Do geckos need to be able to see out of their enclosure?

[pinklasagna]

So, a year ago my box turtle passed away. Now I have her large, custom made turtle table just chilling in the corner. The walls are tall enough and it has a wire lid, I think my gecko would be fine in it and give her more room for hides and enrichment. But she wouldn't have the glass front wall. Do they need that? Is it part of their enrichment or something?

 

[acpart]

I think there are differences of opinion about this. Some people keep their geckos in racks. That means that each gecko is in a tub set into shelves so they don't see anything. In addition to the fact that racks are space saving, people who use them feel that the geckos feel safer and more secure in them because in the wild they tend to be hiding in crevices. People who prefer glass enclosures feel that the geckos do interact to some extent with their environment and their keepers and that they are enriched by a visually rich environment. Personally, I prefer glass enclosures and have seen my geckos watching my cats and following their movements. Gecko Time ran a series awhile ago where one article would introduce a controversial subject and the subsequent comments were published in a later article. Here are the 2 articles about "glass or racks?"

Prose and Controversies: Glass or Rack? - Gecko Time

There are two main ways that geckos are housed: display tanks, usually made from glass or plastic, and racks — plastic tubs set in a shelf or drawer frame. Those who prefer to use racks give the following reasons: It permits large numbers of geckos to be kept in a space-efficient, homogeneous...

geckotime.com

"Glass or Rack" Comments - Gecko Time

Sometimes discussing a "controversy" reveals that there is just more than one way to do things, as you'll see from the comments below. Interestingly, several people report using a glass/rack "hybrid" system Enjoy the comments and watch for next month's Controversy. More

geckotime.com

Aliza