handling my leo

hello im new here!!! i have a leo and if i barely touch him he will snap back at me and bite me (not good) i want to have him to get out of his cage and i want to hold him!

any ideas?







red tailed hawker

Try to let him crawl onto you hand and keep switching hands, but don't grab him.

Maybe to get him used to you first by hand feeding him?

It's funny to here from all the different people and how there leo's bite and draw blood and such????
I have never had one of my leo's bite me and as a matter of fact some want to be picked up so bad they completly ignore the food Im giving them and like in a trance try to climb onto my hand!
Anyway, I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but are there any other people out there with simular stories...Or are all other geckos man-eating monsters and I just have a bunch of "girly-man" geckos? LOL

Now you want to talk about biting...lets talk TEGU!

Hawker - If your leo is still small or you just recently acquired him, this type of behavior should be expected. Give him a lot of privacy and try not to stress him out. He will naturally become inquisitive when he feels secure with his environment.

Overton - Most of my leos are sweet like that. I just open the cage door and out pops a smiling gecko.

My male is such sucker, he always wants to leave his cage, its actually becoming a bit of a pain to get him to eat. I would much rather he lunge for his food dish just like my female did instead of trying to juggle him back in his cage while putting mealies in the dish... its difficult...

Hawker, I just purchased my Leo also. Maybe your Leo is smaller
than mine but I got mine @ 18 grams/sub adult. I didn't touch
my Leo from day one. I waited a full week . When I did try to
grab her I used everybody's advice/searched the forum:

a) don't grab her from above
b) try and let her crawl into your hand
c) slow motions

After having my Leo for 2 weeks now, My Leo still doesn't:

a) crawl in my hand , but she does let me handle her
without snarling @ me.
b) she also knows when feeding time is..

Be patient and I'm sure your Leo will not bite you.
My Leo has never even attempted to snarl at me, let alone
try to bite me.

Good Luck.

* you just gave me an awsome idea for my web-site! i have a new female who i have decided is ready to start being tamed! shes a few months old, and is always curious about my hand when i go to feed her. so i'm going to make a section titled "articles and experements" and write all about "the taming of the leo" there. lots of pictures and anlogies!!

My advice to you would be to try to get them to associate your hand with happy things, i.e. FOOD! at first just put the food in the dish and leave you hand in there for a few seconds, if they look scared take it out. eventually work your way up to having them eat out of you hand.

I had a young female (~20g) bit me twice before, that was when she was hungry and mistaken my fingers as worms, lol. Other than that all my leos are very tame, they love being held. I love the feeling when they lie flat on my palm...

Am I the only one with a Cujo Leo? Cesaer bit me a few months back like you wouldn't believe. I thought about getting stitches as the bleeding would not stop. I squealed and my then fiance came back into the room to see me holding my hand up and blood running down my arm onto the floor. Cesaer got me on two different fingers with three quick but deep bites....
Hector snapped at a pinkie thinking it was my figner....took its face right off......it is amazing what those jaws can do....Hector has since settled down with age....Cesaer still wants a piece of me.....
And then there are those that no matter what, always miss the tweezers and latch on to your finger, pit bull style.....

Gotta love the little guys!

Put some gloves on, and then put some tobasco sauce on a few fingers. Once , maybe twice biting into that will cure him.

Overton,

I know what you mean about a Tegus bite, I got bit by a full grown B&W Argentine Tegu I used to have, that really hurt. I have also been bit by 2 baby Carpet Pythons at the same time, that stings too.

And, of course I have been bit by geckos too. Not as bad. After time and a lot of patience they tame down.

Good luck with your gecko Jack!