Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What exactly is a moist hide and how do I make one?
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Cats(Sophie and Gatsby)
Pacific Parrolet(Ji Ji)
Dove(Snowball)
Kenyan Sand Boa
30 gallon aquarium
Overgrown collony of madagascan hissing roaches
Leopard gecko

Ok then. A moist hide is simply a normal hide with paper towel or sphagnum moss inside which you then moisten with a clean pesticide free water sprayer. It thus creates an area of humidity which will help your leo to shed its skin properly. You can use anything like a margarine tub or plant pot, the choice is yours! Hope this helps. Check out my website for more info on the care of leopard geckos. I have pics a care sheet, gutloading page etc etc.

Image

If you want to make a nice-looking one, just buy any plastic hideout, place moisture-retaining material on the bottom and place it on a lid or a nice, clay saucer that blends with the decor. Practical people who do not need the housing tanks to look good merely use an empty container with a hole in it.

I don't like to use perlite, it sticks to the skins and they make a mess. I don't like vermiculite, it is kind of dirty. I don't like paper towels, they dry too quickly (but use this if your animals are hatchlings). I like cotton, it retains moisture longer. My favorite ever is aspen shavings. They retain moisture very well and do not mildew on me like pine bark.

Oh, and I do not like sphagnum because it seems to stay cool, in spite of being over a heat mat. Cotton and aspen shavings warm up, so my animals like it.
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My favorite way is to buy a cheap stack of those Glad or such "disposable" tupperware containers. Then if you screw up making it or need a clean one, you have a stack to work with! Plus, the plastic is easy to cut and its easy to safely melt the edges around the entrance with a lighter.

To solve the "Ugliness" factor, I keep the lid side on top and just cover the top with moist sphagnum moss so it blends into the setup without having to glue anything onto it. This way, to replace the substrate/towels/etc. or to remoisten it, you just lift off the moss on top, remove the top, and its easy-peasy.

This pic is my Central American Banded's hide. He's tiny so its tiny too. Exact same idea as what I use for my Leos.

PS: don't put your lil friends by the window -- I have indirect sunlight and heavy blinds when needed but in *other* circumstances, this is bad!

2 Hide Pics and the Tupperware I Use

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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"

I tried that too. I glued the moss on the containers and then the leos hated the smell of it. Looks good, though

I just resolved my humidity problem by keeping an area of the tank lined with reptile carpet, and pointing the humidifier at it. Then a plastic rock on top. But I now have a gravid leo, large enough to use a Glad container. My tank is huge, 2 sq ft. so I put silk leaves on top, and you do not see the hideout.
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