whats wrong with my leopard gecko!

[Mr.Combine]

my adult male leopard gecko is extremely agressive that every time you pick him up he bites! and his bites hurt because he holds on for a long time and his teeth are sharp.can anyone help me!

 

[saltwaterreptiles]

some geckos just don't like to be handled, my advice is, don't handle that which dosn't want it! I have one male leo as well who is a holy terror, he is STRICTLY hands off except for times I NEED to handle him, ie: getting him out of his tank so I can give it a good cleaning, my other geckos tolerate handling to varying degrees from being just ok with it, to clambering up my hand at any chance.

Not to be too ummmm.... harsh I guess, but I see this alot. Geckos should be purchased with the understanding that they are primarily display animals. Some you get lucky with, but you will encounter some that see you as a big threat and nature kicks in. If you want an animal you can handle, there are better choices than geckos.

So, to answer your question, there's really nothing wrong with your gecko, just showing his nature and a little mean streak, I LOVE that about my agressive little fella...

 

[snowgyre]

Hmm... I don't know, leopard geckos tend to be rather docile. I haven't had any holy terrors, yet anyway, and those that I thought were going to be handfuls calmed down over time. How long have you had this guy? If you just got him he may be a bit stressed and feeling defensive. I've had two males bite me and mean it, but they were stressed from being shipped here. Once they got settled into their new enclosures and the routine of seeing my hand in their cage once a day they calmed down.

However, if you have had this guy a while and he still acts like that, then yeah, Cory's advice up there applies.

 

[DiabloBoa]

i agree with Cory but i have none that are actually aggressive at this point and a few that are just plain sweethearts. just curious as to whether you got the oppourtunity to pick him out, was\is he an adult?

its nice to be able to pick one out for temperment but thats not the case usually, unless you purchased him local.

 

[sugarkornbizkits]

My first leopard gecko also bit me in the same way that you described...every time I picked him up and then wouldn't let go! He was also an adult when I got him. I adopted him from my old high school science teacher, and the gecko was a classroom pet. I did finally "tame" him, though. I just didn't give up on him. I would take him out and hold him for a while. I think after a while he kinda figured that I wasn't going to hurt him, so there was no need to bite. Maybe the kids from school were too rough with him or something. Where did you get your gecko from? Maybe the previous owner mishandled him.

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Ive had a few that were very agressive when I first got them, it just took some time to get them used to being handled. I had one that drew blood several times but liek Tiffany said, I think once they figure out that you are not going to hurt them they will calm down.

Not every leo will calm down but I think with time and patience most will.

Just think of them in the wild, anything larger than them will most likely want to eat them, if the leo you have has not been handled much it may just see you as a threat.

I surely would not want something that much bigger than me to pick me up all the time lol

 

[raiquee]

I tend to agree with a bit of everything everyone has stated yet. I keep my geckos well handled by going in there practically every day and futzing with them However geckos are a prey animal (well, they also are a predator, but they aren't taking down antelopes!) and that is also why they have that dropping the tail act like most geckos do. It's a defense. Their only other option if the tail thing doesn't work is to bite.

I work in a pet store and personally i have gotten MEANER bites from AFT than anything else. They bite, and then twist Little suckers. I have yet to meet a mean gecko other then the silly little hatchlings.

But try taming him a bit, if he doesn't come around love him for what he is Geckos tend to be more of a display. I usually tell people all reptiles should mainly be display. JMHO.

 

[Manhattan Herps]

they have their good days and their bad days, just like us, if its got teeth, it can bite

i have a male who was the the most agressive thing i have ever seen, he bit me every time i handled him, and he broke the skin each time, i got him last april, but now he one of the sweetest geckos i have, i held him for 5 min everyday and was very gentle with him, seems like that helped, sometimes the bites can hurt, but just suck it up and dont give up

 

[saltwaterreptiles]

I keep waiting for my Odin to get that way, but honestly, I don't think he will....

He was a petshop purchase, and he was in a tank, by himself, for months before I finally broke down and get him the heck out of there. He was looking very small and skittish and his tail was shrinking all the time it seemed. WELL, he spit and spite and thrashed and did it all, and still does, no matter what. So I figure I would leave him be.

Its funny, he is also the most curious of all our geckos, as soon as anyone enters the room he strolls right to the front of his tank and checks everything out...lol... I think he is just wondering how we taste...

