My Leopard Gecko Bit Me :(

[Jularistin]

Hey guys! I've never really used a forum website before but since I own a 2 year old leopard gecko I've decided to give this website a try. So I figured you guys could help me figure out what made my leopard gecko decide to bite me.

I've had him for about 2 years and he has not showed any signs of aggression but sometimes he does get a little scared and that hasn't happened in a while. I have just came back from college recently so I did not get to see him for a while, but ever since I have came home a couple weeks ago I have held him very frequently. Today I decided to take him upstairs to show my parents how comfortable he is with me and when I showed them he was licking my hand but that's pretty normal so I did not mind it. Then he nibbled at the palm of my hand which was weird but I kept calm but this led to him to attempting to bite the palm of my hand in which he succeeded but he did not clamp on. I tried keeping calm when I was heading down the stairs and was especially careful not to drop him and after he fit his mouth around some skin on the palm of my hand once. He did not bite again and it's not that he bit hard but it kind of freaked me out because he hasn't really done anything like this before. Should I be worried that he is going to do this again and more importantly why did he decide to do it? Was it an act of aggression or curiosity? I would really appreciate hearing all of your input. Thanks!

 

[acpart]

Sorry you had to go through that. He may have been hungry. He may have been checking you out with his tongue and gotten a little carried away. He's not mad at you or anything. Last month I took one of my gentlest geckos out to show a bunch of people during a Zoom meeting. I guess he wasn't expecting to be picked up because he sank his teeth into me and there I was, showing him off and bleeding like a stuck pig! This same gecko, who is now 17 years old and normally, as I said, very gentle, once bit me when I was taking him out of his cage and on the phone at the same time. The phone cord got wrapped around a chair, he was struggling and I was bleeding. I had to hang up really quickly.
I think it makes sense for you to pick him up soon and just hold him gently inside the cage to get you both back to the good times.

Aliza

 

[Young Geckoboy]

What's odd is that male leopard geckos will do that to females when mating. The males can smell pheromones the females release during breeding season. Did you handle a female gecko before taking him out?