Gecko likes to crawl up my arm?

[Crux]

Hello everyone, I'm a relatively new gecko owner. He's about 4 and half inches long and is actually pretty open to handling.

During the morning before I go to work I usually have a lot of time before my drive because I work odd shifts during the weekdays. Before my coffee I would feed the little guy mealworms or crickets depending on how he reacts when he see's the container (he knows red line means meal worms and blue waves are crickets) before making my own breakfast. Then after a while I go and spot clean anything he leaves behind and change out and clean his water and food dish.

But whenever I go and pick him up to clean out the rest of the cage so he wouldn't get crushed by my clumsiness he would sit on my hand for a bit look at my arm then run up to my shoulder. Has anyone else geckos done this?

The reason I'm worried is because he might get to high and fall or he would slip and crush himself and I wouldn't even know. Can anyone give me tips so it would be easy to carry him? How would I catch him if he just runs from my hand when he's on my shoulder? I want to let him crawl on me but I just have way too many hiding spots in my house that if I would lose him he would never see him again. It's really awkward when I hold him because I always have to cover my forearm with my other hand while I'm trying to get him into his second holding cage at the same time he just jumps around everything.

 

[STUTFL]

The trouble with leos is that they seem to love to climb, but they're not very good at it. :main_laugh: Or at least, not good at recognizing their limits as to what materials they can climb up and what heights they can fall from. Mine always tries to climb up the dresser drawers, even though they're flat pieces of wood and he doesn't stand a chance.

I think sometimes it's high spirits, sometimes it's being nervous out in the open. Mine sees my hand and runs straight up my arm as far as he can go, and then some. If I have two hands free I will "walk" him from hand to hand, or if he seems jumpy I'll wrap both hands around him securely (especially under the feet and tail base but avoiding the head) so he feels safe and enclosed and doesn't try to run.

If I won't have my hands free, I try to set him in a portable temporary enclosure that I can bring to him (rubbermaid container, box, his humid hide, etc.) or stash him in my shirt somewhere if it's an emergency. :main_laugh: The latter's not an elegant solution, but it works -- that is, if you have biggish sleeves and/or are a girl with an, ahem, handy extra layer of clothing up top. Once he's tucked away in a sleeve he'll often calm right down and I can walk around and use my other arm. He pretty much dozed off in the cuff of a pair of jeans I was wearing once. Same if I put him in his little humid hide, he curls up and peeks out but stays put as I carry him somewhere safer.

 

[Graystripeandmisty]

"The trouble with leos is that they seem to love to climb, but they're not very good at it" My leo likes to climb up a tall piece of wood and reached his entire upper half up towards the UV light... when it's off. He usually looks pretty funny.

 

[mudskipper]

All of my 3 leos like to climb up on my arm and onto my shoulder as well. At night I can see them climbing around the tanks.

 

[Crux]

All of my 3 leos like to climb up on my arm and onto my shoulder as well. At night I can see them climbing around the tanks.

Mine did that the first night I introduced him, poor thing slid of the glass and landed very wrong on his back leg. :main_no: As soon as I saw that it was bent forward I carefully picked him up and examined that thankfully it wasn't bleeding. Although you could make out some of his viens.

He's doing alright now, he walks ok and runs very well. So right now I'm just keeping an eye on him, but if anything worsens I'm taking a trip to the vet.

 

[Crux]

The trouble with leos is that they seem to love to climb, but they're not very good at it. :main_laugh: Or at least, not good at recognizing their limits as to what materials they can climb up and what heights they can fall from. Mine always tries to climb up the dresser drawers, even though they're flat pieces of wood and he doesn't stand a chance.

I think sometimes it's high spirits, sometimes it's being nervous out in the open. Mine sees my hand and runs straight up my arm as far as he can go, and then some. If I have two hands free I will "walk" him from hand to hand, or if he seems jumpy I'll wrap both hands around him securely (especially under the feet and tail base but avoiding the head) so he feels safe and enclosed and doesn't try to run.

If I won't have my hands free, I try to set him in a portable temporary enclosure that I can bring to him (rubbermaid container, box, his humid hide, etc.) or stash him in my shirt somewhere if it's an emergency. :main_laugh: The latter's not an elegant solution, but it works -- that is, if you have biggish sleeves and/or are a girl with an, ahem, handy extra layer of clothing up top. Once he's tucked away in a sleeve he'll often calm right down and I can walk around and use my other arm. He pretty much dozed off in the cuff of a pair of jeans I was wearing once. Same if I put him in his little humid hide, he curls up and peeks out but stays put as I carry him somewhere safer.

I remember being at a friend of mines observing how he goes through cleaning his Gecko and Boa enclosures. I remember that when he got the gecko to climb onto his hand the gecko jumped out and landed behind his tank! Well longstory short, it took about 2 hours to coax him out from under the bedside table. When we took him to the vet it turned out to just be a bruised belly. Thankfully the table wasn't too high and he had carpeting.

I'm worried my gecko would jump from my hand and off my shoulder to the hard tile floor below when I would try to get him. He is a jumpy guy, considering how fast he ran when a mealworm wiggled by his tail. Anyone have any tips? Should I just let him tire out by climbing all over me and then putting my hand around him?

 

[GodzillaGecko]

Ok I know this might sound dumb...but when I used to let my little brother play with one of my smaller lizards (this was years ago mind you) I would sit him in the bathtub and set the lizard on him. Close the curtain and let him enjoy the time with the lizard and petting said lizard. if the lizard tried to escape where could he go? (nothing that could climb up a wall mind you). Guess what I'm saying is...if you want him to crawl on you...sit in the empty tub and close the curtain. LOL

 

[Crewdog00]

Normal.

