pissed at me for cleaning
hi all, i just wanted to start this off by saying that I do know reptiles take a few to get used to their new enclosure (after a deep clean which i do monthly) but mine have been acting really off. my normally social and out-and-about hognose is extremely shy now (i have given him more hides, more substrate and more foliage for extra cover). i usually tong feed him while hes out, but since its been several days since i have seen him i just sat the pinkie in his enclosure. a few minutes later, i went to leave my room and saw him in the spot where the pinkie was, immediately upon seeing me, he went backwards back into the darkness and i havent seen him since.
my leopard gecko has also been acting similarly, i haven’t really seen him anymore, hes been in mostly the same spot all day and doesn’t come out at night to check out his food bowl (except for when i put a hornworm into his usual bug mix and he ONLY ate the hornworm). today, i put my hand under his chin so he could smell my hand and get used to me (which i do every single day) and he FLINCHED. he hasn’t done this before and i’m almost worried? im using all the same substrate (not same substrate, like clean new stuff but same brand same pack same dirt. same mix with sand aswell) and all of the same decorations BESIDES lots more foliage in both my boy’s enclosures. i thought giving them more hiding opportunities would make them less skittish, not than either of them were even particularly skittish to begin with. idk its been about a week since i cleaned the tanks out so i might just be paranoid and missing my reptiles but any comments or help are appreciated.
Posted Sep 30, 2026, 3:36 AM UTC