Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i've had ummmm a little running with my gecko. it tried to bite hehe but i was fast enough to pull away, but how much pain do they cause and what is the best way to handle it of to get into your hand without them being threatened?
many thanks
shaun

I've been bit by a bunch of babies, and it is really more funny than anything. A few juvies in the 20 gram range have also got me and they just feel like a light squeeze on the finger. Never been bit by an adult but I doubt it would hurt as much as a adult boa, and I survived that just fine.

My advise is to let it bite you. It is kind of like getting a shot, you can really build it up to seem so bad but once it happens you wonder why you were ever worried. Then after you've been bit you will be confident enough to handle it for brief periods of time, eventually it should calm down.

If you pull away when they snap you are teaching them how to drive you off. I always start by herding them with my hand whe I clean their cages. After a few months they hardly care I am around. As for what their bites feel like, babies are hardly noticable. I have never had an adult hold on when they bit me. It was always a tag. So don't worry. I have about 40 geckos year round. I would say I get bit maybe twice a year.( Not counting hatchlings which snap at anything that moves.) If you spend some time getting aquainted with each other you will be fine.
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Brian
www.thewindycitygecko.com

Some adults will draw blood but its not that bad. I know its hard not to pull away but try not to. If the leo bites you and you pull away you'll most likely fling it and could possibly hurt it.

I concur - my leopard nipped me once when she was very young (also got my girlfriend once). Basically it was like being pinched very lightly. The experience surprised both of us - me that I'd been bitten, and the gecko that I wasn't edible . After she learned that, and calmed down some from careful (and carefully limited) handling, she's not tried it since.

Another thing, if you're really worried about it to the point where it frightens you, if you keep all your fingers together, your hand will seem too large to be biteable from the gecko's point of view. This can be good when they're young, as like others have said, little baby ones will nip at things just cause they move.

This was something i was wondering about, i will be freaked untill it happens i know i will be(have not yet gotten a gecko) but for the people who posted info thanks
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