Behavior question - very active, buries food bowl

[baileydonk]

HI all. New here. Thought there'd be a specific "behavior" forum area, but as I'm not seeing one I'll post this here in the General Discussion:

Background on our gecko: We've had our leopard gecko since August. When we bought it, it was only about 3 inches long. It seems to be full grown now (not noticing any more size changes over the last month or so). I have tried to identify its sex (for purely curiosity reasons - we don't want to breed), but I can't tell. It lives in a twenty gallon long narrow tank, with a under-tank heater, a moist moss hidey-hole, two dry hidey-holes (one of which it uses exclusively as an outhouse - I didn't know it would be so neat about its bathroom habits!), a rough rock to aid in shedding, a water bowl, a food bowl for mealworms, and a bowl for calcium powder.

Everything I read says that leopard geckos, as adults, are relatively inactive. But ours, ever since it reached its full size, is extremely active every evening. When we change its water, remoisten its moss, and give it its dinner, it comes out and starts climbing all around on top of its structures, and will climb right up any arm we offer it. Climbs up to our shoulders and goes round and round our necks. If I put it on the bed or on the table, it likes to explore and climb on everything. Doesn't really want to go back in its tank after - will keep turning and climbing back up your arm if it can. It doesn't remain frantic in its tank, however - it will climb around a lot, but it's not like it spends a lot of time clawing at the glass or anything. During the day it's chill in its hidey-hole of choice, and if I look in during the night it's out sitting on the roof of a structure - will immediately look like it wants to come out again when it sees me, though.

My theory is that s/he has reached sexual maturity and might be wanting to look for a mate? I want to be sure this behavior isn't that it's unhappy with its tank - it has everything I've read a leopard gecko tank should have.

Another behavior that just began this week is it's started digging around in the sand. If we leave the food dish in the tank overnight (I usually take it out when the gecko is done eating), the bowl will be almost completely buried by morning. Anyone know what that's about?

Just checking in because I'm curious if these behaviors are mating behaviors. My son, of course, wants to get it a mate, but I say no because from all I've read we'd need a separate tank for the other gecko (and because the few times I've bred pet animals before it has not been that easy to find homes for the babies). I wonder if the extreme wanderlust will settle when puberty is completely over?

Thanks!
Sharon

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GF! I think you just have an active gecko. I have a feeling that if there isn't another gecko around that it can smell, it probably isn't thinking about a mate. Just so you know, in general, sand like that isn't recommended, though some people do use it. If you want something it can dig in, a better choice may be coco fiber.

Aliza