tgecko
New Member
- Messages
- 8
- Location
- california
Because he or she is not full-grown yet, I have not determined my gecko's sex. I will refer to the gecko as a he throughout this post.
My leopard gecko used to be very attentive, alert, and loved being handled. He would wait outside his hides and stare upward patiently for food (as I would drop mealworms and crickets down there), proving to be very comfortable with human contact. However, all of this fun behavior has stopped, and he has become the complete opposite gecko.
Someone in my family who also cares for the gecko decided to feed him. He dropped a cricket in the tank, and eventually he noticed that the gecko was not hungry and the cricket was actually still sitting in his hide. Knowing that crickets can bite a gecko while it sleeps, he used tweezers to try to grab the cricket and take it out of the tank. I wasn't watching at the time, but according to this person, the only way to grab the cricket was to lift the hide that the gecko was currently laying inside.
When this person lifted the hide, the gecko apparently went into an absolute frenzy. His tail was shaking wildly and he sprinted around the tank aimlessly (according to this person, he has never seen the gecko run so quickly before). He started climbing his other hide, and to say it simply, he went crazy. The gecko lay on top of the hide that was lifted the entire night. It seemed as if he were trying to guard it.
This occured about one week ago. I am assuming that the gecko was asleep or not conscience to the fact that his hide was being lifted, so when it was, it scared him and he didn't know what to do. Normally, this gecko loves food, eating large (healthy) amounts of mealworms and crickets every single night. However, this past week he has been skipping meals, though there have been nights where he consumed normal portions. He no longer comes out for food like he used to and his tail begins to wisp around when I place my hand in the tank, and I miss seeing the curious gecko he was. Does stress typically last so long and so drastically?
I just recently tried to drop a mealworm in his tank, taking it slowly. He saw the mealworm, put his nose to it, the stepped back. He hunkered to the ground, his stomach almost making contact with the tile of the tank. His tail began to waggle and he moved away from the mealworm, as if he was afriad of it. I've never seen him doing this before, and I'm scared to experiment with crickets and dubai roaches if even a mealworm inspires this sort of reaction. Once I removed the mealworm from the tank, he immediately retreated to his hide.
He is drinking water at the moment, which I guess is good. I have had bad experiences with past geckos due to factors that were out of my control, one gecko even passing away because he was sick when I purchased him. I got this new gecko as a way to start anew, but unfortunately I haven't been able to care for him as I normally would this past week.
His stools seem to be completely normal. Normal day and night temperatures in the tank have not been altered since he began exhibiting this behavior. He has a purple moonlight at night, a blue morning bulb in the day, and an undertank he heater he utilizes normally. It seems as if he is just afraid of food, or perhaps he is afriad of humans now.
My leopard gecko used to be very attentive, alert, and loved being handled. He would wait outside his hides and stare upward patiently for food (as I would drop mealworms and crickets down there), proving to be very comfortable with human contact. However, all of this fun behavior has stopped, and he has become the complete opposite gecko.
Someone in my family who also cares for the gecko decided to feed him. He dropped a cricket in the tank, and eventually he noticed that the gecko was not hungry and the cricket was actually still sitting in his hide. Knowing that crickets can bite a gecko while it sleeps, he used tweezers to try to grab the cricket and take it out of the tank. I wasn't watching at the time, but according to this person, the only way to grab the cricket was to lift the hide that the gecko was currently laying inside.
When this person lifted the hide, the gecko apparently went into an absolute frenzy. His tail was shaking wildly and he sprinted around the tank aimlessly (according to this person, he has never seen the gecko run so quickly before). He started climbing his other hide, and to say it simply, he went crazy. The gecko lay on top of the hide that was lifted the entire night. It seemed as if he were trying to guard it.
This occured about one week ago. I am assuming that the gecko was asleep or not conscience to the fact that his hide was being lifted, so when it was, it scared him and he didn't know what to do. Normally, this gecko loves food, eating large (healthy) amounts of mealworms and crickets every single night. However, this past week he has been skipping meals, though there have been nights where he consumed normal portions. He no longer comes out for food like he used to and his tail begins to wisp around when I place my hand in the tank, and I miss seeing the curious gecko he was. Does stress typically last so long and so drastically?
I just recently tried to drop a mealworm in his tank, taking it slowly. He saw the mealworm, put his nose to it, the stepped back. He hunkered to the ground, his stomach almost making contact with the tile of the tank. His tail began to waggle and he moved away from the mealworm, as if he was afriad of it. I've never seen him doing this before, and I'm scared to experiment with crickets and dubai roaches if even a mealworm inspires this sort of reaction. Once I removed the mealworm from the tank, he immediately retreated to his hide.
He is drinking water at the moment, which I guess is good. I have had bad experiences with past geckos due to factors that were out of my control, one gecko even passing away because he was sick when I purchased him. I got this new gecko as a way to start anew, but unfortunately I haven't been able to care for him as I normally would this past week.
His stools seem to be completely normal. Normal day and night temperatures in the tank have not been altered since he began exhibiting this behavior. He has a purple moonlight at night, a blue morning bulb in the day, and an undertank he heater he utilizes normally. It seems as if he is just afraid of food, or perhaps he is afriad of humans now.
