mean gecko

[crazyboy]

my gecko is very mean. if you walk past his enclosure he will pounce at you and if you try to open it he will stare at you and then eventually lunge at you. is there anyway to fix the problem? or does he just not like anyone?

[AtlanticReptile]

What type of gecko is it?



Nick
AtlanticReptiles

[herpslave]

Eublepharis Macularius Like on top of the forum board. It means a leopard gecko. It all depends on its age, Size, either bred in captivity, or wild caught. Or maybey you pissed him off doing something. Those buggers can hold grudges... He may never be tame. One thing you should be happy about is he will pounce at all food items quickly Most likely. Ohyah don't be a wuss a bite is just a bite.

[herpslave]

For example I have a wild caught female. She has never been tame with me for the whole time ive had her (2 years) She doesn't bite she just runs from my hand, and jumps of it. But she used to bite. I just learned to take them and go on with life. Eventually enough bites they will become tame where they dont bite much.

[Rebecca]

Try giving lots of treats.

[damzookeeper]

how old is your gecko? Sometimes 6 month old or younger may be more jumpy than older leos. Also if he/she wasn't handled much when younger thay can also be a bit more skittish. Try letting your gecko know you are there before putting the hands in the cage. Hands to geckos coming down from above are just like preditors and it is scary to them. They will eventually get used to you but some take more time than others. Try giving treats when you put your hands in the tank, a nice fat butter worm or silk worm works great. After a while they will start to associate your hands with good things like treats and will come to you without hesitation.
Good luck with your little one. :)

[crazyboy]

he is apporx. a year old. i only handle him when i clean his enclosure. he knows im there that is why he pounes. he pounces if you just stand there. also how bad is a bite form one of them? thanks

[Matt.B]

A big male may be able to cut you but the worst bite I have ever gotten is and soft pinch. truthfully until its a large adult (which by then it should be tame) it wont hurt you.
Matt

[sketchy4]

ive never heard of a leo bite hurt at all really.

[AtlanticReptile]

normaly leopard geckos are not aggressive, but i guess anything is possible, as far as the bite being painful its not,i have been bitten a few times by my tang leopared gecko as she thought my finger was food when i was dropping crickets and meal worms in her enclosure, the bite just has a little bit of presure but its not painful


Nick

AtlanticReptiles

[damzookeeper]

Leos bite are not painful at all. I was doing a show once and didn't realize I forgot to wash my hands after handling a snake and picked up a gecko. I know, very bad, I don't like to handle the animals without washing in between but I just wasn't thinking that day, anyway, the gecko must have smelled the snake on me because she freaked and bit twice. It was just pinches, nothing that broke the skin or even bothered me too much. The first bite startled me a bit because I wasn't expecting it and I wasn't looking at the gecko, I was looking at the kids but it didn't really hurt. The kids were amazed by it though. lol. And then I had to explain to them that these guys don't normally bite but I kind of provoked him because I smelled like snake so it scared him and put him into defense mode.

I have a male gecko that is over a year and about 90 grams. He is a huge boy and very skittish. He has nipped a couple times, wouldn't really want to get a big bite from him as I'm sure he could break the skin, but still nothing too damaging, lol. But although he is skittish and hates to be handled he doesn't actually pounce at me. I'm guessing your guy just needs more handling to tame him down. Babies pounce and bite because they are frieghtened and think they are going to be eaten. Maybe your gecko just hasn't left that state of mind and he thinks you are going to eat him so he attacks first. Try giving treats, make sure you have a worm or somethign everytime he pounces and if he strikes at you make sure he gets the worm and not your hand. He will come to realize your hands are good and feed him so he will become more secure with time. I hope he comes around for you soon.

[DragnDrop]

I wouldn't say a leo bite doesn't hurt. I've learned first hand what they can do.

I had a website at one time, with care sheets and other info. I thought I'd show what could happen when two males meet or are kept together. There's no way I would let any of my males meet face to face, so I used myself as a test subject. I held one male, let him walk all over my hand for a minute or two. Then I went to the other male and let him sniff my hand. It didn't take more than 5 seconds for him to react. As far as he knew, my hand was a rival male walking around in his enclosure!!!, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He ATTACKED my hand, bit the fingers and palm. He held on so tight, when I lifted him off the ground he held on. Then he twisted and turned, like a shark or croc before I could let him down again.

Okay, so this example was deliberately set up, I wanted proof to show people who think it's safe to house males together. A 'normal' leo bite probably won't be that bad, but there is always an outside chance that it can be more than a nip.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/3093/321leobite-med.jpg

[damzookeeper]

wow Hilde, that makes me think too. I handle my males one after the other all the time. I only wash my hands when switching species or going to quarenteened animals. I've never gotten more than a nip but I have noticed my big male seems more agressive after I've handled a male gecko and pick him up for cleaning than after I've handled a female. I never even thought of it till your post. I guess he was smelling the male on my hands. Guess I've been lucky this far. Thanks for the heads up. I have been bitten exactly how you explained but by hatchlings. The croc death bite. lol. It pinches but nothing more, I could see how an adult would break the skin though.

I actually had a couple albino females that used to bit and a couple times pretty hard, one broke the skin, forgot about that. But the more I handled them the more they calmed down. I don't have a problem with them today. Still skittish and bite other handlers but I think they got used of my handling or my sent becuause I haven't been bitten by them in almost a year.

[crazyboy]

wow. thanks for your help:-)

[PDDM]

I got mine at only a few months old(3-4 months) shes a female never has she even hissed at me or bit or tried to bite me,shes perfect with other kids even with my 6 year old cousin. actualy I would like the an aggresive leo,then i could feed it silkies and pinkies easily,Would be hard totake pictures though.