Eat Worms, Not Me!

[Booga]

This is sort of an odd question, I'm not too sure how common it is, but just recently I got myself a Leopard gecko, and have been feeding him interchangeably with worms and crickets, as to spruce it up. Hopefully that's nothing bad!
However I've noticed recently, that he's been eying my hand every time I put it in his tank. There was an instance where he bit my finger when I was going to handle him even, though this has happened only once. It didn't seem to be a vicious attack, and he stalked it in the same way he would his food, so I'm assuming that he's begun to associate my hand with food.

Is this a normal thing for a new leo to do? I've heard some say that I should just let him bite me to teach him that I'm not food. Even if it doesn't hurt, it's bloody intimidating to watch him prep to gobble my fingers up! If anyone might be able to assist me on this issue, it would be more than greatly appreciated. I'm a new leo owner, and I want nothing but the best for him and I, as well as have him get comfortable with me.

Thank you ahead of time!

 

[fl_orchidslave]

If you look like your avatar, he may feels he needs to defend himself Nah, just kidding But it does sound like he's being defensive.. maybe he doesn't like your hand in his space just yet. You might try doing his maintenance when the little meanie is in his hide asleep, putting in a dish of worms, etc. Wait a week or two, see what he does with your hand then.

 

[Booga]

Aha, I'd be pretty defensive too, if I was him!
I've actually had him for about a month now, and he has previously had a little spit with me when I was trying to move his hide, but that was just days after I got him. I usually clean up, refill his water, etcetera every night to every other night, and he's actually quite the sweetheart. He'll usually just watch me from inside his hide, so I'm not sure it's a defense thing. I've also tried handling him before, and he was alright with it, but it was before I started feeding his mealies with tweezers. He stalks my hand the same way he does his food, so I'm not sure if maybe he's associating it with me feeding him?

 

[russe306]

How do you feed them? If you feed them by hand there's a possibility they are associating your hand as food. I use a feeding time only container and put my leos one at a time in there with many crickets. This way they never see my hand as possible food.

 

[ajveachster]

If you tong feed it is probably associating your hand with the food. You can put mealworms in a small bowl to avoid this issue. I don't like the feel of superworms so I use tongs to toss them in the tubs. We have several animals that recognize the tongs as a food source. Several of them will watch the tongs so intently they miss when their worm is actually dropped in the tub.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I use tongs also and they associate them with food, not my hand.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I always handle my leo directly after feeding him. He walks away when he is full so that is my cue to pick him up and interact with him. This way he doesn't associate that every time my hand is in his tank he is getting fed. There are several postsin my user profile that I had made threads for when I first got my leo on being a big chicken when it came to handling him. Maybe some of that could help. It was way back when I first joined so you might have to dig a little.

 

[Booga]

I've started feeding him worms out of a small dish, and it seems that he hasn't been associating my hand with food nearly as much.
Thank you dearly to everyone for the tips!