Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my golden gecko used to use her sticky pads all the time when i would play with her at the petco i work at... but now that i own her (ive had her for about a month, shes a sub adult) she doesnt use them or they dont work? ive seen her use them once in the month ive had her. alot of people ive talked to say shes just used to me and dosent feel the need to use them? i just wanted your opinion... i mean she is really tame.. eats baby food right outta my hand. really enjoys being handled so could it be possible she just dosent want to use em?

It's not really the geckos 'choice' to use their pads, they're just kinda there, like our fingertips.
There could be a couple of things going on, the gecko could be shedding or the humidity levels could be off. There also could be retained skin from old sheds on the pads.
What's the temp/humidity in the tank? Also, what bedding are you using and what size tank is it?

~Cro

the humidity shifts from about 50-70 never going any higher or lower. i mist the cage once a day.. i have her in the esu open air cage(medium size) dont remember exact dimensions or gallonage. i use the eco earth compressed coconut substrate. there are a bunch of repti-vines and bend-a-branches, and a fake plant she usually hides under. theres a half log hide box but since i put the plant in she dosent use it just chils under the plant..oh and theres a few hanging plants..

any other questions u need answered that might help you answer my ? lemme know...

Its probably the cage.
How exactly are you keeping 50-70% humidity in an open screen cage when only spraying once a day? I have a glass tank with plants, etc and the humidity is never past 50, even when I mist it.
Anywho, it's probably the cage considering at Petco, it was more then likely in a glass tank and now it's in an all screen cage. Also, the lizard might not like the feeling of the screen under it's feet and/or it might have gotten its nail snagged it in at one point in time and is avoiding climbing up the sides of the cage now.
Also, you haven't had it that long and it's still probably stressed a little bit from the environment change, I know of some people's golden's not eating or being very active for the first two months of getting them.
So I wouldn't worry too much and give it time to adjust to it's new surroundings.

~Cro

the humidity is usually 55% it jump right at misting for about an hour or so the drops down as it evaporates. the golden dosent mind clombing all over the screen she climbs all the time... but when it comes to flat surfaces where she should/could use her pads she cant/wont climb them...

OK, exactly what flat surfaces is it not able to climb around upon?? It is inside the cage or outside of the cage(sorry, I'm not familar with how ESU's screen cages look, I only saw the picture online of them). If it's outside of the cage, it could be chemicals/cleaner/etc on the surface.

~Cro

well it dosent stick to anything really ive tried my walls counter tops...etc almost ever flat surface in my house! lol! but the strange thing is it jumped outta my hand one day and it was kinda a tall drop and on the way down it caught the leg of a table and it couldnt have possibly been with its claws cuz there is no texture to it. so it wouldve had to have been her sticky pads... so ive seen her use em... and she used em when she lived at petco. its wierd. maybe it is just a lacl of her wanting to use em?

I don't think it's just a case of her _not_ wanting to use them(I don't believe, I could be wrong though, that they just can't pick and choose when they use the pads). It could be a retained shed on the pads or it could be that the gecko is going to shed soon. Spray it's feet directly with warm water and see if that helps.
Letting the gecko run around on a countertop is a BAD idea all around, between things the gecko could possibly be carrying and also the cleaners and chemicals on the countertop can possibly be harmful to the animal.
Also, you've only had the animal a month, it would probably be better if you didn't handle it for a little while, let it get used to its cage and new surroundings. I know some people like to handle their goldens, but they can tend to be a bit high-strung when it comes to holding them, and as you have already exprienced, they tend to jump out of your hands a lot and can get hurt from high falls. If you ARE determind to handle it, wait a few more weeks then SIT on the floor and go slowly. Sitting on the floor will reduce any damage that can be cause from falling from 4 feet onto a hard floor.

~Cro

well its been a bit over a month.. she really dosent seem to mind being handled she only jumoed that one time. she hasnt shed since i got her(that i can tell) ill try the warm water thing. is there anyway to tell if there is anything left over from a shed. there dosent appear to be any dead skin or anything.. they still look the same way they always did. maybe i should switch her to a glass cage? i heard that they have to "work out" there sticky pads... is that true?