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Burrowing Aboreal Gecko?

SylverStar Oct 16, 2004 03:16 PM

My Golden Gecko has recently started burrowing itself under the moss on occasion. Does anyone know if this is something I should be worried about or is it possibly an enivornment or stress issue? Has anyone seen this in their aboreal geckos?

Replies (3)

CroBiatach Oct 18, 2004 12:47 PM

There could be a couple of reasons why it's doing this. First off, do you have an overhead heat source or a under the tank heater? If you have an UTH, and it's starting to get cold in your area, it can trying to be get close to the heat to stay warm. Also, do you have any hides in your cage? It could just be looking for a place to hide during the day and it's just using the moss because that's all it has. I have _never_ seen either of my goldens sit on the bottom of the cage unless it's in their hides(and that's usually only during the summer when everything is nice and warm.
What temp are you keeping them at and what heat source are you using??

~Cro

SylverStar Oct 19, 2004 01:45 AM

He has a overhead lamp...no under the tank heater. He also has one of those log hides. The temp has been a bit cooler. I checked it this morning and it said 70. I try not to let the temp get below 75 and try to keep it above 80. So going down to 70 is a big drop. I just moved into a new place too. His cage as also not as high up as it was before and he is right next to my bedroom door.

I ended up turning our heat on today (was trying to wait for cost reasons) and he seemed to be out more.

He rarely goes to hide unless someone or something frightens him.

I'm going to try to find another spot to put him in my room...but don't have too many options there. 1 wall has the window and vents, one wall is entirely closet, and the door is between the other two.

CroBiatach Oct 19, 2004 09:15 PM

Yeah, it's probably due to the stress of moving. If you have a heat lamp on the top, he'd be trying to bask almost directly underneath that to get warm(the weather is also getting colder here and my two are both under one of the two spot lights when it's colder in my room) So, more then likely, he's a little stressed from the move and also if the cage is in a higher traffic area, he could be stress from people walking by his cage you could cover his cage a little bit(maybe put some backing on the three back-sides of the cage) or you can always drap a towel over the front half of the cage, this will hold in a little more heat and also let him feel more protected and sheltered.

~Cro

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