How do I gain control of the situation?

deathcomplex03

New Member
Messages
2
I'm stuck with taming my gecko and I think I scared him.

I just got this leopard gecko off a family who had to get rid of it due to personal reasons. They have had it for a year, but when I got it It appears that the tail has previously fallen off. I also heard the family did not care much for pets and they only had it for their son. So I can not give a testament to how poorly or well it was treated. But a couple Nights ago I think I really spooked it because there were crickets still in his enclosure hiding behind its decor and hides in places where it couldnt reach them, so I ended up moving around alot of its stuff in order to remove said crickets and I ended up spooking it in the process. And for the past few nights its been trying to climb the walls of its enclosure although Ive left the top of the enclosure open while watching it 3 times and the first two times it just chilled there but the third time it tried climbing out of the tank(I stopped it though) and at first my friend told me it just wanted to be interacted with but I tried introducing my hand into the tank but it either stared at my hand or jus went back to its hide. Im very new to geckos so I dont know what this behavior means or how to get control of it cause I would really hate for my leo to be uncomfortable in its own enclosure or just constantly scared of me. But I dont know how to try and tame it or how to make it feel more comfortable. It doesnt try to bite me or anything though and seems pretty docile. I also dont know if its a food problem becuase when I got it they didnt tell me the last time it was fed, or how much it eats, so the first day I got it it ate one cricket and the next night or night after it ate one more cricket but since then it hasn't eaten I think its been like 3 days, so I have no Idea how much it eats or when so this could also be a problem. Also from what I observed so far it doesnt seem to be aggressive in catching its crickets So idk know if I should switch to meal worms and or giant meal worms so that way it can just get its food from its tray. but most of all Im just really scared I could've ruined my chances in taming my leo. Any tips, help, or guidance anyone could offer would be hugely appreciated.
 

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acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
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15,119
Location
Somerville, MA
Congrats on your new gecko. I have a bunch of leopard geckos and bred them for 13 years. Here are some things that may help:
--if your gecko had little interaction with people at the previous place, it may not be used to people and it may or may not come to like being held. I have a few geckos that just hate being held, so I do it as little as possible.
--it's normal for geckos in a new environment (even if it's the same cage) to not eat for awhile. As a matter of fact, it's not unusual for some leopard geckos to not eat for days or weeks. In my house, the number of geckos chowing down all the time is way down, but that's normal for this time of the year. Come July-August they'll be eating everything! Crickets are fine as are mealworms and variety is a good idea. Keep offering and try not to get too worried if the gecko doesn't eat all the time
--it's normal for leopard geckos to act as if they want to climb out of the cage sometimes. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're unhappy in the cage. It's just that they've run into a barrier (the cage wall) and are working on getting through the barrier!
--Leopard geckos are pretty hardy creatures. Even if they get spooked, they can and do get over it. You have not traumatized your gecko for life.
--Get your gecko used to you by talking to it and feeding it. It may get curious about you and tolerate some handling (you can start when you feel it's adjusted by scooping it up from underneath and holding it for a little while inside the cage). It may prefer to be a display animal only. Time will tell

Aliza
 

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