specific question about lowering humidity today so we'll see what is suggested.

Enjoy your leos!
J