Leopard Gecko staying in water dish

[GeckiMom]

I have two leopard geckos that I've had for about two months, Shadow and Luci (I'm pretty sure they're both males but not 100% on Luci). I recently swapped from the reversible substrate pads to a mixture of coconut fiber and sand. When I swapped Luci has been staying in the water dish most of the time and Shadow has been laying in a 'ditch' he dug out next to the water dish. Both on the hot side of the tank. Shadow will still go into the hide on the cool side but Luci will not. Both are still eating like normal. Shadow shed on April 1 and I'm not sure about Luci since I've been working. It's hard to tell when Luci is ready to shed anyway since (s)he is an albino. I've checked for mites but haven't seen anything. Has anyone else had something similar happen?

 

[acpart]

Sometimes they get into a habit of a certain place and stay there for a long time. It would be a good idea to check the temperatures of the warm side with a good digital thermometer with probe or with a laser thermometer to see if there's any chance that it's too hot for them on the hot side or somehow too cold for them on the cool side. Are they in the same enclosure? If they're both male, things could be fine between them for awhile and then all of a sudden not be so fine.

Aliza

 

[GeckiMom]

Sometimes they get into a habit of a certain place and stay there for a long time. It would be a good idea to check the temperatures of the warm side with a good digital thermometer with probe or with a laser thermometer to see if there's any chance that it's too hot for them on the hot side or somehow too cold for them on the cool side. Are they in the same enclosure? If they're both male, things could be fine between them for awhile and then all of a sudden not be so fine.

Aliza

Both are in the same enclosure. The cool side is reading right at 80 and the hot side at 91. Since making my original post Shadow has since moved on to other areas of the tank. Luci left the water dish for about 2 hours and then went right back.

 

[acpart]

I may be wrong, but possibly there isn't a place in the enclosure except the water dish that's cool enough. There's not much different between 80 and 91. I have heard that male geckos who have been together since they were sub-adults and who never have a female within smelling distance can get along. Just watch them for signs of being scratched or bitten, in which case you'll have to separate them.

Aliza