Shaking tail whenever I try to pick her up

[FBody355]

So I got my new female on the 29th and I have not been able to pick her up yet. She stares at me like I'm a meal whenever I walk by and when I put my hand in with her she tends to lick it. So when I go to pick her up she runs and shakes her tail. I just don't want her to drop her tail. Will she just never like being picked up? Everything else is normal though, she has shed and doesn't have a problem getting her grub on.

 

[coreyegan7]

This is what happened to mine i would pick him/her up and getting it on my hand was a challenge cause it would try and hide in its cage. Once I got it on my hand it would keep licking me and climb up my arm and crawl on my back and stuff

 

[grboxa]

I have this same problem with my female, its frustrating trying to pick her up because she gets very scared and I also fear of her dropping her tail. My advice is keep trying but take it slow. There were times where I was in the process but she started going crazy so I stopped and let her be. If you want her to be at all tolerable you are going to have to keep trying. I don't mind not picking my female up and interacting, I just want her to tolerate it for when I sanitize the cage or in case of a vet visit so its easier for her. Geckos tolerate being handled differently and I've even read from some keepers that they have adults that still give them problems with handling. I'm just glad my male is the complete opposite. Good luck!, its still early for you my female has been like this since we got her, so theres always a chance she may settle down for you after getting comfortable with her environment.:main_thumbsup:

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Give her time. You've had her for less than 2 weeks, it's beneficial to allow her to settle in and feel at home before attempting to handle her. Leopard geckos tolerate handling, and they are often skittish when they are younger. They usually grow more docile as they get older, or as they stop seeing you as a threat. My suggestion is to just to give her more time.

I have a female that took 5 months before I could hold her without her freaking out and shipping her tail around. I didn't even do anything special, I just left her alone and one day she wanted to climb onto my hand. Every day since then she's been fine being handled.

 

[FBody355]

Thanks for the replies. Bah, I guess I'll wait. It's just so weird though. She even lets me pet her head in her cage. Maybe she just wants a good itch..:disappointed: I swear, all my female animals are like this.

 

[malt_geckos]

Is she waving it slowly or shaking it fast?

Typically a slow wave is a territorial/ stress response. A fast shake is either sent marking by a male or I've seen my females do it right before they lunge for food.

 

[FBody355]

It's a really fast shake. Nothing like trying to catch her crickets. Come to think of it, she doesn't really shake her tail when she catches her food, it's more of a really slow sway. I just don't want her dropping her tail.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

She won't unless you grab onto her tail. Fast tail shaking happens often when they are either excited, or they are saying no. Excited as in sometimes when catching prey they'll shake a bit before striking. Saying no we see it often when a female tells the male no, she doesn't want to mate. It's a sign pretty much saying to stay away lol.

So don't worry, she won't drop her tail. But she obviously doesn't want to be picked up when she does that. Don't grab onto her tail and you'll be fine

 

[malt_geckos]

It takes quite a bit for them to drop the tail so I wouldn't worry about it. They aren't going to drop their tails just from you picking them up or trying to pick them up. In the years I raised leos, I never had any leos drop their tails due to handling. I had one get out and the cat attacked it and it dropped its tail. But from me handling them, they never did that. I think that your gecko would probably bite you before it dropped its tail.