Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I was wondering how much personality the geckos give off, and how shy they should be acting. My two small ones are very shy and seem to hide a lot - even at night. One is more fiesty and will stick her head out of her hide in the evening, but if she sees anybody around, she stays inside and waits till the room is empty. It is frusterating because I want to make sure that both of them are eating, and they won't let me watch even from a distance (their eyesight IS good). So I don't know if the mealworms that disappear are from both of them eating, or just one of them. They also seem to be afraid of the small crickets I offer to them. Do some animals just prefer the mealworms, or should I be concerned?

The larger gecko hides a lot too, but is not shy about eating. She even eats crickets from my fingers already (she is about 1 month old). But she seems to really like it in her hide and I never see her exploring her cage at any time of the day.

I guess since they all seem to poop once a day, I shouldn't worry too much. I was curious if all geckos are this shy. Should I be concerned if they aren't getting enough "exercise"?
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-Kristin

0.1.2 Leopard Geckos
(Unnamed, Kumquat, and Tamale)

Sounds like they are still pretty young so you can expect them to be a bit timid, you are a lot bigger than they are. If you are concerned you could separate them to check on their eating. IMHO crickets are really the best for the little guys, but maybe they are not used to eating them depending on what they have been fed in the past. Some people will tell you they do just fine on worms, some will tell you not to feed them exclusively. I haven't met a gecko, even a baby, that would run from something they felt would fit in their mouths. Usually they will try to lick it first and if tasty take a swipe so if they are "afraid" of the food that concerns me a little bit.

One thought is if the room they live in is bright or busy. (Like a computer in the room) We had one gecko who was quite nervous when she was little because she had never been out of a breeder's box until we put her in a glass tank -> what a transition! In order to make her feel safer, we blocked off several sides with construction paper and she was just fine. Just an idea. Also remember they are preyed on by birds, anything coming from above is cause for alarm in their little world. My little baby crested will interact with me from the glass side of her "home" for hours, but if I look down from the top through the screen she runs and hides. As for personality, my current leo is full grown and she runs to the side of the glass to inform me that I better pick her up and play with her or else.

FYI: Because I have handled other, more "dangerous" reptiles, I'm against finger feeding any animal. It is really much better to feed them with inexpensive tongs found at pet stores everywhere then to take the risk of them associating fingers with food. (The chances they will bite you are small, but imagine handling a gecko who thinks they will be fed everytime they see fingers, they may be over excited and hard to tame.)
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Babies tend to hide alot. I even try to feed mine by putting the food dish right at the entrance of their hide. After about 6-8 weeks they tend to come out at night and sit on top of their hides. I like to go open their cages at this time since they like to look up at you. At night their pupils are dilated so their eyes look so adorable.

Kumquat, the tangerine, ate 2 crickets yesterday. I know the other one, Tamale, is eating mealworms because I see it sneaking around the dish in the evenings. So whether or not Kumquat sneaks mealworms, he is eating. Tamale does not like the crickets though as whenever they approach it, it gets annoyed and moves away.

Big relief!
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-Kristin

0.1.2 Leopard Geckos
(Unnamed, Kumquat, and Tamale)

I have the same problem with my babies so don't get discouraged. My male must be a tad older than my females cuz he is just a lil bigger. He will let me hole him for about 2 min and then he gets annoyed with me and runs back into a hide. He will not eat if I am even in the room with him. On the other hand my one female Jazzy is a very good feeder. She will eat crix all day I believe if she can. She will not let me hold her though. SHe freaks out and runs into the nearest hide if I open her cage. I had a taller bowl so the mealies wouldn't get out and I was wondering why no one was eating them. I realized they couldn't reach them, haha. So I got a tupperware lid and now Jazzy is scarfing mealies up like they are candy. She is the only one that will eat in front of me. Dot is scared to death of me. She won't eat or run around in front of me at all. Wow I kinda rambled there, sorry. My main point was most of mine are scaredy cats and won't eat or even move in front of me if they don't have to. Sorry for such a long post.
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Vicky Lord
1.0 boyfriends (Jeremy)
1.1 cats (Oscar, Angel)
1.1 dogs (Toto, Jesse)
1.0 San Felipe Rosy Boa (Herman)
1.0 Catavina Rosy Boa (George)