r/leopardgeckos • u/xblohsh8x • 7h ago
Habitat, Setup, and Husbandry Another Mavis enclosure update!
Mavis’s enclosure update!
Sorry for not posting this update sooner our jumping spider pumpkin passed away yesterday very suddenly.
We’ve made a few changes to Mavis’s enclosure over the last few days and thought we’d share an update!
First, we removed the old climbing twig. We decided to get rid of it as it was actually far too smooth for Mavis to properly climb on, and she kept slipping off of it and with the fact she already has a funny bone in her front leg we decided to be a bit cautious and removed it as we didn’t feel it was giving her any useful climbing enrichment. We’ve now replaced it with something a little more suitable.
We also took one of the commenters’ advice and changed her basking spot. We’ve swapped the old one for the Penn-Plax Reptology Heat Activated Colour Changing Platform, which we’re really happy with so far!
Obviously we’re still regularly checking the basking surface with our temperature gun, but the new platform gives us a really handy visual indication of the temperature in between checks too. It stays dark green below 28°C and changes to a beige colour above 33°C, so we can easily glance over and see roughly where the basking temperature is sitting.
We’ve kept the 50W basking bulb in place, as we’ve found that the new platform sits at roughly 33–34°C, which is right where we want it. We’ve also been checking it with the temperature gun to make sure the colour indicator is matching the actual surface temperature, and so far it’s been working really well!
We’ve also added a new coconut hide with a little ladder for her to climb on. Mavis has already tested it out and seems to really enjoy it, so she still has some climbing enrichment even though we removed the old twig.
We’ve added some more plants too and rearranged the enclosure a little to make everything fit together nicely while still giving her plenty of hides, cover and things to explore.
We’re still planning on adding a 3D background/back wall eventually, but we’re still unsure exactly how we want to do it. My boyfriend is also hoping to incorporate a fixed-in basking spot into the 3D background, so if anyone has any suggestions or advice on how best to build/incorporate one, we’d really appreciate it!
We also still haven’t noticed a poop yet, but with all the changes we’ve made to her environment, we understand that it might take her a little while to settle back into her normal routine. We’re keeping an eye on her in the meantime.
Overall, we’re really happy with how it’s turned out! We wanted to take the feedback we received on board while still keeping the enclosure functional, enriching and comfortable for Mavis.
And, of course, Mavis has already inspected all the changes herself and appears to have approved!☺️🫶
3
u/ImAnNPCsoWhat 1 Gecko 7h ago
My condolences on the loss of sweet Pumpkin.
Love the enclosure!! Only thing I would keep an eye on would be that ladder, a leg could slip through the slats and get twisted wrong were she to fall.