Can I keep my Leachianus in an Exo terra cage?
Exo terra aquariums or any screen-topped enclosure does not hold humidity well. There is a strip under the doors specifically to allow cross ventilation, which allows dry air in and allows any moisture to evaporate out the top. This is a problem that is almost impossible to rectify with daily spraying. Some advanced hobbyists may spray three times a day, and they are able to keep proper humidity in these cages for these types of geckos. However, daily spraying is absolutely not going to be enough. The problem with spraying repeatedly in a day is that you can also cause excess moisture or a wet bottom in the cage, which can cause bacteria to grow and fecal matter to get funky. If your gecko comes in contact with wet fecal matter and smears it, it can cause infections. We normally recommend enclosures that don't have screens so that there is limited ventilation. A few holes to allow oxygen in is fine, but we don't want excess ventilation. We want to keep that humidity in there as much as possible. They do better with 70-90 percent humidity all the time rather than rebounds and dryouts. New Caledonian should not dry out. In their natural habitat in a rainforest, the temperature was very low but with incredibly high humidity. These geckos have patches on their back to match lichen.
What if I put a top on my tank?
Just not recommended bc they are not doing well.
the key to successfully keeping leachianus is humid air, not a wet cage. They are not going to be drinking a lot of water on a regular basis if the humidity is high enough. So, the humidity helps to maintain the hydration of your animal. They will drink when they get thirsty, but if they're kept in a humid enclosure, they won't drink as much. Similar to some of your species of chameleons like Parson's chameleon. They gain some of the moisture in their bodies just from breathing because the environment is so super saturated with water molecules in the air. So, they don't necessarily hydrate that way but they will not dehydrate as easily. If we're breathing in dry air and breathing out moist air on a regular basis, we're going to dehydrate and that's what happens to the geckos in exoterras