Back Arching? Threat or Pet?

Snuffles379 · Aug 26, 2011

I've had a gecko for about ten years now and I've just recently thought about some of his behavior and wondered if its normal.
When I pet my gecko he often arches his back into the pet, much like a cat does. I often pet him from his nose to his tail and he'll arch the whole time, rubbing his head on my hand finger while closing his eyes and arching his back/tail.
I was just doing some reading and I found a few sources saying that, when threatened, geckos will often arch their back as a threat gesture. I was surprised to see this because my gecko is super friendly, always willing to be held and has literally never tried to nip at me even while being fed medicines, ext.
I'm just wondering if anyone else experiences this and whether you think it is a threat gesture or sometimes a gecko enjoying being pet.

I'm thinking there is no way he can be threatened, he often falls asleep while I'm petting him so I'm mainly just wondering how common this is or if I have a weirdly friendly gecko. :main_laugh:
Any experiences?

EnigmaEcho · Aug 26, 2011

i think there is a difference between enjoying a pet and being threatened- ive experienced both recently- my sophie, she enjoys the pet, just as you discribed your gecko- i also have a new one, wolf, who, if i put my finger next to his body, he will arch his back and RETRACT from being touched. personaly, i dont know entirely why they seem to enjoy a good rub ( thier delicate skin, perhaps?) but watching wolf, it looks entirely different- he tries to make himself look as big as possible and swings his tail back and forth ( not like feeding)- i would love to know more on this, but these are only my observations

prhutchi · Aug 26, 2011

I can't claim that the geckos "enjoy" a pet (all of my geckos have always done the back arch as well) but it has never seemed to cause a stress or threat response. So at the very worst I think it is just a physical impulse and at the very best they enjoy it immensely. I have never seen with my own eyes the threat response to compare.

Matt1851 · Aug 26, 2011

im pretty sure one of my geckos loves being pet on the back. i can sit there for 5 min rubbing his back with my finger and he will sit there as well with his back arched with his head pointed straight up in the air and it looks like he loves it!

CamoCustom · Aug 26, 2011

lol, they might like or dislike being "pet" But generally a back arch (a lot like alligators) Is a display to predators saying "Look how big I am, I'm a tough guy, you cant eat me!"

EnigmaEcho · Aug 26, 2011

too true! i know sophie doesnt do it, and shes near full grown, but wolf, who is only a couple of months and waaay smaller does it- its silly

Repkyle · Aug 26, 2011

Op. That's pretty sweet of your gecko lol wish myn did something like that! It takes ages to get her to keep still once I start touching her back, it's like she's not fond of it and try's to scuttle away a few steps, so I don't bother that much. I think she just prefurs to use me as a extra large heatpad

STUTFL · Aug 26, 2011

Mine will move into most kinds of pressure, if that's what you mean - he sticks close to the "walls" and will automatically move his head/body/tail closer to something that touches them if he's in an open space. As for arching his back when I'm not specifically touching it, I don't believe he's ever done that around me. When he's startled he usually just goes into an S-curve and starts snaking his tail, which actually does look pretty darn scary. :main_laugh:

geckogirl3 · Aug 26, 2011

Matt1851 said:
im pretty sure one of my geckos loves being pet on the back. i can sit there for 5 min rubbing his back with my finger and he will sit there as well with his back arched with his head pointed straight up in the air and it looks like he loves it!

+1

EnigmaEcho · Aug 29, 2011

Repkyle said:
I think she just prefurs to use me as a extra large heatpad

same! my girl will always go up to my left side of my neck and just flatten out ( when she feels willing to stop for a minute or two )

contracteryin · Sep 3, 2011

I noticed this as well haha
My older one, Neara, she doesn't mind being pet but she prefers to not be held xD
My littler one, Ahriman, he loves (or seems to enjoy) being pet. Like other people have said though, he also seems to like having me as a heat pad xD He likes to just sit and flatten out on my leg.

PaladinGirl · Sep 3, 2011

Toon arches her back slightly when I pet her. Not sure what it means, whether it means she enjoys it or is annoyed by it or what. I don't do it often simply because I'm not sure how to read it. She doesn't try to run when I do it. From what I've seen, when a gecko is truly threatened, they kind of stand up as high as they can on all fours, and sometimes flag their tails slowly back and forth.

Olympus · Jun 20, 2014

Reptiles don't react like mammals do to petting. Things we recognize in mammals as pleasure (like closing eyes) are a sign of fright in reptiles. Sort of a "if I can't see you it's not happening," type thing. So I think the arching is not out of pleasure either, at the very least it's probably a little unnatural or unnerving to them.

rothsauce · Jun 20, 2014

Not sure how many of them do it as a sign of enjoyment. No doubt it varies depending on the reptile, though as a standard... no clue!

One of my female leo's is a strange girl.
I've been letting her out to roam lately, and while she will freeze up at times and not move, after a few pats on the head she's happily roaming around and exploring the new area with all sorts of confidence.
If there's something new or that startles her she'll freeze up again, but a few more pats and it's back to the same routine. Have had instances where she'll not move for 5-10 min until she gets a little pat on the noggin, have tried patting her back but it doesn't have the same effect (she just continues to stay still).
It's cute and strange, and no clue what could be going through her head.

leopard love · Jul 1, 2014

This is the crazy thing !! I was just about to post a thread about this i have my little girl i pet and i just noticed today she started arching her back and i dont know what to think of it

Back Arching? Threat or Pet?

When your gecko arches is it because he's threatened or friendly?

Friendly, he does it when he enjoys being pet.

Threatened, he does it when he wants me to leave him alone.

Neither, he doesn't ever arch his back like that.

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