Leopard Gecko sudden extreme aggression
 

I have had a male leopard gecko for close to 8 years and he has occasionally been a little bit jumpy but usually had a typically calm leopard gecko behavior. Yesterday however, after handing him, placing him back into the tank and feeding him, he became ridiculously aggressive. He does not fear me and will do nothing if my hand is inside the tank and will readily accept food from hands like he always does, but if touched he will sqeak loudly, whirl around, and bite. strangely, he will follow this up by coming to the front of the glass and acting as if he is hungry when there is no food in sight. I am not sure what caused this change in behavior and it is very strange for a normally passive animal that has never bitten me before. He only becomes angry if touched or petted. there have been no changes to his enclosure whatsoever, and the same day as he aggressively bit me I handled him no problem. He is eating well and very greedy with food, otherwise healthy but I noticed he was walking slightly weird, so I started to dust his dubia a bit more just in case.

First thing is to check to make sure heat, lighting and other parameters are normal. If a heat mat is stuck on, or lighting timer isn't turning off at night, that could do it.

If it were me, I'd monitor for a week or two and if the behavior persists, I'd take it to the vet. Could be some illness/condition that's causing discomfort (the 'walking weird' seems relevant here, though that might be the human mind seeing clues that aren't there).

It could be that he just didn't want to be messed with yesterday, or that he misread something about your last interaction and is on high alert. Breeding season is starting up again, so it may be that he's just being affected by hormones (or whatever triggers seasonal variation in behavior).

Your gecko is getting old. Unfortunately he may have an underlying issue caused by age. It happens. I'm sure your heat and light is correct. You've had him for this long so I'm sure it's correct. I have a 15 year old male myself who gets a little dottery. Unless you truly think its worth the time and money, take him to a vet. But keep in mind, he's 8. It might not be worth it. Stressful for him and you. Goodluck with him!

I found he had a bit of stuck shed on his toes toes that mustve been casing him pain and making him walk weird. Hes still a little jumpy but hes not aggressive or extra hungry anymore.