How to handle leopard geckos?

[Myleosunshine]

Okay, so my new leopard gecko is very skid-dish and runs to a hide whenever I put my hand in the tank. Last night she had trouble getting all the shed of her toes so i helped gently rub it off with a wet cotton swab. She seems pretty stressed as of today so what should I do now I think she may be scared of me. I want to at least be able to tame her enough so I can easily remove her from the tank for cleaning. So if you had a skid-dish gecko please give me advice as to how you got them friendlier. I want to be able to handle her I know she is new but she still shouldn't be this scared. Also what time is best to handle, how often, ect. I am really confused because I am new to this so if you are experienced please share I would appreciate it.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Give her time. You said you just got her so she needs at least two weeks with minimal handling to get used to her new environment. I wouldn't hold her more than 10 minutes twice a week for 2-3 weeks. Once she starts eating and calms down a bit she'll be more agreeable to handling.

 

[mörten]

Congratulations to your gecko

I agree with DrCarrottail - give her a few weeks to settle in before handling her. My little gecko was quite skitish when I first got him. I let him settle in with no handling the first 2-3 weeks. Then I just put my hand on the floor of his tank with my palm up and just held it there for a few minutes each day. As time went on, he became curious of my hand and started to move up to it and check it out.

Once your gecko is used to and accepts the presence of your hand in his tank, you can start to put food in your palm (I put mealworms in mine) and let him come up to it and grab the food. It took me about 2-3 months of handfeeding before my skitish gecko climbed up on my empty palm on his own (without any food on it). I never took my hand out of the tank during this time though. It was actually he who started to climb further up on my arm from my palm. This is when I carefully put my other arm around him so he wouldnt fall off and took him to my sofa and let him sit there in my palm. Eventually he started to explore the sofa and climb on me. The older he got, the less skitish he became and liked to sit on my shoulder.

As your gecko becomes older he will become a lot calmer and less skitish. The trick is to give him time and to remember that it is your gecko that signals when he is ready to get to the next step. If you are patient with him and dont stress him, he will become used to you and your handling Remember, most geckos like the heat from your body and will lie on it to get bellyheat

Good luck and keep us updated

 

[KTyne]

I agree with the others, give her time. You should leave her be for a week or two (or more depending on the Gecko) to settle in where you don't try to handle her AT all.

Once she is used to your presence then you can start the taming process.

How old is your Leo? Hatchling and Juvie Geckos are just naturally more skittish and jumpy and wary of people. They generally calm down enough for you to hold them once you have them out of their tank though. Start handling at only 5 minutes at a time once she is used to you in her tank.

My Leo, Gaia, was skittish and jumpy and squirmed like a banshee trying to escape whenever I went to pick her up when she was less than a year old. Now she is cool and calm as an adult.

 

[Myleosunshine]

She is about 2 years old is what the guy I bought her from said but he didn't seem to know much so maybe shes younger. but if she is younger than 2 im guessing she'd be a giant lol.

 

[katie_]

They can be full grown around a year.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

No matter what the age she still needs a bit of time to adjust before you handle her regularly. They all tend to calm down a bit with patience and careful handling but how calm they eventually get depends somewhat on their personality. Some geckos are very calm and others are a bit jumpier.

 

[Phoenix1115]

I agree to the above!

I had a baby that I hatched myself and he was a monster to try to handle. He'd run and jump out of my hands and would make those little disgruntled noises every time I touched him, then one day like magic he completely mellowed out. It was literally overnight lol. I notice it happened when he reached about full grown (he was about 10 months old at this time). Now I use him as an educational animal and bring him to crowds of people poking and peering and petting and he's perfect. He even lets me flip him on his back, and he is happy to sit on my shoulder all day and even let me put hats on him and take ridiculous pictures =P

You just gotta be patient and don't get frustrated and stay calm because remember you're a predator to her. One of two things will happen:

-She'll eventually get used to you and your scent and settle down and be comfortable with you
OR
-She'll be the type of animal who just doesn't like human contact, in which case, there's not much you can do

But generally leos are pretty friendly and make good pets, so just give her time and be gentle and don't be too fidgety with her and she'll get used to you