My Gecko Hates Me

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

So, I think my gecko must hate me.

He's my first reptile ever. (Well I take care of them at work but they're not really mine, you know?) And he's just being difficult so far. We got off to a rocky start due to my ignorance. I was trying to handle him right away instead of letting him get used to his enclosure. Which I know was my first mistake. Next, I realized what I was doing so I stopped, and he did better. A week later I started trying to handle him again, but mostly by putting my hand in the tank and simply very lightly touching him or allowing him to crawl over my hand and then picking him up. Now he doesn't come out at all. He poops in his hides. He refuses to eat from my fingers (which he used to do all the time). He won't even hunt for his food unless I drop it right at his feet. Crickets are hit or miss, however, but waxworms are always preferred.

I think he must be stressed, but I don't know what to do to allow him to relax. I don't touch him at all any more, but I have tried to get him to eat a cricket from my fingers a few times. He missed twice when I offered him the crickets and now won't eat from my hand at all. It's like he just gave up.

I know he's not eating enough and he seems very unhappy. I don't know what to do. Please help. I want a happy, healthy gecko! ;-;

Amber7399 · Nov 21, 2008

How old is he? & how long have you had him... i'm sure he doesn't hate you

just give him some time. he will warm up to you..

and his floor temps are good? yea?

you say that he prefers waxworms? so maybe that is his issue with eating..i don't know how many you are giving him. but maybe, that is all he is interested in eating now? jus an idea

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

He's a juvi. I'd say almost two months. I've had him for a little over two weeks now.

I give him one waxworm a day. (Trying to fatten him up a bit.) Yesterday I gave him two however because he hasn't been eating much so I figured waxworms were better than nothing.

His floor temps seem fine. One side has the UTH, can't tell the exact temp of it but it's warm to the touch. Not overly hot. Quite comfortable actually. And there's an overhead light as well. The air temperature on the warm side of the tank is about 75-78 degrees, probably about 80 directly under the lamp. Cool side is room temp, 70-74 degrees. He spends most of his time on the warm side of the tank. Which I don't blame him.

Amber7399 · Nov 21, 2008

Have you tried seeing if he likes mealworms, to see if he likes those?

and i'd say if you've only had him about two weeks. then yea, he may still think you are a big scary threat

just keep working with him, putting you hand in his tank, holding him shortly (while he's still in the tank).

and i'm not sure about this, (i've never used a overhead light for mine) but if your light is on at night time, maybe that is why he is not wanting to come out and explore more often.

& i would like to suggest getting a digital thermometer. to accuratly measure the floor temps.

LizMarie · Nov 21, 2008

the way to make him comfortable is to make sure his enclosure is set up right. You need a digital thermometer with a probe asap. I don't know where your from but I can find them for $5-$7 nothing fancy.

It might seem warm but with a UTH and lamp you might be making it hotter if its giving off heat. The fact that he doesn't have proper heat or the right temps I should say could be making him want to stop eating (not saying you don't but without a thermometer you can't be positive). And there have been stories that waxworms are addictive, once they eat them they don't want to eat anything else. I personally believe to fatten up a gecko you need a well balanced gutload and supplements so the weight they put on isn't just fat but nutrition as well.

And like Amber said it can take them awhile to eat after you receive them.

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

I turn off the lamp at night for sure. And yeah. I'm looking into getting a digital thermometer as well.

Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

Amber7399 · Nov 21, 2008

yea your welcome. i remember it probably took about a month,(with daily attemps at holding, placing my hand in the tank etc) before My Ringo finally trusted me enough to crawl out onto my hand. but then after that.. i couldn't get her to stop. everytime i had to go into her cage for ANY REASON she was right there trying to get out :main_laugh:. and still does it!

So no worries, He doesn't hate you

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

LizMarie said:
the way to make him comfortable is to make sure his enclosure is set up right. You need a digital thermometer with a probe asap. I don't know where your from but I can find them for $5-$7 nothing fancy.

