Aggressive or just young?

[cejean]

I've had my leo for about a month now. I haven't been able to get my hands anywhere near him because every time he sees my hand he starts stalking towards it like he thinks my fingers are extra juicy mealworms or something. I've tried sticking my hand in the tank over him so he can get used to it, but he's fast when he wants to be and I'm too chicken to leave it in there and let him bite me. I've seen him attack his water bowl after I put it back in the tank once and also attack one of his plants when I bumped it. I don't think it's because he's extra hungry. He seems to be gaining weight well and looks like he's fixing to shed for the first time since I've had him. Surely if I was underfeeding him he wouldn't be gaining weight? I feed him 5-7 decent sized mealworms every day.

I've got to figure out a way around this issue because I really need to be able to clean his tank soon. Luckily, he's been going on top of one of his hides so I can take it out and clean it without disturbing him too much. Any advice is welcome. Should I just put on some gloves and let him bite me and get it over with? I notice he doesn't pay any attention to the feeding tongs when I'm feeding him, even when they're right in his face. Is this normal for a young leo? What do I need to be doing differently?

 

[JasonO80]

Lol he in no way can hurt you. Your unneeded fear is just that unneeded. I would say depending on the age he may be gaining weight but still be hungry. I put about 20 mealies in my tank every other day for my 2 juvies and at the moment they are getting around 15-20 small crickets everyday. Him stalking your hand could just be him trying to investigate it. Mine walk up slowly to mine and lick it every time before they climb on. It is just their way of identifying me. You really have nothing to worry about even if he does come in for a nibble it is more of a shock than anything they are not really capable of hurting you in anyway. I do suggest getting over your fear of him/her because interacting with them is one of the joys of having them.

 

[katie_]

In no way can he hurt you?
Have you ever been biten by a leopard gecko? Ovbiously not. They have teeth and CAN draw blood. Id start handling him with a glove on.

 

[JasonO80]

In no way can he hurt you?
Have you ever been biten by a leopard gecko? Ovbiously not. They have teeth and CAN draw blood. Id start handling him with a glove on.

Per her post if this gecko is only eating 5-7 normal mealies in a day I am assuming it is a young Juvinille that unless she has pencil thin fingers it wouln't be able to get its mouth around a finger at best it would be able to do is ram the hand. Now if it is an adult that is another story yes it could sting a little but nothing to cause a trip to the doctor. This gecko has never bitten her and from what I understand it is just the fear of being bitten because it has bitten other things in the tank. I think fueling the fear is not the best idea in the world but hey thats just me. Side note I do have hands like leather so that helps.

 

[cejean]

Not sure of his exact age but he is definately still very young. I'm not worried about him actually doing me any real harm so much as I'm afraid of overreacting if/when he does bite and hurting him in the process. The last thing I want is for him to get hurt because of something I do and at this point I've psyched myself up and expect it to be much worse than it possibly can be. No, he hasn't yet bitten me because I haven't given him the chance. I think I'll just have to put on some gloves and get it over with to be honest. When would be the best time to try though? I was thinking feeding time might not be the best time just because that would associate my hand with food. Or would that be a better time because he could see the difference between me and the real food? I think I'm making this way more confusing than it needs to be.

 

[katie_]

Fueling fear?
Im being honest. Adult gecko gave my friend 4 stitches.

 

[Ozy]

Feed him until he is no longer interested in the food. Leopard Geckos stop eating when they are full. I feed mine as many Dubia Roaches and Mealworms as she wants. If she's hungry she eats, if she isn't, she doesn't. I offer her food every day because she is still less than a year old. Sometimes she tears the bugs up, sometimes she'll eat a few mealworms or a couple of roaches and then just turn around and go back in her hide to digest. So try giving him more to eat. 5-7 normal sized mealworms a day doesn't seem like that much for a growing baby. I know Ozy could EASILY pack away a dozen mealworms when she was a baby. When she was really little I offered her food at sunrise and sunset and she ate twice a day for the first couple of months that I had her. But then again, she was from a big chain store (I will refrain from saying the name) and was the smallest one in the enclosure, so she probably wasn't getting much in the way of food....

 

[ericssonfan81]

From my experience, I've never been nipped or even snapped at. However, I have been hissed at...
The term I would use to describe my feeling when I first handled geckos was more scared at how sudden and quick some of their movements can be and that startled me and made me flinch. In turn the gecko would get more skittish and try to jump and run all over the place. The younger they are the more skittish they seem to be, but there are always exceptions both ways. Some can be super relaxed and some just don't like to be bothered at all... period.

Also as Jason said, are you mistaking his stalking your hand as investigating it? My gecko also slowly walks up and sniffs around my hand before walking up onto it and very noticeably different behaviour and stalking and pouncing.

If you really need to clean the tank, I can suggest you use a tupperware container or a cricket keeper and very gently encourage your gecko into it. With mine a very very gentle brush on the very tip of the tail will make them walk a few steps forward. However if he's hiding, I wouldn't recomend removing his hide and exposing him. This can stress them out greatly. When gecko is in my 2 pc moist hide, I can remove the entire thing with him in it and place it somewhere that even if he wanders out of the hide, he's still contained.. Usually a closed shoebox. My other guy is so relaxed now I can pretty much slide my hand right underneath him and take him out. I try to clean both enclosures at the same time.

As for eating.. One eats about 7-9 3/4" crickets daily while the other eats 6-8 giant mealies daily.

 

[KTyne]

I agree with the others, sounds like your Gecko may still be hungry. When my Gaia was still a baby/juvie she would stalk my fingers if they were ANYwhere near/in her tank until I fed her until she wasn't interested in the worms anymore. After I fed her she would stop stalking me, lol.
I was bitten by Gaia twice when she was a baby because she was stalking my fingers and pounced on me when I had my hands in her tank. The first time I barely felt it, the second time hurt but only because she was pinching my skin.
Try just feeding your Leo more until he starts slowing down and acting less interested in the feeders. Gaia would eat like 14 Mealies every night when she was little.

 

[Ghostoftangerine17]

Mitarashi used to be nippy when I first got her, she calmed down though. If she is getting enough to eat I think it might just be an insecure young leo...

 

[lisa127]

I agree with those who say the gecko is probably hungry. 5 to 7 mealworms a day is not very much for any age leo, IMO. When my gecko was real young and growing quickly, he would eat at least a dozen and a half mealworms in a day if not more. He also shed every 2 weeks without fail. Feed more and your gecko might relax.

 

[Trivi]

I agree with Lisa. Maybe he is hungry. Feed him more and he will be more relaxed. When my young gecko was very agressive I feed him and after an hour i just give hand into cage. I repated this for 3-4 days and then I just picked up my gecko but my hand with gecko was still in cage. After one week of picking up I picked gecko out of cage an he was more relaxed.

 

[cejean]

Ok, well now I feel terrible that I've been keeping him hungry but nothing I can do about that now except feed him more starting now. He took 13 mealies last night before stopping. Not sure where I got the idea that 5-7 was enough. He must have been just stalking any movement at all out of hunger. It was definitely stalking. Looked just like he does when he's going after crickets anyway. Thanks everybody for helping me figure this out.

 

[Trivi]

You are welcome I hope you gecko will be more relaxed now