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Gecko taking dives

ew1074 Dec 19, 2003 08:28 PM

Anyone else's gecko like to take dives off of your hand? It doenst matter how high, my gecko will jump straight off. I have to reach out real quick and catch her or she'd probly kill herself. This all started one day, the paper towl was getting ripped somehow, so i was changing the layer. I picked her up and was holding her while flattening the paper towl. She was pretty far from the tank, but ran and jumped off my hand into the tank. It looked, and sounded, like it hurt. Now she tries it everytime i take her out. Anything i can do, cause i'm afraid she's gonna hurt herself. Eliminating any handling seems to be the only way to keep her from injuring herself.
Thanks.

Replies (3)

StarGecko Dec 19, 2003 09:32 PM

Usually geckos do this when they are too youndg to be handled. It's not that she likes to take dives, she's just stressed out, afraid, and trying to get away from you. If she is still a juvvy, leave her alone, they shouldn't be handled unneccessarily at that age anyway, especially not if it seems to stress them out (chancing suicide by takng a flying leap into oblivion is generally a sign that they are stressed). If she's a subadult or adult, you can start handling her and get her accustomed to you, but do it sitting on your bed or something. For those times when I have to handle juvvies (to remove stuck shed, etc...) I find it helps if you start by enclosing them completly in both hands, applying no pressure anywhere, just making a warm, dark little cave. This will make them feel safe and protected and calm them down as they get used to your smell and being handled. Even with skittish adults and subadults, I find just cupping a hand over their head for a bit can help them calm down.
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

ew1074 Dec 19, 2003 09:55 PM

No, she's a full grown adult. The store i bought her from said so anyway. She is about 8 inches long. I only handled her a couple of times. Tonight was the first time i handled her in the last month. I guess i forgot to mention in my first post that i stopped handling her a while ago for fear of her injuring herself. The only reason i tried to handle her again tonight was to see if she'd still do it. I dont mind not handling her though, i just thought there might be a way to make her comfertable.
Thanks

StarGecko Dec 19, 2003 11:03 PM

Try taking her out for walks on your bed. Don't helod her, just let her sit on your leg or something til she gets used to you. When you do pick her up, putting a hand over her head can help calm her down
-----
Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

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