Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well guys its now been 7 days since I got me Leo at PetCo and It hasn't been what I thought. The thing that got me into leopard geckos is the complete oppoiste of what I have.

The first 4 days I would say he was eating well..probably around 4-7 mealies/crickets..latley he has only been eating 2 mealworms and today he hasn't come out of its hide at all! So He hasn't been eating much at all maybe 2 mealworms tops!!

When I try to handle him he strikes at me (it doesn;t hurt when he bites but tis still freky) then when i finally get him into my hands (if i do) he is way to squrimy to handle that i might squueze him to hard. Thought these things were supposed ot be docile and tame first time lizards?

Also it seems like he doesn't have any energy or something. Yesterday he was out shortly at night, but today he hasn't come out all day!! He just sits in its hide. I want to claen up his poop which is right by the hide he is in but i don't want to lift up he hide cuz i no that causes stress. Also he always has his eyes closed but when i move around the light or somehitng he opens them then goes back to sleeping.

He is real young and i heard he may calm down..but i mean this is TERRIBLE! This is completly not what I wantd and all the stuff i told my parenst about these things they are looking at me like i am a liar...any help suggestions feedback..anything will help right now.

I have two babies right now and they are usually very scared when you first get them. The first two weeks are very important for you and your leo. When I first bought mine he squeeled and tried to bite me, but I held him pretty often and by 3 days he stopped biting and stopped squeeking. They definately calm down with age and most become very sweet. The babies are a little harder to deal with, they like to jump off of things and act crazy. But its all normal.

Like i've told you before man, give it time, these guys can live up to 20, sometimes 25 years, so you can't expect them to mature into adults in a week lol. When you have a newborn child do you expect him to not cry all the time by the end of the first week? You need to give him some time, at least a few months, and I assure you he'll calm down and it will work out for you, and it will mean so much more to you when you've worked hard at raising him to see that he's finally become very friendly and docile. Mine were always hiding and running around and screaming like babies at first and now they'll chill out with me for hours and watch TV and they love to be held and petted and everything, and it's only been 2 months. Patience is a virtue

Will
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1.2.0 Leopard Geckos
0.1.0 Miniature long-haired dachsund

If it is a young leo you probably won't be able to handle it for awhile. All of our young ones didn't and don't like to be handled. Some of our Juv. still hiss at us. You just need to give it time. Also do you have calcium in the tank with him? You should try that. As far as food goes...don't stress yourself out about it. Just make sure you offer him food everyday. When he gets hungry he'll eat. Hope this helps. Give him some time on the handleing too. Here is a picture of two of my hissers. (They are no longer on sand)

Think of it like this.. That baby leo would be food for anything bigger than it is... Your hand coming down is like some bloody big bird trying to eat.. so its instinct is to struggle. Its only with time and patience that you teach your leo that you aren't a threat to it. We forget so often that these reptiles aren't domesticated....that despite generations bred in captivity they still have those wild instincts of self preservation. You need to relax.. I don't even handle my babies until they're 6 to 8 weeks old unless its for cage cleaning. It gives them time acclimate to your presence without you grabbing at them. I have one leopard gecko who's nasty. He hates being held... and thats just his personality since he was handled the same as the others from the time he was 6 weeks old.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
2.1.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short) and 1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
1 Gerbil
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

Dude 7 days is nothing mine use to flee everytime i walked by. Now he walks onto my hand but it took at least a MONTH for it to calm down.

You have to leave it in its new cage for a while, if you keep trying to handle it, it might scare and eat less. Leave it alone. I know its exciting and you wanna see him and interact but leave it alone. Also talk to it. That's as much as you can do until it figures out you're not a threat and it gets bigger and your hand isn't as large as it thinks anymore.

You got it from petco? It probably has coccidia. i worked there for 9 months, trying to "change things", and "things" don't change. Don't buy reptiles from Petco. It's "Petco.. where the animals go.. to DIE".
~Angela
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2.2.0 Leopard Geckos (2)shct, (1) normal,(1) rainwater albino
1.0.0 Betta
2.1.0 Whites Treefrogs
0.0.1 Green Treefrog
1.0.0 Red eyed Treefrog
1.0.0 Huge Black Cat
0.1.0 Cocker Spaniel
0.1.0 Brittany
...Next on the list... a FEMALE RETF!!!