Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In early December I bought a warm mist humidifier for Dill.
I put it right inside her cage, and made a makeshift chimney for it, so that she could not lay right on the warm air vent and scald herself.
Since putting this humidifier in her cage, Dill has become an entirely different lizard!
Firstly, she has had a nice easy shed! I did still have to help with her toes, but every thing else came off nice and easy. It was like she travelled all around her cage, scraping herself against things, and pulling her shed off by herself. In the morning when we woke up, there were peices of shed skin in various areas of her cage.
The other thing is, I have seen a HUGE change in her personality.
She is much more mobile now. Not that she is running laps around her cage...but she does travel around much more than she used to.
And now...well...lets just say, I watch my fingers when I'm doing anything in her cage!
The docile easy going (lethargic??) lizard of days past, is gone.
Dill is now territorial and very protective of her space.
She has made numerous attempts to bite me, including a couple attempts where she actually seemed to jump upwards at me.
Even when I had to help her with the skin on her toes during her last shed, I had to cover her head with a tea towel, in order to keep her from grabbing a hold of my arm.
Am I disappointed by this change in her? Not really. I'm happy to see that she has the spunk and energy to protect what she deems to be her territory. And even though she now seems more grumpy, I'm hoping that this is actually a form of lizard happiness.
I can still pick her up when necessary, but I'm far more careful...and definately respectful of her.
I thought that misting her regularly would be sufficient to keep her humidity up, but after seeing the change in her, and how much more "happy" she seems, I would have to say I was failing miserably at providing her with her ideal enviorment.

Here's my girl having a drink:

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Kim

Do you know whats the humidity level now?
My Leonardo sometimes is very lethargic, others times is full of energy, i dont know why.I live in a very hot and humid country. I dont know if the level of humidity has something to do with Leonardo's spur of energy.

her humidity now never goes below 60% and usually runs around 80%

It definately seems to have made a difference. Nothing else has changed in the way I've been keeping her.
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Kim

One good looking girl ! I'm glad she has improved and seems happier, thats a good thing for sure.

I would still want to touch her though, my nature, shes so pretty, hard to keep from wanting to hold her

Great pic !

Eve

Thank you!!
I'm quite proud of her. Especially considering I wasn't so sure I could provide her with everything she needed.
I would of rather seen her go to Sherri and Brian, since they had experience..but...fortunately (for me, since I love her SO much!) it just wasn't possible.
The entire experience has turned out to be a real joy for me and my children, and I hope for Dill as well.

Thanks again for your compliments.
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Kim

Sometimes when people adopt one of these lizards from less than ideal conditions, they get the wrong impression of the personalities of these lizards. They are not a hands on pet! If one seems tame, it is more likely under environmental stress not just acting friendly. Some lizards are naturally docile, bit these are not. A great indication that your lizard is getting back to health is the attitude change that comes after several months of ideal conditions. I have seen this change with all six of my adoptees. While they are not equally agressive, none of them are real excited about being picked up for an exam. Makes my life tougher, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good job! Keep asking and learning, its totally worth it.

Kisha

Hello Icequeen, I am glad to hear about your new advancement for dill!!!!!!!!!!!! Too many people think that they can buy MTS and set them up in a fish tank or enclosure and that, that is enough!!!!!! I started off myself manually misting my groups and thought that they were doing fine, It was not until I invested in a very expensive misting system for all my groups individual enclosures that I realized my efforts before hand were futile!
MTS need from 75 to 95% humidity level consistently to feel normal and natural!!!! Too many people are inproperly housing these guys and think they are doing a good job when in actuality they are barely sustaining them!!!!!!
Dill looks very healthy and I thank you for setting her up right.
Keep up the good work and keep trying to help those who are oblivious to te proper maintnance of this species!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Eveyone Is In A Hurry To Get Nowhere Quick, Fast!!!!!!!!!!!