Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy, everyone, newbie here.

I just purchased a juvenile Leopard Gecko a week ago and would appreciate some expert advice to help ensure I give him/her a good start. Tank is 10-gallon; substrate is paper towels; UTH on one end, directly under a low shale cave hide I made by adhering the rocks with silicone. Temp at rocks is 82-87 degrees. On the cool side, I've got an inverted plastic Ziplock container with a 1.5" opening, filled with moist "Fluker's Peat Moss". Temp is always 76 degrees. Three small dishes upfront: a small dish of Jurrasical; a water dish, and a jar lid stocked with mealworms (and a carrot piecedusted with Reptolife Plus. Currently don't have a cover on the tank because I've read conflicting reports about them being necessary.

Am I missing anything?

After a day of acclimation, gecko is eating 4-6 worms a day. I'm gut loading separate from the tank because they never last long in his food dish.

Re handling: I kept my excited son at bay for two days before handling for the first time. The gecko hissed and curled when picked up. He settled down in our hands but left his mouth open the entire time. We put him away after a few minutes.

Since then, he seems to be "stalking my hand" everytime I put it in the cage. I aborted one pickup attempt after he snapped at me and I must admit to being a little creeped out. My question: do I plow ahead to get him used to gentle handling or wait until he is more established?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Humid hide should be in the warm side
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0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Abraxas)
1.0.0 Golden Retriever (Cafu)
1.0.0 Black Cat (Felipe)
0.0.2000 Tenebrio Molitor
0.0.100 Zoophoba Mario
0.0.500 Lobster Roaches

He'll adjust to you just don't push it and remember, because this is a reflex action that could hurt your gecko, if it bites you don't pull away. True it'll probably hurt really bad, I should know I've been bitten enough, but never pull away because you could slam your gecko into the tank, drop it or worse. Those are just some of the things that could happen. I've never done any of those things personally but gecko bites don't compare to parrot bites lol. Other than geckos don't eat veggies and your humid hide is on the wrong side of the tank I see nothing wrong then again I'm half asleep right now and I just got off work not to long ago so maybe I'm not seeing to clear lol. If anyone sees anything that I've missed or someone else has please correct us.

Thanks for the advice. Moved the humid hide. To clarify, the carrot piece is for the mealworms- I read it provided moisture and made them more active in the dish.

Hiya,
Sounds like you are doing everything right, just move the humid hide to the warm side as was suggested above.

Don't worry about your seemingly aggressive juvinile. LOL I still jump at a snapping hissing hatchling. A hatchling should bite hard enough to hurt you. They often retain that "snappy" side until they mature to a couple months, and he/she should calm down. My advice is to get aquainted to the leo without trying to hold him/her. Just talk to your gecko, and put your hand in the tank so it can get used to you. Try to feed him/her by hand, and trust will come in time. While rare, some leos will remain aggressive or skittish, more often in blizzards. I have some leos who love to be handled, and some that still run for the hide when I walk in the room. It all depends on their "personalities". Good luck!

Tony

I meant a hatchling SHOULDN'T bite hard enough to hurt you.

A 100 gram male on the other hand.......

Tony