I was away for 3 days, went working with crocodiles in the Northern part of SA Got back...Kim the Leo is calm but she did get startled once though, but I noticed she's waving her tail around!? Isn't that a male thing? Is there a chance that 'she' is actually a he? Lastly...any ideas on how to 'tame'/calm a skittish/defensivr leo? I can't really get any advice on this...
Tail waving is not really gender specific. Most leos will wiggle their tail before going in for the kill when hunting prey. Taming really just takes patience and time. It can take multiple months to get a leopard gecko truly used to being handled. Just continue to work with her slowly as I know you are. She will come around eventually. =)
Yeah... She waves her tail UP in the air, and she is quite aggressive lately now. She tried to bite me earlier, I have no idea what's up with her. If my hand is outside against the glass, then she happily watches me but if my hand is inside, then she waves her tail or charges at me. She was such a sweetheart and quite calm when I got her, and a few weeks after that... She let me hold her in my hand about 3 times, trying to handle her now is out of the question. I'm patient... I just hope she calms.
Okay she's very aggressive. She's lunged at me 3 times today, 2 of those times my hand wasn't even in the vivarium... Got any ideas? Any info you need?
How about you give us all the info you can on her and her terrarium! Lighting, size, how often you feed, how old she is, etc etc etc. Do you keep the leos together? When did she shed last?
Wooden vivarium: 30-40 gallons, she's happy with it. -50 Watt infrared heat light for Winter nights, but it's Spring now. -Heat pad inside vivarium (I can't remember the wattage), the vivarium floor temperature is usually at 32-35 Degrees Celsius, on the hot side. The breeder told me it needs to be at least 30 during the day. -She's 4 months old. -I feed her every night, she can eat until she is full and I usually remove the left over crickets/mealies in the morning. -She does...uhh...pooh like normal. -Doesn't sleep all the time, she's healthy. -She last shed about 12 days ago ago, but like I said, she's been aggressive/weary for more than a month now. -No I only have one female. -She is growing. -She was very calm, tolerant and curious about a week after I got her and continued to be so for about a month. Now she is always weary and lunges at me.... and seems to HATE shadows. -I've had her for over 2 months. -I use a flat carpet as substrate. -She always has water, I supplement her food once a week with Vitamin D3 and her mealworm bowl has pure calcium in it. -She sometimes waves her tail around after she has lunged at me... -She sits at the glass a lot at night and watches me, when my hand is near the glass she just watches it, but more like she watches a juicy mealworm... *****-A family member's friend sprayed her with a water bowl a few times and that ticked her off, I don't know if I've ever been so mad at someone. A friend said she might be a 'hot female', but that whole thing was debunked by vets, leopard gecko females behavior can't be determined by incubation temperature. Need anything else?
No I don't think so.. Everything seems right, except that the temperature on the hot side seems to be a little too warm. It should be 32-33 degrees celcius at most... Nothing too off but maybe its something you should take care of when possible Do you sometimes leave bugs running freely in the viv? There is a possibility that hungry crickets can chew/bite the leo. This can annoy/unsettle the leo and, I guess, leave wounds and marks. Can you see any abnormalities on her? I know you can't really pick her up but you know, maybe its an idea to look at her through the glass if she is standing by it watching you. not only for insect bites but like check her out in general. If she's been sprayed by someone (like you mention with your family member) I guess she could've sort of lost a bit of trust to humans or something if it made her mad when it happened. Anyhow it sounds like she is having trust issues at the moment (or is sick and in pain, but it doesnt sound like the case since she is eating, pooping, sleeping and her setup seems fine..) I would probably suggest just reeeaally slowly easing her into being used to hand holding again. 2-3 times a day, stand with her by the glass, open the window, try to read her emotions to see if she is "aggressive" and if thats the case, don't put the hand in. Oh and never reach out for her from above her, try to come from the side/front (this sometimes lead to really unconfortable positions with the arm, trust me I know lol). Just keep doing that and go a little closer to her each time you put the hand in you know. If she isnt lunging at you when your hand is in the viv, dont pick her up, just let her smell you and maybe walk over your hand etc so she knows she can trust you sorry for the long answer!
No she has no bite marks. I forgot to mention, I rarely feed her crickets because they are annoying. I usually feed Dubia roach nymphs and mealworms, the Dubias almost never get out of the food bowl. The hot side doesn't feel that hot, sorry, there's just so many care sheets on the Internet and I found many suggesting 93-97 degrees Fahrenheit, 97 is abou 36 degrees Celsius. The vivarium without the heat light is 30-32, I checked it again with a more reliable thermometer. I think when summer comes, the vivarium shouldn't exceed 35, but I'll use her thermostat then to control the temp. So I guess she has a trust issue? She just really hates my hand at the moment... Long answers are helpful, thanks
Yeah I know it can be confusing Who knows, maybe she was hot and sweaty and thats why she's mad lol. I hope she comes around and starts acting like a lady again soon
