nellie sticks her head out at me all the time too. most of the time she is in her hide with her head either sticking out or just inside so she can poke it out at a moment's notice to see what i'm doing. even in the middle of the day if i go in when i think she is sleeping she will usually check me out. i think she is mostly curious because when she's expecting food her tongue is flicking a million times a minute and this is more of a casual thing.