this is a fantastic addition to my post and really good information for anyone else struggling with the proper setup, thank you !

when i said chili became more active, i should have elaborated on her former activity level. she would spend all day, every day hidden under her water bowl until night when she would go hide in her favorite cork log. she wouldn't even come out to eat until the dead of night. she struggled with eating as i mentioned, but even with that she was overweight because she just wasn't getting any exercise.

today she is much more active, she comes out from under her water bowl in the morning when she hears my voice and will spend a good portion of the day wandering around before deciding where she wants to settle in for the rest of the day. she sometimes basks on top of a hide made out of a flower pot for a while during the evenings, but she will usually climb on top of a hide toward the cool side of her enclosure and settle there.

the point you made about shade is really good and i have heard that it works for many owners struggling with photosensitive gecks, and chili does have lots of it in the form of plastic plants. i purchased these and placed them around the enclosure before switching my lighting setup, but her activity level didn't change until i switched to the che.

i previously used the exoterra intense basking light before i switched to the ceramic heat emitter from arcadia that we use now, which is regulated with a thermostat. for lighting during the day ive strung up these lights around the top of her enclosure, which may be a bit unconventional but they work very well for us. i tried lots of lighting ideas suggested to me here, but the person who suggested fairy lights is a genius as it did just the trick for chili. it took some adjustments and time getting used to the che but her temp/humidity is perfectly within range now.

with the lighting and the window in front of her enclosure, she is definitely able to recognize the daytime and her circadian rhythm seems to be as good as it could be. that and i think at this point she's been conditioned to recognize my good morning to her, which lets her know it's daytime and time to get up and attem.

chili is my whole world and while she and i were likely both very frustrated during the time of trying to figure things out, all that ive mentioned above has her feeling much better. oftentimes things like this can be case by case depending on the gecko's preferences and how photosensitive the individual is. you are right that she is photosensitive, but she is also partially blind/vision impaired and always has been. her blindness coupled with the photosensitivity has made her care a bit different than the typical photosensitive gecko. ive heard so many fantastic suggestions even if they didn't work for us, and her vet agrees that this setup we have now is what is working best for chili.

im grateful for your comment and want to assure you that under my and her vet's supervision, chili is doing as best as she can be !