How To Create A Moist Hide For A Leopard Gecko

Leopard geckos are one of the most popular reptile pets. Not only because of their cute appearance, but also because they are pretty easy to take care of. However that does not mean that you can go and buy a Leopard gecko and everything will fall in place. You should definitely do a lot of research before getting a Leopard gecko.

Unfortunately a lot of people do not do any research before getting one of these cute little geckos. You can see lots of videos on Youtube of people who got a totally wrong cage for their geckos. The only reason why those geckos survive that is, because they are so hardy.

If you are reading this article you are one of those awesome people who actually do their research, because you really care about your pet and want it to be happy. Congratulations, you are awesome

In this article I am going to show you why a Leopard gecko humid hide is so important and how to make a moist hide for a Leopard gecko. So let´s get right into things here.

Why A Leopard Gecko Wet Hide?

Most people think that a Leopard gecko´s natural habitat is the desert. While this is true, it does not mean that there is sand everywhere. Leopard geckos come from Asia, you can find them in Iraq, Iran, India and in a couple of more countries. Their natural habitat is the stone desert. 

That means that there are a lot of hiding places between the stones in their natural habitat. Further the humidity in their natural environment is around 60-65 % in winter and around 75 - 80 % in the summer. So as you can imagine, a lot of the holes they hide in during the day are pretty moist.

What Is A Leopard Gecko Wet Hide For?

Leopard geckos use the wet hide to regulate their temperature. The Leopard gecko moist hide box should be placed in the cooler zone of the terrarium. So do not place it right below the basking lamp. If Leopard geckos feel the need to cool down they will hide there.

However there are also other things geckos use this hide for. Female Leopard geckos lay their eggs in the moist hide. It does not matter if the gecko is gravid or not. If you do not have a male gecko, a female gecko will lay unfertilized eggs and therefore it needs a moist hide with a certain substrate (I will come to this later). If you do not offer this the gecko can become egg bound and that often results in the death of the animal.

Besides that a moist hide helps geckos while shedding.

How To Make A Moist Hide For A Leopard Gecko

Creating a moist hide is actually pretty easy. However there are a couple of things you should bear in mind.
Some people just use a cricket box or something similar as Leopard gecko humid hide, however that is way too small. The box should be big enough for two or three Leopard geckos, so do not get a too small one.

Besides that you should not take something like a half coconut. Make sure that you get a box - It is way easier to keep the humidity high in a box.

The Best Leopard Gecko Moist Hide Box

I tested some things as humid hides for my geckos. For example lunchboxes or Tupperware containers. The problem with that was that I always had to cut holes in it, which sometimes had sharp edges. Then I had to make sure that those edges would not hurt my geckos ... hah it was just annoying. Half coconuts or other "hide halfs" that you can buy from a pet store did not really do the job since it was hard to keep the humidity high.

This micro - climate cave on the right is absolutely perfect as humidity box for a Leopard gecko. You can easily fill it with substrate and keep the humidity high in there. On top of that you can open this little cave easily and check if your gecko is okay or if it even laid eggs. It fits perfectly into a natural habitat and you can get it in two sizes, so if you have a giant Leopard gecko breed you can use this cave as well.

This cave has 4.2 out of 5 Stars on Amazon at the moment and most people use it for their Leopard geckos. So a lot of Leopard gecko owners are very happy with it, it is not just me :).

There are a lot of costumer images on Amazon where you can see their Leopard geckos in this cave.
Click here to see those images - simply scroll down till you see "Customer images" on the right.

The Right Leopard Gecko Moist Hide Substrate

You definitely need substrate inside of this cave. As I told you before, female Leopard geckos lay eggs in those caves and before they do that, they dig off a little bit of substrate. Some people use kitchen roll inside a humid hide, which is a very bad idea. A lot of geckos do not lie their eggs then, which increases the risk of egg binding.

The best Leopard gecko moist hide substrate is coco hummus or sphagnum moss. Those substrate are normally used for Toads. Both are very easy to keep moist. Leopard geckos really seem to like this kind of substrate, not only for egg deposition, but also for just hanging out. Many Leopard gecko owners told me that their Leopard geckos were more often in their hide after the owners started to use this substrate.

Just be careful that you do not mist it too much. This kind of substrate can get mold, so let it dry out from time to time or replace it with new substrate.

Ah, did I mention that there is no risk of impaction when using this substrate? I am sure you are happy to hear that

Conclusion

As you have seen, creating a Leopard gecko moist box is pretty easy. Always keep in mind that your Leopard gecko really need this hide.
So I hope that this article was helpful for you. If you have any questions, simply leave a message in the comment section below. I always get back to my readers!