Best way to get your leo used to being held?

[Eriathiel]

So I have spent the last couple days allowing my leo to get used to its new surroundings - but I was wondering how everyone else got their leo's to be used to handling? I know it took a long time for my snakes to get used to it - a couple weeks - so I'm assuming the same will go for Leo's.
I put my hand in its tank today, and it sniffed me and didn't run away - I figure I'll just let it get used to me being around. But I thought maybe putting a sock or something in there to help it get used to me scent would help?

Any tips or tricks anyone could advise?

 

[david13]

You could just put your hand next to s/he for a couple minutes everytime you have the time.. One of my leos, it took 5 days to be held without freakin out (without doing anything- ex. put hand in tank). My second leo after almost a year of having him, freaks out if i touch him and tries to bite me (hes a real scaredy cat) when i walk in the room he goes and hides if hes ever out, he is funny at times though.

good luck

 

[fallen_angel]

Sounds like you are doing a good job thus far! The hand smelling is what we've always done at first, and then we slowly begin to handle them once they don't have problems with your hand near them.

Just be sure to handle them when it's convenient for them...if your gecko is walking about or chillin' outside of his hideboxes, then that's a good time to handle him. Obviosuly, don't bother him while he's sleeping.

Also, if you can get your leo used to handling while it is a hatchling, you'll end up with a very nice, tame adult

 

[david13]

Thats what must of went wrong with my male... i bought him when he was like a yr old, whe he was a hatchling, whoever owned him must of not handled him too much

 

[fallen_angel]

Thats what must of went wrong with my male... i bought him when he was like a yr old, whe he was a hatchling, whoever owned him must of not handled him too much

Yeah, I would say that's most likely it...similar story here, we bought a 2 year old female and she is frightened of people, just like your male, and my guess was she was never handled as a baby either.

But most breeders do not have time to get every hatchling used to handling, so I'm sure most adult leos that you buy will be like that.. I'm sure it can be reversed through many years of TLC

 

[david13]

Jess, Can you pick up your female or does she try to bite you?

thanks

 

[fallen_angel]

Actually she hasn't bitten me, she just runs away as much as she can and it's always a pain in the butt to pick her up (like to clean the cage).

She also is a BIG BULLY! We had her housed with three other females and everything seemed fine, but we caught her pushing around some of the other females, walking on top of them, and possibly biting them (no leo has been hurt though, thank goodness)... At first I didn't think much of it because it didn't appear to be bullying until we noticed that she was deliberately fallowing another female around the cage, and actually saw her trying to bite... we just removed her and put her alone in a plastic shoe box.

We thought she was a "hot female" but we have her incubation records from the person we bought her from, and she was incubated at 81 degrees..

 

[Eriathiel]

Sounds like you are doing a good job thus far! The hand smelling is what we've always done at first, and then we slowly begin to handle them once they don't have problems with your hand near them.

Just be sure to handle them when it's convenient for them...if your gecko is walking about or chillin' outside of his hideboxes, then that's a good time to handle him. Obviosuly, don't bother him while he's sleeping.

Also, if you can get your leo used to handling while it is a hatchling, you'll end up with a very nice, tame adult

Cool, thanks for the feedback! One of the reasons that I got a hatchling was because I figured it would be easier to tame...

 

[fallen_angel]

The leo that we bought with her is also afraid of people, but not as much.. She's actually getting a lot better, and she is a year younger

 

[fallen_angel]

Cool, thanks for the feedback! One of the reasons that I got a hatchling was because I figured it would be easier to tame...

Definitely!! Although they are more fragile, so be extra careful and try your best to give them positive handling experiences (I understand if they just take a leap of faith off your hand and there's nothing you can do!)

 

[david13]

o, my male BB, I wait until he is in his moist hide (wich is like all the time) and then i pick the hide up with min in it.. he does fine with my female except for when they first met, my female was curious (but not ready to breed) she touched his cheeck and he almost bit her.
here is a pic of right before she touched his cheeck- the mean one is in the container...

Last year though my female bit the male ,because of course she won't breed and wasnt ready again, and showed him who's boss.. the male had a little bit of skin hanging from his neck (he was just about to she-he shed next day)

 

[fallen_angel]

Yeah, when she is in a hide, I always take advantage and get her out right away by removing the hide...that makes things easier for sure!

our two are patternless, and at first I thought yours were too, lol, that would have been weird!

very beautiful leos though, that's a great pic!

it's pretty normal for males and females to bite..we're going to put our female with a male and see if he helps calm her butt down!!

 

[david13]

ya, well they werent friendly bites.. they were viscious hopefully your female will calm down.. taking them out when in a hide helps a lot

good luck

 

[Bodon]

I didnt even try to touch mine for the first several months. Then one day i just put my hand in the tank, she climbed on and ive never had any problems ever.

 

[moosassah]

Our 1st leo is the most difficult to handle. He's fast & on edge. I've started handling him every other day again to get him more used to it...sort of, kind of...maybe not?! lol, we'll simply keep trying. I'm sure we're far more stubborn than he is.

 

[fallen_angel]

ya, well they werent friendly bites.. they were viscious hopefully your female will calm down.. taking them out when in a hide helps a lot

good luck

Ah, I see what you're saying now. So do you just always keep them separated now? I haven't seen any vicious bites, and there is a chance that she was running around, walking all over everyone because we had just cleaned out the cage and she was exploring... I'll let you know if she gets better with a male around! thanks for everything

 

[david13]

Actually i have them together.. they are very friendly towards each other. After they met, they calmed down, but now they won't breed.

 

[fallen_angel]

Actually i have them together.. they are very friendly towards each other. After they met, they calmed down, but now they won't breed.

They don't breed anymore at all or just this season? I wonder why that is..

 

[SleepyDee]

but I was wondering how everyone else got their leo's to be used to handling?

all mine are used to me doing jobs in the vivs every day ~ clean water, fresh papertowel for poop corners etc, then feeding time and the weigh-ins every week...... even the hatchlings are pretty calm about being handled by the end of the first week
It's a bit awkward though when you have several deciding to go climbing at the same time :main_laugh:

 

[david13]

They don't breed anymore at all or just this season? I wonder why that is..

They havnt bred at all..or at least if they did there was no eggs