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Why does my gargoyle pee everytime i pick him up???.......

Josh06 Sep 12, 2004 07:12 PM

It seems like he only pees when I pick him up. I have no idea what his problem is, or if that is just what gargoyles do. Thanks.....
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Josh
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Replies (2)

Birdhead1982 Sep 12, 2004 07:48 PM

I couldnt give you a reason, but i have a crested that does the same thing, nearly every time i pick it up.

AnthonyCaponetto Sep 13, 2004 05:12 PM

Animals either have a "fight or flight" response. The fight response is obviously biting and gaping at the mouth (freshly hatched cresteds will do this quite readily).

A flight response is a response designed to let them escape their perceived attacker without fighting. The most commonly known flight response in geckos is to drop the tail, but some reptiles will also release liquids containing an odorous "musk" when frightened, which usually smells a lot worse than when they normally defecate or urinate. In my mind, this is to give the perception that they aren't going to taste very good. The most well known animal to utilize smell as a means of protection is the skunk, but it's actually quite common among reptiles as well.

I've had Gargoyles and Cresteds do this on occasion and I've not been able to detect much of an odor, but to mammals or other reptiles with a heightened sense of smell (who are likely to be a predator in the wild), this smell is probably much more noticeable.

I haven't worked with too many different species of geckos aside from those in the Rhacodactylus genus, but the musk of Giant Geckos (Rhacodactylus leachianus) has got to be the worst I've personally experienced from a gecko...enough that I've had to change my clothes after being "musked" on by them.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

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