When treated on a daily basis, leopard geckos become very docile and quiet. However, since taking home a new leopard gecko, it is common for it to be nervous and jumpy. To tame your gecko, you’ll need to learn a few tricks and be careful. If you tame them, most babies and adolescents are fearful. The experts explore and exchange tips on how to tame a leopard gecko and gain its confidence in the sections below.
Are leopard geckos good for taming?
Do you want to know if geckos are polite and social? To begin, you should realize that most reptiles are independent animals with different needs and activities than mammals who live in communities with other reptiles, finding support and safety from one another.
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Here is what you should expect from the leopard gecko’s level of sociability:
These reptiles prefer to be alone
Even if your leopard geckos are already tame, you may find that they have some instinctual fear if you startle them by coming into their vivariums very soon, creating a sudden noise, etc. They are comfortable searching for their own food, sleeping alone, and doing their own thing.
Leopard geckos do not display affection, beyond the fact that they seem to be looking at you. About the fact that they can emerge unscathed, they want to be left alone in their tanks.
They don’t need to live with other geckos, too. Males can become violent if housed together, resulting in severe injury; males will often repeatedly mate with females, resulting in a great deal of tension and occasionally physical harm; and females will bully, struggle for food, and fight constantly.
Leopard geckos are curious
They can often come out and play whether new lights or hides are placed in their vivariums. They like leaning against the window in the evenings to see us pace about, watch TV, or switch lights on/off.
Use an owner’s hand to explore the outside world
When the geckos are about to leave the vivarium, they will peek out the window or scratch at the handle, and as soon as a hand is put inside, they will sit on it to get a clearer view of the outside world.
Geckos may find people useful
Leopard geckos will equate you with food, but if you enter their vivarium, they would most definitely come to see you and expect to be fed.
Leopard geckos often prefer to curl up on the neck, make themselves at home in human fur, or crawl up sleeves and inside pockets for extra warmth and security. This feels like affection from leopard geckos, at least, this is the closest to affection that you may expect to get from.
Can you tame both young and older leopard geckos?
It’s better to train a baby or young leopard gecko than it is to train an adult or older pet. This is particularly valid if you have rescued an elderly leopard gecko with a troubled past; it will never truly trust anybody again in the future.
However, never give up hope and keep seeking. Some reptiles dislike being treated, but with time, you can get to know your leopard gecko.
How to tame a leopard gecko: 8 useful tips
A leopard gecko should have hides and a shedding box
For the first week or two, the gecko is likely to cover a lot. Make sure your pet has two hideouts: one on the warm side and one on the cold side. You’ll still need a shedding box, which you’ll line with a moisture-retentive substrate like vermiculite.
Your gecko would feel insecure if you don’t supply it with hides, and the taming phase would be postponed. Taming the gecko would be simpler if it feels healthy.
Give a gecko time to acclimatize
Leave time for acclimatization after taking your leopard gecko home. Since your leopard gecko would be afraid and want to protect itself, acclimating to new surroundings is critical.
It’s safer not to touch the gecko for the first three weeks after you get it home. Allow it to be and do not treat or contact the pet at this time. Even for the first fortnight, don’t stand outside the cage. After a week, sit and observe the reptile in the evenings while it is busy and visible.
But that doesn’t suggest you won’t interact with your pet; be sure to approach the tank a couple of times per day. Do not hold or touch your gecko during this time; just put food in a cup, adjust its water, and so on.
You may begin by putting the food bowl next to the hide box so that it feels safe. Through each passing day, gradually move the food bowl farther forward.
Anything can be performed slowly with clean hands (no cream or something else) with the hand slowly placed into the tank to execute the activities. For a week or so, your gecko is likely to approach, sniff, and even lick your hand.
Hand feeding is the first baby step to tame a leopard gecko
You should put the food in the bowl for your pet for the first two weeks. Make sure your pet sees you taking the food and this will help create confidence. For the first few days to a week after you carry it home, the gecko is likely to reject all food.
You should start hand feeding after around 3 weeks of acclimatization. This will make taming the leopard gecko a lot easier. Offer the leopard gecko with a few insects on the hand.
If the reptile bites or catches the insects from the hand, don’t make any abrupt motions. Some unexpected motions will frighten your leopard gecko, and confidence will be lost once more.
Since food is synonymous with good stuff, your gecko may recognize that you are not a danger.
Hand feeding can be avoided for the first two weeks, as your leopard gecko can become terrified instead of bonding with you. Your gecko would feel more relaxed if you wait a little while.
Slowly insert your hand into the tank from the edge, never from the top. Check with your gecko and see if he’s involved.
Place your leopard gecko’s food in a bowl and hold your hand next to the bowl as it feeds if it’s still violent after two weeks. This is a positive indication if your pet is feeding with your hand next to the dish.
