leopard Gecko

[Angi]

My Gecko is not getting friendy. He will snatch mealies out of my hand, but does not like to be held or petted. He is my son's pet and my son is fine with just looking at him, but I want him to be tame. Any ideas? The guy at the feed/pet store said just keep holding him. I don't want to stress him out though and I am not sure if this guy has any clue what he is talking about.
I also notice that his paper towels on the botton of his cage need to be changed about every other or every two days or they start to stink. Is this nornal. His pee has a strong oder. BTW I don't really know if he is in fact a he.

 

[ascott]

I was always under the impression that Geckos are not too fond of being handled?

I don't know that all folks that work at pet stops really know what they are talking about and are kinda like the person at the clothes store that says, yeah that looks great on you, when, well not so much....

I believe they would have a strong smell to the urine, just what they are...

There will likely be someone here that will give you their opinion as well, so hand tight...

 

[Tom]

Hi Angi. Personality is such a subjective thing, especially when it comes to reptiles. We've seen this repeatedly in our tortoise personality discussions. To some people what you describe with your gecko is pretty darn friendly. Personally, (no offense to the gecko lover's of the world) I've never found gecko personalities all that interesting. I prefer the big bruisers like my blackthroat monitor, who even though I consider him "friendly" still hisses at people and occasionally tail whips (well its more like tail "clubs" now that he's so big). Some people consider this behavior "unfriendly" or even "aggressive". I find this guy to be very personable. He'll gently eat out of my hand and approach anyone. Lets me pet him and instantly comes over to me when he sees me in or near his cage.

Other than hand feeding and gentle handling, I don't have any tips for you, but your geckos personality sounds pretty "normal" to me. They usually aren't all that personable in my experience. I've also had skunk geckos and African fat tail geckos and they were pretty much the same...

Sorry if this is bummin' you out. Just wanted to share my honest opinion with you.

 

[xxflowersxx]

I have 3 leopard geckos. I am not by any means an expert on them. I do know that two of them didn't mind being handled too much but the third was tricky. It would bark at us (yes, they bark) and try to escape constantly. It even bit me once. We just kept at it and continued to handle it once a day. Now it has no problem being held and will sit on my lap and pretty much just hang out. I wouldn't handle it more than once a day though. Just keep at it and eventually it'll get used to it.

One thing about leopard geckos is that they will always go to the bathroom in the same spot. It will generally be in one corner. If you notice it pretty much pooping anywhere in the enclosure, something might be wrong.

 

[Angi]

Thank you and no I am not bummed out. I still think he is cute and funny. At least now I don't feel like I got a gecko with mental problems. I will continue to try to hand feed him, but will lay off on picking him up unless he acts like he wants to be held. I don't want to stress him out. I do love watching him eat.

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Thanks Debbie and you are right Smallz does usually go in the same spot. I need to use a seperate paper towel in that spot so I don't have to change the whole cage. I just tend to want to redo the whole cage and wipe down the glass every time. I j need to change that habit.

 

[ChiKat]

I have two leopard geckos. My male does not like being handled at all, and I have had him for ~10 years! The only time I handle him is very briefly when I am changing his substrate.
My female is very docile however. Whenever I put my hand in her enclosure she tries to climb onto my arm She used to fall asleep on my lap when I would watch TV. But now I rarely handle her, and she is just as happy
I love that they are so low maintenance, and they are fun to watch. I still enjoy just sitting and watching them!

I have never noticed an odor with my geckos...

Doesn't he even look crabby? haha

And she's so sweet

 

[jackrat]

That sounds much like most of the gheckos I've had,tamer than some I've seen.

 

[Angi]

He is very cute Katie. The only oder my gecko has is his pee.