There he is, tail up, ready to bounce and chow down on my hand...lol

 

[ShannanD25]

Some Leos are simply going to be a hands off Leo. I HAD one male like that...Ceaser...yes Sam, your Ceaser....no matter what I did he bit at me....drew blood so bad one time, in a series of three bites, I thought I would need stitches. The blood was running down my fingers , down my arm and on to the floor. I had no idea what they were capable of- have a new found respect for those little teeth....
Anyways....make sure you have not been handling a nother male prior to picking up the one in quetstion. I think that is what really had Ceaser latching on and ripping at me, I had just handled another male and I am sure his scent was on my hands....
Ceaser still hated me though, and took his pop shots when he could....
Currently he is residing with a friend of ours...and it is a match made in heaven....Ceaser couldnt be sweeter.....go figure....

There are definatley tempermant differences in all my Leos. I have one group I breed strictly for tempermant...I wouldn't say they are sweet as I am not sure a reptile is capable of displaying a cuddly side like a cat or dog, but these breeders and offspring show a unique docileness (is that even a word) and strong curiosity and no fear that they run over each other to try to climb into your hand....they are the first ones out of their huts if they hear a noise...even the babies show this...They seem to not be stressed by long periods of handling and seem to "enjoy" the change in sceneory....

Then there are the babies who want nothing more then to latch onto your jugular vein and kill you....gotta love the screamers and their lung capacity...

Good luck!

 

[groovygeckos]

No Meanies here

Only had one little biting incident with a newly aquired female Giant (of all morphs & sexes to bite you LOL ) but now she and the others i got at the same time are 'sweet' as can be . They like to make me nervous (because they might fall )by walking up and balancing on the edge of the bin while im cleaning , or just walk right on my hand making it almost impossible to do .

This is after 6 months or so of cleaning and feeding only with occasional handling .

 

[Mr.Combine]

When my geck bitted me i done flicked it and it dont never bites me again, I didnt hurtse him he just felt fine.

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

If you anvent seen already, this poster's full of BS. Ignore his future posts.

 

[Mr.Combine]

yeah don't listen to my brother's posts, apparently I hear Leopard Geckos are just a little iffy when it comes to handling by nature my gecko started biting after its first color change about when it was a juevenile I don't really handle him but apparentlly i hear the more you handle the nice they are.

 

[ms_terese]

Maybe you should log off when you finish posting so that your brother can't give folks the wrong impression of you.

I'm related to lots of Shackelfords in Missouri/Kansas/Iowa.... where, pray tell, is Jackanov?

Mr.Combine
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Jackanov,Kansas
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Name : Rusty Shackelford

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[Leighanne]

I don't know about you guys? I have only had my ONE Gecko little Gexie. He bite me extremely gently twice when I first got him and that is it. I read somebody talking about Reptiles not being like cats or dogs, but I beg to differ!

Gex is JUST like a little dog! He comes when called, but when he feels like it. He wiggles his tail, and he is kinda cuddly just not meant in our way. When I lay down he climbs up to my face and rests in between my shoulder and my cheek!! He is to cute!! Gex is very docile. If you get bite, don't do it again, and they are a lot like Snakes. Suck it up and keep holding them and they should get the picture! Geckos are also very smart! Gex is the smartest animal I have besides my new Rats of course!

 

[Leighanne]

An he also came from a Pet Store, and had a dropped his tail before coming to us. He was very skiddish, but not now!

 

[mhwc56]

Only had one little biting incident with a newly aquired female Giant (of all morphs & sexes to bite you LOL ) but now she and the others i got at the same time are 'sweet' as can be . They like to make me nervous (because they might fall )by walking up and balancing on the edge of the bin while im cleaning , or just walk right on my hand making it almost impossible to do .

This is after 6 months or so of cleaning and feeding only with occasional handling .

I had the same thing with one of my female Giants Dan. I hadn't had her very long. I think that maybe she was just feeling insecure for a while .You couldn't go anywhere near her tank because if she even saw you she was NASTY.That lasted about 2 weeks.

Rusty,is this male gecko near a female that he can see? My Abraham is the sweetest leo you can imagine ...except when there's a female "in season" nearby and he senses it. That's the only time he bites. Otherwise he will eat out of my hand ,climb and is in general very nice dispositioned.

 

[ellman605]

Maybe you should log off when you finish posting so that your brother can't give folks the wrong impression of you.

I'm related to lots of Shackelfords in Missouri/Kansas/Iowa.... where, pray tell, is Jackanov?

There is no such place as Jackanov Kansas, or Jakanov....i think this guy is just a con