You can use a small cardboard box as a temporary enclosure, though as you noted cardboard absorbs moisture, and if it gets pooped or peed on it'll have to be replaced.
You don't need to buy a commercial reptile "hide" either, I've seen people convert small plastic bowls (the disposable kind fast food comes in), the plastic food ctonainers that Ramen meals or microwaveable meals come in, plastic flower pots or planters... basically anything made of thin plastic where you can cut an access hole with a pair of scissors.
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