reading leo body language

Dwaggie

New Member
Messages
27
Location
germany
Hey :)

very new gecko owner here.
something i haven't been able to find any extensive info on is leopard gecko body language

i know i need to back off when they make themselves tall and/or wag their tail

i want to make sure i'm reading my geckos right, so..
when i pick them up, and they sit on my hand or arm, when they just sit there, looking, their tail resting down against my skin or lightly curling around the bottom of my hand, can i assume they are relaxed?
it's what i /guess/ is going on, but i am too new to them to make assumptions

i also noticed, especially with my albino girl, that she bumps/nudges me with her nose a lot. (they all also lick, but i read that it's normal and they're trying to figure out what i am XD )
she seems to be very sensitive to light and keeps one of her eyes shut a lot (it looks like the other and it's also open some of the time, so i am not too worried at the moment)
but i heard that some albinos might have poor vision, is there any way to figure out if she sees well?

i also /guess/ her opening her mouth wide is a threatening gesture to tell me to go away and leave her be? (she does it whenever i happen to touch her jaw when moving my hand, but she hasn't made any move to bite or snap at me)

i'd love to hear if some of you have had experiences like this :)
 

indyana

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,336
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Most of the time, sitting still is relaxed.
If an animal gets really stressed or sick, it may be very still also. Usually, stressed out sitting still is accompanied by very squinted eyes with head tilted up, but it's not a behavior you're likely to see unless you're dealing with a sick lizard (or one you've just had a good wrestling round with). They also do something like that when basking, so don't freak out if you see one sitting under a light doing that... :)

For vision, you'll just have to watch her to see if her eyesight seems bad. Just bumping your hand isn't an indication of bad sight; sometimes, they just like to explore by touch. If her vision is bad, you may notice other issues, such as poor ability to pick up food. Albinos tend to see worse in bright light and do better in low light conditions, just due to their general light sensitivity.

And yes, the wide open mouth, or gaping, is a threat behavior.
 

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