Help! My gecko is acting strange!

[Barbel]

I have a normal male Leopard Gecko who is just under a year old. He is living in a tank with two females and has successfully mated with one of them. When he was purchased, I was told he was a she, hence the unexpected early breeding. Anyway, I went in to check on them and he was in the corner, up the wall of the tank "digging" very frantically on the glass. I went to put him down and he freaked out! He scrambled to the ground, laid very, very flat and started flicking his tail. Not just the end, like when they are hunting, but the whole thing, straight up in the air. I thought maybe I startled him and decided to leave him alone for a bit. Over 30 minutes later I returned and he hadn't move an inch. So I tried to pick him up again to look at him and once again he freaked out. He jumped down and laid very flat again and continued to flick his entire tail as before. I decided to feed them and he, who is normally a very aggressive eater, let the crickets crawl on his back and even his face. If anyone has experienced this type of behavior or has any idea what may be going on please let me know! I don't want anything to happen to him. Thanks in advance!!

 

[GeckoJunkie]

Sounds to me that he is in 100% breeding mode. I dont think there is nothing to worry about. Alot of males go off food when all they can think about is breeding!!

 

[Barbel]

Do you think I should get another female for him so he can let out some of this energy? I think he may have attempted to mate with the other one, but all her eggs so far have been infertile.
Would another female help, or will he get out of this mood on his own?

 

[Stevie]

Sounds to me like the gecko is stressed to the max!! If you see a gecko with strange behaviour and esspecially after showing some more strange behaviour, just let the animal be! Give it some rest!! They aren't made for human handling, cuddling etc etc. Just let him be and go check in a few days how he is...

Greets,

Stevie

 

[DLS Reptile]

I will tell you what probably happened. He tried to breed a female and she kicked his but. If a male tries to breed a female to many times and she is not receptive they will tear into the male. This is the worst time to try to pick them up. they are in a defensive mode and can lay a serious bite. Big males can draw blood. When I first started breeding I made this mistake with a 90 plus gram male. He latched onto my hand and would not let go. He went into tokay mode and held on for about a minute. NOT FUN AT ALL. I would put him into another tank until the females become receptive...Hint if you place him with a female and he approaches her, keep and eye on her. If she starts waiving her tail in the air forget it. she is not receptive. If she stays still or lays flat she is...

 

[Barbel]

I haven't been constantly trying to pick him up, only twice. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something physically wrong with him, like an injury. He has never attmepted to bite me. He doesn't have any marks, scratches or any other battle wounds that would indicate an altrication. The females in the tank seem to have no reaction to him at all. They are just going about business as usual.

 

[cheeseball705]

it would prob be best to remove him to another tank like stated earlier. it will cause less stress to both females and males.

 

[DLS Reptile]

They do not have to have battle wounds. They can be intimidated or bitten with no marks..