Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am afraid of my own gecko!

He is little and today I was trying to clean up his space and so I picked him up to move him to a seperate container while I changed the paper towels and cleaned out his water and he FLIPPED and was screaming at me. He tried to bite me too.

I suppose its good that he's lively but now I'm afraid to go on! Maybe I shouldn't have done this during the day, and he's angry that I interrupted his sleep?

Any help?

Cheers.
-----
0.0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko (The Juggernaut)

I should mention that it is my first gecko and I only got him on Monday. I've never tried to move him before and the only time that I've held him is when I bought him. He was friendly then, though.
-----
0.0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko (The Juggernaut)

I have 2 male blizzards and they are both very "fiesty" ie. they hissing and puff up and occasionally try to bite. Try putting your hand in the cage and just letting it get used to you being there. You can also try to put your hand in front of it and just touch it's tail to get it to crawl on to your hand.(I do this any time I pick up any of geckos.) Most geckos that I've handled have a tendency to freak out when they are picked up without warning and from above.-maybe because their predators are birds-
If this doesn't work you can try getting a hide with a solid bottom, so when your gecko is in the hide you can pick up the entire hide(like a terra cotta pot that is made to hang on the wall, basically half a pot) and slowly tip it a bit to get your gecko to slide right out on to your hand.
Here is one of my boys that I had to use the half a pot method to get out.

I have two geckos now - one is very mild mannered and the other, Tamale, is very vocal. She has calmed down quite a bit, but she still screams and lunges at me every once in a while. I find it more comical than anything. If they "bite" it doesn't seem to hurt. It can be very startling if you're not expecting such a fuss, and that may cause you to drop them, grab the tail, etc. Just know that they're harmless and be very gentle. The best way to get them onto your hand is to "nudge" them on by tapping their tail very lightly with your free hand.
-----
-Kristin

0.1.2 Leopard Geckos
(Monet, Kumquat, and Tamale)

First off, if at all possible do not attempt to handle your nocturnal gecko during the day... How cranky are you when someone moves your bed at midnight? It just takes some common sense.

For some of our geckos, especially the babies, we don't even attempt to put them somewhere else, they seem to like to "help" use move the paper towels and inspect our work. We just clean one side at a time. This way when we actually work on handling them, they don't associate it anything like feeding or cleaning.

As for some people suggesting to tap the tails, I would not do that. Sometimes you can "drive" a gecko forward by very gently touching a fingertip to a back leg, but I would never touch a tail, especially a little guy's one.

What has worked for us is to take extra time... we put a hand in front of the gecko and get them used to it first. We never force a gecko to come out. What that has resulted is several leos that climb willingly onto our hands without prodding and even a few that "beg" to be held. We have the tamest geckos around.
-----
0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Since you've only had it for a couple of days I'm not surprised at all by it's behavior. Most Leos take a few weeks to settle in to their new surrounding, some may take a few months, there are always exceptions though and some settle in immediately. Just be patient, let the Leo get use to you, to having your hand in the tank while feeding and spot cleaning.

I have a male that was 2 months old when I got him & the biggest sissy LOL For about the first 3 months I had him, he would run & hide in his humid hide as soon as I came in the room. I would talk to him every day when I fed him and always offered my hand in front of his hide for him to smell. All at once he took an interest in my hand and slowly walked out on it and now, he's nothing more than a big baby, stick your hand in the tank & he's on it at once wanting out LOL

I find the easiest way to move a new Leo out of their tank while doing a cleaning is to wait until they are in their humid hide and simply put your hand over the opening and move it to another safe container. This always works for tame leos too when doing cleanings during the day and they are sleeping in their hides
-----
www.StoplightCityLeopardGeckos.com

Your handle is The Huge Guy and your scared of a baby Leo?

Dude just let it bite you, you won't even feel it. Babies are like that all the time, it'll out grow it.

I would be more worried about it running out of your hand and falling to the ground. Ones that are defensive also tend to be flighty.