Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone else have leopard geckos that soak in their water dish?
I have a 1.2 group housed together, and they all take turns soaking in their water dish.
I have even seen them sleeping in it...again, taking turns.
Is this normal? After years of large snakes, I was given a few leos, and thought hey why not?
But I'm still on a learning curve here.
Can any provide any insight on this soaking thing?

Is it normal for you to enjoy soaking in a bathtub?

My leos would do that stuff all the time... My snake does, too. It's normal.

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

My one occasionally would sleep in it when it had no water in it. When i saw that i made a new one and kept that in there for her to lay on. But you dont have to do that. So i guess it is kinda normal. Do you have a humidity hide?
-----
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!! Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!
Leopard Geckos ROCK!!!

do you have a moist hide? I have never heard of them soaking in there water dishes and It doesn't really sound normal to me. I have alot of reptiles and for the most part the only time an animal soaks is if there is a problem with the humidity. My 2 cents

Humidity is running about 50%. I do mist their caves trying to reproduce the dampness of a cave for them...temps average around 85...I've settled on that as they seem to be the most active at that temp.
One female has even used the water dish to lay an egg in. Worked out pretty good...she piled sand in it, it soaked up whatever water did'nt overflow...and there ya go, one healthy egg.
It's pretty cool they they take turns and dont fight over territory. When one gets out, another hops in.

hmm try having a few constantly humid hides, achieve by container or lining the bottom of your caves with moist paper towel or egg laying substrate.

I've read somewhere that they will soak if they are too hot because the water holds a more consistant temp.

its nothing life threatening but a somewhat counter intuitive behavior for a desert animal

Very normal. Also you mentioned your female piling sand around the egg in the dish? So you have sand as the sub?? Not meaning to start a big arguement it's just at the sight of the word "sand" I start to wonder. You might want to try something like tile. It's cheap, easy to clean and it looks natural.
-----
Katie
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

Sifted playsand

Still it's sand and that is ALWAYS a threat when it comes to leos. Even the vita-sand and the stuff they "Guarantee" won't cause impaction can cause impaction. I'm sure others would back me up on that. I'm just letting you know so you can fix it because I know if one of my leos died of something I could've prevented I would be mad at myself.
-----
Katie
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

Switch to tile...

wish there was someone that could explain that statement to me.
Should I use terra cotta? Perhaps something in earthtones, and glazed? Or should I switch to pastels?Floral designs?
See...this is what using tile means to me...flooring.
If I knew about tiles, I would'nt be using sand.
Actually...everything I read, and was told, said use playsand rather than the high end pet store stuff...less chance of impaction.

Very sorry I didn't explain that better. Yes, It's practically flooring. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up some tile from the flooring section. You can pick which pattern you like or which size. I got the plastic bendy kind so I could cut it to fit my tanks. It's very easy to maintain. If you do get the thin plastic type make sure you get two for the warm side as they retain heat very easily.
-----
Katie
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

So basically I'm putting a floor down? And I can use a ceramic tile as well as a vinyl? And for that matter, wont a piece of linoleum do the same thing?
This is sure easier than sand...take the piece, or pieces out, and rinse with disinfectant...and you're good to go.Or have multiples, just add new ones while the ones being cleaned dry.
No need to use mop and glow either!!
Would this work for beardies too?
Heck...we use it for giant constrictor cages.
Thanks for the info.

np
-----
Katie
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

Its very likely that they're too hot. Check the surface temperature of the substrate, sometimes the substrate temp is a lot higher than air temp.