It might seem warm but with a UTH and lamp you might be making it hotter if its giving off heat. The fact that he doesn't have proper heat or the right temps I should say could be making him want to stop eating (not saying you don't but without a thermometer you can't be positive). And there have been stories that waxworms are addictive, once they eat them they don't want to eat anything else. I personally believe to fatten up a gecko you need a well balanced gutload and supplements so the weight they put on isn't just fat but nutrition as well.

And like Amber said it can take them awhile to eat after you receive them.

For the record, I DO have two thermometers in the tank. One on either side, but I don't have digital one with a probe for the mat. I have heard that if you have a UTH at a proper temp you don't really need an overhead lamp. That's why I was going to get the digital thermometer anyway so I could tell exactly how warm it was in there.

Thank you for the advice.

nats · Nov 21, 2008

Can you post a pic of your set-up?
Thats the best way for us to help if we can see it.

Your leo does not hate you :main_no:

You may have been a little too pushy at first, and he does not have trust in you.

These guys require PATIENCE, and more PATIENCE!!!

Does he have plenty of hiding places, caves, a moist hide and such?

Do you check your temps at floor level?

Is your tank in an area of high people traffic, noise, etc?

Spooki · Nov 21, 2008

i guess i'm lucky that my gecko decided to like me from day 1. i count that up to being well loved by both previous owners.

i have noticed that with reptiles the smaller they are the harder they are to work with, they're afraid of everything. the baby leos at work hiss at me unless i come bearing wax worms.

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

Nats, currently he has two hiding places. His warm hide used to be his moist hide but I stopped that when I found out that he needed a third, separate one for that. Today, I plan on making a make-shift moist hide out of a container until I get something more aesthetically pleasing (or make one myself). He's getting ready to shed soon anyway. I just got the temp probe today and the readings in my tank are as follows:

Warm side; air temp is 80 degrees F, mat temp (above repti -liner) 86 degrees F. Mat temp (beneath repti-liner) approx. 117 degrees F. (Based on this I think I'll turn off the overhead lamp I had on. But where am I supposed to place the probe? Above or below the liner? Just checked his hide. It's about 88 degrees inside it. Based on the care sheet I have, geckos need 80-90 degrees of warmth on the warm side. So, should I keep my lamp on anyway maybe?

Cool side: 71 degrees F.

His tank in the basement where we live. Near to the t.v.. It's a low traffic area and we don't listen to the t.v. at full blast. I'm working on getting him more hiding spots though, but I should really wait until next pay check. So far I've bought him a lot of stuff on this one. :\

I'll post pics of my set up in just a sec. (Finally got my camera back! Huzzah!)

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

Here's my setup.

Spooki · Nov 21, 2008

i place the probe on top of the substrate since that's where the gecko is.

as for the TV situation, your gecko might like it. they seem to be fascinated by the movement on the screen.

LizMarie · Nov 21, 2008

Haligren said:
Here's my setup.

I think I have those same hides! The one on the right i have have and is the one on the left an exo terra?

You don't need those lamps on top if you have an UTH and a regular house lamp right next to it. The house lamp itself can be used to stimulate day and night. unless you have a night lamp so you can see him at night but it shouldn't give out any heat

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

LizMarie, yes. The one on the left is an exo terra (like that brand) and the one on the right is an R-zilla. (Came with the tank)

I do have a night lamp (the one on the right) but it does give off heat, albeit not as much as the one on the left. I'll invest in a moonlight bulb. I like the ambience those give off anyway.

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

Spooki, yeah. I read that thread on how some people's geckos seem to like watching t.v. lol He's not out enough to watch it though.