 

[LeoGirl1999]

...or stash him in my shirt somewhere if it's an emergency. :main_laugh: The latter's not an elegant solution, but it works -- that is, if you have biggish sleeves and/or are a girl with an, ahem, handy extra layer of clothing up top.

Ok, good! So I'm not the only one who has done that before! :main_laugh:

But yeah, my leo climbs all over me if I let him.

 

[mudskipper]

Do be careful when they're high up though when you're handling them. One time, my dog barked at the door, Mango got startled and jumped off my hand doing a double back twisted and fell 2 feet on the floor the first week I had her.

In the tanks, don't build decors and stuff too high up with no obvious ways to come down. They LOVE to climb up, but tend to take the worse way down.

 

[That_DL_Kid]

I have plenty of geckos that do this and have for years. I trust some and they will sit pleasantly on my shoulder as I clean their tubs and freshen their water. I don't recommend everyone do this but for certain geckos I have no problem. Some of them are so well conditioned they are up on my shoulder before I even realize it! So always be careful but don't let fear keep you from having a close physical relationship with you gecko.

 

[Crux]

Ok I know this might sound dumb...but when I used to let my little brother play with one of my smaller lizards (this was years ago mind you) I would sit him in the bathtub and set the lizard on him. Close the curtain and let him enjoy the time with the lizard and petting said lizard. if the lizard tried to escape where could he go? (nothing that could climb up a wall mind you). Guess what I'm saying is...if you want him to crawl on you...sit in the empty tub and close the curtain. LOL

Hmmm, that actually sounds like a good way to play with my gecko. But oddly enough, I think mine would hate the smooth bathtub surface and just end up trying to climb up and just tire out again. I think I might try this one when next cleaning.

 

[Crux]

Do be careful when they're high up though when you're handling them. One time, my dog barked at the door, Mango got startled and jumped off my hand doing a double back twisted and fell 2 feet on the floor the first week I had her.

In the tanks, don't build decors and stuff too high up with no obvious ways to come down. They LOVE to climb up, but tend to take the worse way down.

Very well said, my gecko loves his warm hide but when he climbs to the top he doesn't know what to do next. He'll just sit there staring at me trying to get a good footing but just can't. I usually have to help him down myself and said crawling up my arm happens. I think one time he did that just to relive himself my hand:main_angry:

 

[WilliamTheLeopardGecko]

Leos are pretty hardy. my gecko runs off things all the time! I don't let him do it, but he's an adventurous gecko. Yeah, my buddy climbs too.

 

[Dandizette]

Leos seem to really love to climb. All of mine, except Qamar, adore climbing up things and then finding a little 'cave' as it were to nestle into and observe the world. And the only reason Qamar doesn't is cause he doesn't have any claws- if he did, I'm sure he'd love climbing. Your leo sounds perfectly normal.

As everyone said, just watch it and be careful when holding. Another great option to keep your leo safe when handling is to sit in the middle of your bed with blankets and pillows all around you. If the leo falls, it should be safely cushioned and you can be comfortable while you hold it. But I suspect it'd rather prefer exploring the blankets- so do watch. : )

 

[Crux]

Leos seem to really love to climb. All of mine, except Qamar, adore climbing up things and then finding a little 'cave' as it were to nestle into and observe the world. And the only reason Qamar doesn't is cause he doesn't have any claws- if he did, I'm sure he'd love climbing. Your leo sounds perfectly normal.

As everyone said, just watch it and be careful when holding. Another great option to keep your leo safe when handling is to sit in the middle of your bed with blankets and pillows all around you. If the leo falls, it should be safely cushioned and you can be comfortable while you hold it. But I suspect it'd rather prefer exploring the blankets- so do watch. : )

I once thought of making my gecko (anyone have a good name for him? I never was good with naming things, my first turtle I had as a child was named O) a kind of playground he could use as a type of playground I guess.

Because I tend to clean my gecko's tank a lot I usually run through paper towel rolls fairly quickly. I read somewhere that a breeder in California would let all of his out and into a huge box full of things they could use for climbing. Sadly I cannot seem to remember the link I used to have but he used cardboard paper towel tubes and other odd bits he made out of scrap wood in his workshop. He loved it because whenever he would clean his tanks he could just take the geckos out and place them into his playground.

I think as I get more into the hobby I'll create something along those lines, but as someone else said I'll just stick to sitting in my bathtub as a safe way to play with my gecko until I get some more materials I can work with.

 

[GodzillaGecko]

Bathtubs are the best! It keeps them from getting out and running off. They are close enough to the ground they won't get hurt or just get a bump. But most likely they will just tumble down your chest and still be safe.

I do not recommend sitting in the bathtub with gators...for those of you wondering if its a good idea or not. LOL

 

[STUTFL]

I take mine into the tub sometimes -- though, with the placement of windows and lighting in the bathroom, I have to work it out so I don't freak him out with bright light or lose him in low light. I'd let him chase crickets there once in a while, back when he liked crickets!

And you don't really need many guidelines for a leo playground. As mentioned, beds work well if you keep them away from the edges. They love hiding in folds of fabric.

I have an old metal gate/fence made for small pets, and I just set that on the floor and fill it with hiding spots when I need him out of his cage for a bit. Sometimes I sit in the middle for a while until he feels safe (many geckos, mine included, will view their human as a "safe place" and actually wind up running back to you if they get out in the open and are startled).

In my case I threw in a conch shell, some petrified wood, one of his actual hides, a paper-towel roll, and a shoe.
He wandered around for a while, then made a beeline for the shoe and camped out under it the entire time he was in there. :main_laugh: