My gecko is biting my other gecko!

[kadd92]

I have had my two female leopard geckos together for about a year now and just recently one of them has started biting the other one when I feed them because it thinks the other ones tail or legs is a worm. The one that got bit didn't seem to get hurt at all or even care really, but Its annoying that this is happening all of a sudden. They get all long fine and have never had fights or anything, its just that all of a sudden my gecko thinks the other ones limbs are food! I'm pretty sure the bite didn't break the skin but I was worried it could get infected or something? I just don't want them to accidentally hurt each other! I guess maybe I could separate them when its feeding time but for all I know it could be happening even when I'm not feeding them. I don't know what I should do...

If anyone has had similar experiences or has any tips I would really appreciate it! Thanks.

 

[tb144050]

When they get close to a year old, that is when they become sexually mature. The mating process starts with biting. Please google "leopard gecko sexing" to see pictures of boy parts & girl parts.

If you are seeing them biting (and if this is mating), they have probably already mated when you weren't there to stop them.

If it is not mating, you should post in the "health" section and fill out the questionaire to figure out why such a young gecko has vision problems.

If it is mating, please read up on "care for the mother-to-be", incubation, and hatchling care.

 

[stager]

I doubt she is mistaking legs or tail for worms. If it only happens while feeding it is bullying and it will not stop you will have to separate them when feeding. I had a little female that would fiercely attack any gecko at food time even a giant male that was much bigger.

 

[kadd92]

I doubt she is mistaking legs or tail for worms. If it only happens while feeding it is bullying and it will not stop you will have to separate them when feeding. I had a little female that would fiercely attack any gecko at food time even a giant male that was much bigger.

Its not bullying, she acually thinks its a worm. It doesnt happen when they are right next to each other and know that they are near one another, it happens when she comes out of the hide or they arent near each other and she sees the other ones tale or something out of the corner of her eye. I can tell she thinks its a worm by the way she does it, she isnt focusing on the gecko she is just focusing on the tale like she would do with a worm. After she does bite it she realizes its the other gecko and stops. It doesnt happen all the time, it has only happened about 3 times so far.

 

[EasiGregory]

Honestly only you alone can tell whats normal and whats not normal behavior for your geckos.

Now yes, this could be an act of both geckos becoming sexually mature and the process of either mating or bullying. Are they both females? If you don't know the sex of the geckos I would say to start there. If they are opposite sex then you would need to separate them. If they are both females then my suggestion would be to just separate them during feeding time. Depending on what situation you are in whether they need to be separated full time or during feeding, I would say to continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

I hope things work out Keep us posted

Gregory

 

[kadd92]

Honestly only you alone can tell whats normal and whats not normal behavior for your geckos.

Now yes, this could be an act of both geckos becoming sexually mature and the process of either mating or bullying. Are they both females? If you don't know the sex of the geckos I would say to start there. If they are opposite sex then you would need to separate them. If they are both females then my suggestion would be to just separate them during feeding time. Depending on what situation you are in whether they need to be separated full time or during feeding, I would say to continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

I hope things work out Keep us posted

Gregory

Im pretty positive that they are both females, but I should probably check again just to make sure now that they are older. When I first got them the people said that they were females and it looked like they were the couple of times that I checked to see. I also put some pictures up on here to see what other people thought, and they thought they were females.

I'm gonna try to check them again and maybe take some pictures for you guys to look at. They are fine with being handled and are very tame but the couple of times that I have tried to see what sex they are they didnt really like it and kind of freaked out. haha. They dont like being held in a certain position, they just like to crawl around on my hands and stuff so it can be kind of tricky.

I think everythings going to be fine though. They didnt eat as much during the winter as they normally do and are just now starting to eat alot again. I think maybe the one that was biting might just be a little to excited.

 

[tb144050]

This method lets me take good photos by myself, even with my squirmers:

(Reverse "left" & "right" if you want to)

1) Let the Leo stand on your right palm.
2) Put your left hand over the Leo ("sandwiching" the Leo)
3) Gently put your left thumb under the chin (over atleast 1 Leo arm)
4) Gently put your left pinky finger (curled) under the tail, just below the vent.
5) Now that you gently have "control" of the Leo, you can lift your left hand to see the belly, and then take pics with the right hand.
6) If the Leo's squirms, just gently patiently wait it out...it's better for the Leo to escape your gentle grasp than to get hurt from "squeezing" the neck or tail.
7) If it gets away, let it crawl to your right palm and try again.