Gecko Euphoria · Nov 21, 2008

I think he may be stressed, but honestly you said he'll eat wax worms this makes me beleive he's no longer interested in the crickets I'd say he's addicted to the waxies, I dont even recomend waxies it doesnt take them very many to get hooked and its hard to get them off, I only use waxies on a minimal basis like when my geckos breeding only ofering one or two when they lay, and for the pooping in the hide this is possibly due to him being annoyed lots of times we can't resist handleing our geckos and especially when they are under deress which will stress them more and he feels safe from you in his hide, therefore never comeing out, Heres my suggestion I would put a dish of mealies in with him knowing how many there are leave them in there checking only them not disturbing the gecko in the hide, this way you can tell if he's eating it may take a while before he does eat, But if you leave him alone and do not bug him at all only to refill the mealies and water, he will get more acclimated and he will start getting more dareing and when he gets hungery enough he will find the mealies but you can't force him to eat and I think by trying to feed him the crickets by hand it may have been more of an annoyance than anything and even more stressfull, so that said I think if you let him be with the mealies he will eventually become more tollerable and start eating again, geckos have been able to hunt there own food for millions of years so they dont need us shoveing food in there face he'll definately find the mealies when he's hungary enough but you have stop the wax worms they have no nutrirional value and are very addictive, hope this helps and don't sound rude or anything, just wanted to get straight to the point. Good luck,

Adam

Haligren said:
I turn off the lamp at night for sure. And yeah. I'm looking into getting a digital thermometer as well.

Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

Haligren · Nov 21, 2008

Adam, thank you for the advice, I don't mind bluntess. In situations like this I actually prefer it. I'll try the mealie thing once I get a bowl that they can't escape from.

Should I still give him crickets? Not by hand of course though. Or should I stick to mealworms until he's acclimated to his new environment?

Gecko Euphoria · Nov 22, 2008

Hey again, honestly I think your temps sound perfect I would'nt turn on the lamp unless its cold, in the room and I would only turn it on for 12 hours a da tops, geckos can get down into the 70's on a regular basis and in the 60's occasionally and be just fine. I would hold off on the crickets just for a week or two, crickets can be very stressfull especially when they are stressed and not interested in eating them. I hope all this helps you if you have any questions at all feel free to pm me I'd be so glad to help you get things on track, or even just give you some advice. Good luck,

Adam

Haligren said:
Nats, currently he has two hiding places. His warm hide used to be his moist hide but I stopped that when I found out that he needed a third, separate one for that. Today, I plan on making a make-shift moist hide out of a container until I get something more aesthetically pleasing (or make one myself). He's getting ready to shed soon anyway. I just got the temp probe today and the readings in my tank are as follows:

Warm side; air temp is 80 degrees F, mat temp (above repti -liner) 86 degrees F. Mat temp (beneath repti-liner) approx. 117 degrees F. (Based on this I think I'll turn off the overhead lamp I had on. But where am I supposed to place the probe? Above or below the liner? Just checked his hide. It's about 88 degrees inside it. Based on the care sheet I have, geckos need 80-90 degrees of warmth on the warm side. So, should I keep my lamp on anyway maybe?

Cool side: 71 degrees F.

His tank in the basement where we live. Near to the t.v.. It's a low traffic area and we don't listen to the t.v. at full blast. I'm working on getting him more hiding spots though, but I should really wait until next pay check. So far I've bought him a lot of stuff on this one. :\

I'll post pics of my set up in just a sec. (Finally got my camera back! Huzzah!)

Haligren · Nov 22, 2008

Thank you. I'll PM you if I have any more questions. But just to let you know, I did try the mealworm thing today. He seemed a bit hesitant (he licked them a few times and turned away) but when I came back from somewhere he had eaten one from the bowl. Right now I'm more concerned about him eating regularly rather than him being handleable.

I think it's also the weather. It's been pretty chilly in our basement so I've left a nightlight heat bulb on for him as well as the UTH. It doesn't put out too much heat and leaves the warm side at 80 degrees. We have baby leopard geckos at work that have been having problems as well. So maybe mine is just feeling that time of year as well as being stressed.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Thank you for your help. It means a lot!

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