Key Takeaway:
- Low humidity levels in a leopard gecko’s tank can cause shedding difficulties, dehydration, unhealthy skin, and digestion problems.
- Leopard geckos need the right humidity in their habitat to live a comfortable and healthy life.
- Ideally, the humidity should be at 30% to 40% on a normal day. However, moist hides should have a 70% to 80% humidity especially when the gecko is about to shed.
- You can increase the humidity levels in the tank by adding live plants, reducing tank ventilation, adding a wider water dish on the warm side of the tank, changing the substrate, or misting the enclosure.
Having a pet leopard gecko, you should ensure you keep it in ideal conditions. By ideal conditions, we mean the right humidity levels.
As much as your tank looks good, you shouldn’t overlook the gecko’s humidity. Sometimes you may struggle to maintain the right humidity especially when you live in an area with cold dry air.
So, what should you do to increase humidity considering that you must maintain humidity levels of 30% to 40% in the enclosure?
What Should The Humidity Be In A Leopard Gecko Tank?
As we’ve noted earlier, leopard geckos are desert reptiles and they can survive with little humidity. Therefore, just the right humidity does them good.
It is also good to know that adult leopard geckos shed their skin once a month and baby geckos shed more than once a month.
When it is that time of the month, ensure you increase the tank’s humidity to speed up the shedding process.
On a normal day, your leopard gecko’s tank humidity levels should be 30-40 %. But if your gecko is shedding, you can increase the humidity to fasten the process.
To increase humidity levels in their tank, you can put a larger water tray; you can also mist your leopard gecko directly.
Alternatively, you can mist their moist hiding spaces two days before they shed. The moist hides should have a humidity range of 70 to 80%.
If you can maintain the right humidity levels in the tank, you won’t have to worry about respiratory infections or shedding issues affecting your leopard gecko.
6 Ways On How To Increase Humidity In Leopard Gecko Tank
As we’ve already noted, leopard geckos being dessert lizards doesn’t mean they don’t need extra humidity.
Their enclosures should have a humidity range of around 30% to 40%. You’ll also need to provide extra humidity when they are about to shed.
Therefore, at some point, you need to increase the humidity levels in their tanks. Here are six ways to increase humidity levels in gecko leopard tanks;
Use A Water Dish
Some people overlook the importance of having a water bowl in the leopard gecko’s enclosure. It turns out that having a water dish in the enclosure can help raise humidity levels.
So apart from the gecko drinking from the bowl, the water will play a huge role in maintaining or raising the tank’s moisture content.
If you already have a small water bowl but it isn’t working, you can swap it for a large bowl. However, you must ensure the leopard gecko isn’t too deep to drown your gecko.
Therefore, when placing a water pan or bowl, ensure the water is just enough for the gecko to walk in in case it accidentally falls in there.
The water in the pan comes in handy for the gecko to dip their feet, especially during the shedding period.
You should consider placing the water bowl on the warm side of the tank to facilitate evaporation.
The evaporation from the warmth in the tank keeps the tank mildly humid all the time.
Ensure the water is changed often and reduce the size of the bowl depending on how much humidity you want in the tank
Reducing The Tank’s ventilation
It’s difficult to keep a tank humid if the air keeps escaping from the various ventilation spots. To counter this problem, you must reduce the vents you have in the tank.
Covering the meshed top can protect the moisture content in the tank from escaping faster.
Just leave a small section uncovered as your pet gecko still needs to breathe fresh air. You can start by covering one-third of the enclosure to see if it makes any difference.
If you have a USB fan running in the enclosure, consider switching it off. That should reduce the amount of moisture that escapes to the outside of the tank.
Mist The Enclosure
The tank’s humidity levels dropping is a clear indicator that you need to mist the enclosure. Misting is the most effective way to raise humidity instantly.
But how do you do it? Well, you could start by spraying the plants, moist hides, and the substrate.
You also need to be careful about how you mist the enclosure. You shouldn’t overdo it as you wouldn’t want the substrate to be drenched in water.
A light mist should raise the humidity levels to the right levels.
If you feel that misting the tank manually is a tough job, you can install an automatic misting system instead.
The misting system will automatically spray the tank as soon as it detects the humidity levels dropping.
Change The Substrate
Some substrates are very poor at retaining moisture. So, you can’t expect sand, reptile carpet, stones, or slates to help retain moisture in the tank.
In that case, you might have to replace such substrates with moisture-retaining substrates.
Such substrates may include a blend of excavator clay, soil, and sand. Alternatively, you can opt for a bioactive substrate.
With a moisture-retaining substrate, you don’t have to worry about the tank’s humidity dropping too low.
Add Live Plants
Introducing live plants in the enclosure is yet another effective strategy that might help you increase humidity in the leopard gecko’s tank.
Live plants help increase humidity through a process known as transpiration. So, as the water moves through the plants and evaporates from the leaves, flowers, and stems, the humidity will automatically increase.
Don’t add too many live plants to the enclosure as they might cause the humidity levels to increase to dangerous levels. Also, ensure the plants you add can survive in a desert-like environment.
Absorbent Bedding & Decorations
If you have a hard time maintaining the correct humidity levels, you can add absorbent decorations and bedding into the enclosure.
This move may not increase humidity, but it should help you maintain it throughout the day.
You can add some natural wood pieces and branches into the tank. Oak branches, cork branches, or Troncho branches are pretty good at maintaining humidity.
You may also consider adding bark bedding to the tank.
Why Too Low Humidity Is Bad for Leopard Geckos?
Leopard geckos hail from dry regions but they still need moisture to thrive. That explains why leopard geckos need a humidity of around 30% to 40% in their habitats.
If the humidity levels drop below 20%, your leopard gecko is bound to suffer in many ways and these are;
Shedding Difficulties
Reptiles must shed their skin once they outgrow it. Things are not any different for leopard geckos.
Leopard geckos shed their skin at least once every month. Surprisingly, these lizards need humid conditions to shed seamlessly.
Therefore, if the humidity conditions drop to unsafe levels, your leopard gecko might experience shedding difficulties.
The shedding won’t be a smooth one. Surprisingly, you might see some stuck shed on the gecko’s toes, tail, or other parts.
Dehydration
Dehydration is yet another reason why you wouldn’t want the humidity levels to drop below the normal range.
Allowing the moisture content of the tank to drop might leave your gecko without plenty of hydration opportunities.
Once your leopard gecko becomes dehydrated, it will develop sunken eyes, general body lethargy, and wrinkled skin.
Dry, Flaky Skin
The lack of humidity in the habitat may also affect the gecko’s skin health. Your gecko’s skin may no longer be appealing if you fail to maintain the right humidity. Their skin will always be dry, flaky, and dull.
Unfortunately, leopard geckos with dry, flaky skin are susceptible to skin infections, sores, and irritations.
Impaction
Your gecko needs humidity for proper digestion. When their tank is too dry, they can develop problems digesting their food as well as passing waste. When that happens, the gecko will experience difficulty passing stool.
Summary
Having the right humidity levels in your leopard gecko’s tank is important; it is one of the things that helps to mimic its natural habitat. Having 70-80 % humidity during their shedding period makes the shedding process easier.
Having 30-40 % humidity on normal days ensures the gecko’s day-to-day life is comfortable. The right humidity levels in the tank at the right time ensure your leopard gecko is thriving.
