[DawnLeo]

I thought the exo terra backgrounds were really good but they also seem to have some major disadvantages for me unless I'm not using it properly, any tips would be great.

I use lino and Kitchen paper as substrate, the background is in place yet the crickets crawl under the wire cut outs and down the back, the wax worm ate it's way through it. As we speak I can hear munch munch munch of just 1 wax worm that ate it's way through the other night. Which also provided another escape route for the crickets and mealworms. I'm removing it tonight to retrieve the live food and discard.

We have one in the snake viv too and she slithered under the wire cut out despite being covered deeply with aspen and she got stuck behind the background and needed to be rescued. We thought she'd escaped. That background was removed immediately and permanently.

Is it just me or does anyone else have these problems with the exo terra backgrounds?

[sidneysix]

i use it in my bearded dragon vivarium and its perfectly fine, i however make sure wen feeding him all food is eaten or cleared out after 15mins nothing is left in long after lizardman spots it gone in seconds

[mlloydy]

I have the same problem, was thinking of taking mine out but then the wires would look a mess. As soon as I put the crickets in they run straight up the background and sometimes crawl around the mesh roof so my poor leo doesnt have a chance. Trying to think of an easy solution like something slippy I can put on/infront of the background but then they would probly crawl behind that! Crickets can squeez through the smallest gaps their so annoying.

[bluewater]

The day I arrived home with it - the background went in the bin. Apart from realising everything would get behind/under it - it is an polystyrene - it cannot be digested, is a hydrocarbon product - highly toxic to anything - especially small reptiles animals and birds and is only good for one thing - insulation and packing.

[alocin11]

We had the same problem with ours, mealworms were climbing behind and the noise was constant, to the point were our Gecko was just stood watching the background with his head on the side and walking away from it as if scared.... at that point we set up the temporary viv and re decorated ..... we could not believe the amount of mealworms that were gathered at the back, some had even turned into beetles. We have put this back in the viv as we have used this to allow extra levels using slate tiles, but we have used an alternative dish for the mealworms so they cannot escape.... Locusts & Crickets we now feed 1 at a time using tweezers as luckily he is not much of a lover of these.... This has now been like this for 3 weeks and we do not appear to have any escapees so far so fingers crossed.

[Lucy]

my gecko likes to climb up it!!
(which i thought was unusual for leos) she used to climb right to the top and then get herself upside down on the wire mesh roofing and walk round in circles realising that she couldnt get back down again!!

so i had to cut about an inch off the top and now she will climb up there for the toilet and wander back down again, and if any crickets do go up the top she eat them up there. any worms are in a dish so they dont escape.

cutting the top off ment i was left with two spaces at the back where the wires go but i stuck some kitchen roll in the gaps so nothing can go and hide.

this has seemed to work well.

[mlloydy]

Wow I thought it would be impossible for a leo to climb up the back like that mine can't at all never mind climb upside down, I just hand feed my Leo now so don't have to worry bout crickets escaping.

[Azz]

i find that the top of mine slowly falls towards the front. i have had to keep it in place with cotton buds (with the cotton removed) it looks a mess at the top but i dont have the heart to remove it, all my leos climb up it during the night hours, i think they have watched to much spiderman, either that or they think they are day geckos :-)

[mowgli]

I love mine!!! had no problems with them.(yet)

However I am using them in a converted fish tank so I did have to cut them down slightly to get them in, but it did create a nice snug fit!

My 2 run up them every now and then but they seem to be able to reverse back down ok.

[Azz]

Originally Posted by mowgli

My 2 run up them every now and then but they seem to be able to reverse back down ok.

i just find mine at the top of the viv pretending that they made of stone and keeping still as possible.

i think i will have to send mine to "how to be a leopard gecko" classes!!!

LOL