Do not touch the reptile’s setup for 1 month
A key concept is to not make any adjustments to your leopard gecko’s configuration for at least a month to enable it to adapt. Do not shift any of the tank’s accessories or the tank’s position.
This is why it’s important to schedule ahead of time for your leopard gecko’s delivery. You can easily adjust the arrangement if you just took your gecko home.
Making your pet feel at ease would help you gain its confidence and tame it faster.
Do not make sudden/jerky movements
You may scare your pet to death if you make any abrupt or jerky motions. This is valid not only for newly bought pets but even for those you’ve seen for a long time.
Do not shout!
Taming the gecko may be helped by speaking quietly around it. Your pet will begin to understand your voice after a bit.
However, never yell or shout in the tank because leopard geckos despise it. The same goes for hearing very noisy music or television playing near the tank.
First handling sessions
After 3-4 weeks begin handling sessions. Your leopard gecko should begin to trust you after two weeks of acclimatization. Begin hand-feeding during the third week. During the 3rd week, if your leopard gecko seems to be at ease, you will begin managing sessions.
But keep them brief – begin with 5 mins and raise by one minute every other day. Any single day, handle. Making sure you just approach the gecko until it has awakened from its nap, which will be in the evening.
Never wake up the gecko; it will get nervous and irritable. Most notably, within the 1st week of handling, do not pick up the pet; instead, allow it to climb on your hand.
Do not stroke the gecko within the 1st week of handling. In the first week, as your pet seems to be at peace, begin softly stroking it, but not overly. To stop frightening your cat, start with just a few touches.
Always handle a leopard gecko before feeding it
It is important that you treat the gecko before feeding it. Your leopard gecko will finally realize that you’re a positive figure and that there will be feeding after you appear in this manner.
If you pick up your gecko after it has eaten, it will regurgitate food and urine on you.
Let it explore your hands
Help your gecko to step on your hands if you want him to. Start gently raising your pet a few inches off the ground after a few days of good handling – this would be a fresh experience for your partner.
This can only be accomplished until the gecko has been used to you and is comfortable with you approaching them or even handling them. Instead of bending back to pick it up from above, scoot the hand under the pet from the front and “scoop” it up to hold. Hold them just a few inches above the bottom of the tank before it is calm enough to be taken out fully.
Picking them up in this manner allows them to anticipate your arrival and prepare for your hand. It also offers total body protection. When they are secure enough, some geckos can also crawl into your hand. When you pick it up from above, they don’t see you coming too clearly, and it mimics a bird or predator picking it up, which may cause them to become very frightened.
How can you gain the trust of your leopard gecko?
Hang out more
Sitting quietly by your geckos’ cage and performing quiet things will help them get to know you. This helps them to move to you while they’re calm and check you out when you’re not looking. If your gecko is light-sensitive, participate in behaviors that involve only minimal amounts of light.
Talk to your gecko
As strange as it might seem to others, conversing with your gecko is an excellent way to acclimate them to your presence. Talking to them before touching or eating them not only gets them used to you, but it also lets them realize you’re there and reduces the risk of startling them.
If they are surprised simply by your voice, consider speaking with a gentler or harsher accent. If they’re always upset, consider just sticking with them. When they’ve been upset, it’s better to leave them alone.
Let the gecko get used to your smell
If you do have an old shirt or one that you don’t care about, you might use it to decorate your gecko’s tank. This will assist them with becoming more used to your scent and adjusting to it.
Tong feeding
It’s worth attempting to feed the geckos with tongs if you have them. This helps them to equate you with eating, which is a really good feeling, rather than explicitly associating the fingers with food. This can result in several bites. Give only snacks with tongs if you want them to feed exclusively from a bowl. If you don’t have tongs, show them the food with your fingers before sticking it in their food bowl. Remember that this will cause them to confuse the fingers with food, and if you want to hold them, they will bite them assuming you have food.
Put your hand in the cage
This can only be achieved once the pet is used to your existence and is not disturbed by your presence outside their cage. You place your hand on the opposing side of the cage from where they are. Making no abrupt motions or bringing the hand closer. Allow the gecko to explore on their own initiative. When they crawl upon you for the first couple days it’s better not to raise your hand because this could frighten and make them afraid of your hand again. Remove your hand if they are irritated or afraid of it, and try once again a few days or weeks later.
How long does it take to tame a leopard gecko?
Each leopard gecko’s taming phase is unique, but it usually takes 3-6 weeks for your gecko to become completely tame.
Some geckos, on the other hand, become tame within the first week, although others require a year or won’t ever be completely tame.
You’ll have to start again if you make some major errors during the taming phase, such as scarring or throwing your gecko backward.