Why is My Crested Gecko Hiding? 6 Reasons!

Crested Geckos are curious little creatures who love to explore their habitat and become familiar with everything in their surroundings. 

However, if you find your crested gecko hiding, as a new parent it might freak you out. 

In most cases, it is a normal crestie behavior. Their nocturnal mechanisms can be the reason for their hiding during the daytime. However, in some cases, it may be problematic. 

If your usually jumpy crested gecko is hiding for longer periods, there might be something going on.

If you find your crested gecko hiding, it can be because of a lack of humidity in its enclosure. Along with tank temperatures, the humidity levels must be also maintained between 50%-60% for your gecko to cool down and have an optimum body temperature. Other reasons can be stress related to surroundings, and digestive impairments like bacterial or parasitic infections. 

There can be many stressors that can trigger the hiding behavior in your gecko. Let us understand them one by one.

Crested Gecko Hiding: 6 Potential Reasons Why That Is

Crested Gecko Hiding

Normal Crested Gecko Behavior 

If you are a new crested gecko parent, it is important to know that cresties are nocturnal creatures, which means that they are most active during the nighttime. 

So, if you find your gecko hiding during the daytime, you should know it is completely normal. Geckos usually have their favorite hiding spots as well where they like to rest or hide during the day. 

In another scenario, if your gecko is hiding because of environmental disruptions such as loud noises or unfamiliar tankmates, this too is completely normal. Your pet will eventually familiarize itself with the new developments around it. 

Stress

Stressed Crested Gecko hiding

Another reason for your gecko to hide for an unusually long amount of time can be stressful. 

Yes, it is true that geckos also experience a wide range of sensations and feelings and one of them is stress!

Crested geckos can feel stressed due to a variety of reasons such as overactive tankmates, drastic changes in their enclosure, and illnesses like digestive impairments and parasitic infections. 

Pro Tip
To know if your gecko is stressed, monitor its eating habits and activity during the nighttime. Usually, a stressed crested gecko will have a lack of appetite and will be inactive even during the nighttime. 

A stressed gecko will behave unusually and you will be able to tell if this is the case by monitoring your pet closely. 

Low Humidity

Crested Gecko on top of humidity monitor

Crested geckos require a hot climate. But when they are in an enclosure it is hard to maintain suitable levels of humidity along with the right temperature. 

When this happens, geckos tend to remain in hiding for long periods at once. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy humidity level in the terrarium. 

The humidity levels in the terrarium should be between 60%-80%. 

If the humidity levels are low, the gecko will try to absorb moisture from the substrate by burying itself in it. This is because low levels of humidity can be detrimental to a gecko’s health, especially during the time of shedding. Lack of moisture can cause a series of health conditions such as skin infections and respiratory infections.

To make sure the humidity levels in the enclosure are maintained, you can install a humidifier with a timer in it, which will regulate the humidity levels according to the time of the day. Also don’t use a heat lamp to do this, it can adversely effect your crested geckos health, instead use a humidifier.

Illness 

If your pet is ill, it is going through discomforts such as pain and stress. Due to this, it will resort to its natural coping mechanism- hiding. 

Hiding is a natural trigger response to stress, illness, injury, or any mind inconvenience that your gecko faces. 

Illnesses such as parasitic infection, impaction, respiratory infections, and swollen limbs, can cause a lot of discomfort in your gecko, making it want to go in hiding ASAP!

You can check out the video below to know if your gecko is ill: 

Pro Tip
If your gecko remains hidden for a long, it is best to monitor your pet and rule out possible health conditions according to its health history. If it is ill, seek vet care immediately as the condition will become serious if left untreated. 

Wrong Lighting

Crested Gecko in dark terrarium with light

If the lighting setup in your gecko’s tank is not appropriate, it can hamper your gecko’s natural circadian rhythm.

Make sure you switch off the terrarium lights during the night as this is when geckos are most active. If the light is on even during the night, your gecko will get confused about the night and day, which will lead to inactivity and lethargy. 

You should use lights only during the day and also provide geckos with a healthy balance of sunlight and artificial light. The artificial lights should be neither too bright, nor too dim. This lighting setup works great for geckos. 

Bullied

If your crested gecko is bullied by its tankmates, it will trigger the hiding response quite naturally. Overactive, hyper, and unfamiliar tankmates can be a cause of problems for your gecko. Geckos are sensitive creatures, and it is normal for them to hide when they feel threatened. 

When this happens, you should monitor the behavior of the tankmates and check if one gecko is dominating over the other. If that’s the case, it is time to separate the two!

How to Get a Crested Gecko Out of Hiding? 

Crested Gecko hunting insect food

You can get your crested gecko out of hiding by throwing live feeder insects like mealworms, dubia roaches, etc. in the enclosure. This will make the crested gecko curious and it will also trigger its hunting instinct, making it come out of hiding. 

However, it might take time for your gecko to inspect if the surroundings are safe for it to come out. Therefore, you must patiently wait. 

If it is a case of illness or infection, throwing insects won’t work because it won’t solve the root problem. In this case, it is best to seek vet care as soon as possible. 

FAQ

Why Is My Gecko Burying Itself In The Enclosure?

This will happen in several cases. Your gecko might bury itself in the substrate to regulate its body temperature if the tank temperature is not appropriate.

The same will happen if the humidity levels are not appropriate. Your gecko will burry itself if there is a lack of moisture in the enclosure.  

Final Thoughts

Hiding is not all bad! In fact, in geckos, it is a healthy response to stress and triggers. So you need not worry in this case as the gecko will come out of hiding eventually. 

But in some cases, it can be a cause of concern such as illness, injury, bullying, low humidity, wrong lighting, etc. So take action according to the situation! 

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *