New Gargoyle Gecko Acting Stressed, Hiding all Night

[Fatal_Pastry]

I got a new gargoyle gecko 3 weeks ago, a female who is still a bit juvenile, a little over a year old. When I first added her to the tank, she was understandably freaked out and just found her way to a corner where she felt safe and remained there. She didn't explore or eat for over a week, though, which started to worry me, so eventually I covered the sides of her tank with whatever I could find. With the sides of the tank covered, she seemed to feel a bit more secure, and the very first night after covering them she made her way up to her high basking log and hung out there all night. I was hoping she'd begin to explore but she pretty much fell into a routine of going from her hiding corner to the basking spot and staying there all night, then going back to the same corner in the morning.

I was worried as it was coming up on 2 weeks since she'd eaten so I began trying to hand feed her while she was on her log. It worked! She happily ate from a bowl I held in front of her and showed great enthusiasm for pangea watermelon (of course). However she still wouldn't explore much, just going to her log and then back to her sleeping spot. I was worried she'd start falsely believing that the log was where the food was, so I decided to start working my way up to handling her so I could eventually place her on her actual feeding platform at mealtime. After about a week of hand feeding I tried gently patting her back while feeding her and she didn't seem to respond negatively, so I tried it again the next night. She didn't move away or appear too nervous at the time, however after the second night where I tried getting her used to being touched I found that she had returned to her "safety corner" and has not ventured out for about 4 days now.

I assume me touching her freaked her out a bit and so she's back to hiding and being stressed in her corner, but that also means she's back to not eating and I feel kind of bad for spooking her. I am a night owl and while I don't spend time in her room I do go check on her periodically to confirm that she hasn't ventured out of her spot and it seems like she is not roaming around at night. I am wondering if anyone has any advice for helping her be more comfortable? I won't handle her again until she's eating on her own, but other than that I'm not sure how to make her feel more confident in her tank. It's a bioactive setup with a LOT of plant coverage, about 8 well-established plants, and she has 2 man-made hides as well, so I don't think it's just that she's feeling exposed.

 

[acpart]

At the moment I have 1 male gargoyle and 7 females (not all in the same enclosure). I find them to be much less active than my crested geckos. They don't explore much. They find a spot they like and hang out, until they find a different spot they like. Often, in my large enclosures with 3 gargoyles, they are all in the same place for days!

Aliza

 

[Fatal_Pastry]

At the moment I have 1 male gargoyle and 7 females (not all in the same enclosure). I find them to be much less active than my crested geckos. They don't explore much. They find a spot they like and hang out, until they find a different spot they like. Often, in my large enclosures with 3 gargoyles, they are all in the same place for days!

Aliza

I see. Well, that certainly describes how she was acting- she found her basking spot that she liked and she stayed there. However, she isn't eating on her own still which is really the main thing that concerns me. She doesn't go to either of the food bowls I leave in the tank because she doesn't leave her spot.

 

[acpart]

In my experience with cresties and gargoyles, sometimes it looked as if nothing was eaten but they were continuing to thrive. What would happen if you moved the food right near her basking spot (you can get one of those magnetic ledges and put the food on top of it)?

Aliza

 

[Fatal_Pastry]

In my experience with cresties and gargoyles, sometimes it looked as if nothing was eaten but they were continuing to thrive. What would happen if you moved the food right near her basking spot (you can get one of those magnetic ledges and put the food on top of it)?

Aliza

She has a food bowl right under her basking spot and another elsewhere in the tank. However, of course as soon as I post this she decides to start going up on her basking spot. She's also started pooping again so she must be eating her food, or some unlucky isopods, or both. I had been putting less food in her bowl to try to make it easier to tell when she's eaten but it seems like even still it was too much for her (1/2 tsp pangea in each). I'll try to figure out which bowl she prefers to eat from and give her less food until she manages to finish it all.

Thank you for your advice