Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After weeks of studying up and researching, I set up my habitat and today finally got my leopard gecko. He/she is very cute. I picked him/her up out of the box he/she came in and held him/her for a minute and then put him/her in her cage. After several hours of watching, I tried to pick him/her up again and he/she screached and struck me. It didn't hurt but very much startled me. I am upset because everything I read says they seldom bite and if they do only if they are "severely provoked". I am upset that I provoked him/her and made him/her feel threatened enough to bite. I am now cautious with it and afraid. I will wait a few days and hopefully he/she will calm down enough and be tame. Does this initial behavior indicate I have an aggressive gecko? I feel bad and don't know what to do. Any suggestions on steps to take to help make me and the gecko feel more comfortable with one another?

Leopard geckos tend to get scared when they are babies. Let it get used to its cage for a week or so with little interruptions so that it can become comfortable with its enviroment. Then start handling it; if it is still scared just hold it for awhile, it will eventually get used to you. As it gets older and becomes more used to you it will stop screaming and being afraid.

well, the poor little guy has had his whole world turned sideways, of course he's distressed! Don't worry, just give it a few days to readjust and settle in, and then start introducing your fingers to him a few minutes a day.

One of my tiny babies scared the snot out of me by screaming when I went to put her in her shoebox, but that's pretty normal, the babies are pretty vocal about letting you know they're not comfortable with the situation. I really wouldn't hold your gecko too mugh right now, just let them put all their energy into growing, and get them used to you by seeing your hands while you clean their tanks...

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it time. In general is it bad to handle these creatures too much? Two of the people I talked to that had them before I bought it said they love to be handled and they handle theirs a lot. Also, mine doesn't look like any of the ones pictured here, is it possible mine is not a leopard gecko? It is bright orange with white and black markings. Will it ever change color or lose it's pretty markings? I'll try to upload a picture soon.

babies look totally different than the adults, it might end up being a tangerine or carrot-tail... It's super fun to watch them change and grow, my babies look different by the day!

I don't handle the babies a lot, and all of my sub-adults and adults have different tolerances for handling, my SHCT will walk around on my hands and arms forever, but my hi-yellow and my tremper don't enjoy it at all, and I very rarely take them out of their tanks, because both of them have tried to swan-dive out of my hands in the past...

Each gecko does have a different personality, but I think handling tolerances have a *lot* to do with how, and how much, you interact with them as they're growing. It is a good idea to basically let them be for about a week after you get them. After that I try to spend at least a few minutes a day of the time when they're awake with my hand just sitting unmoving in the terrarium with them, so that they can get used to me and realize that my hand is not a threat to them. Also that it's not food - they might nip you when they're babies, and it won't really do any harm, but the best thing to do when that happens is to fight the urge to pull away and/or be scared - you don't crunch like a cricket/mealworm, you don't taste like one, so once they've sampled you, as long as nothing happens, they seem to get that you're not for biting, at least mine have - I don't think I've ever been bitten more than once by the same lizard.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear