I rescued 2 leopard geckos about 3-4 weeks ago. One is very social and never hides. He goes in one of his caves but comes out and roams quite a bit. He eats and drinks well and is in great shape. However, the other leopard stays hidden in his cave all the time. Rarely do you ever see him. I rarely see him eat although he has eaten some and drank some water. But all in all you really never see him. I talked to a breeder at a reptile show yesterday and he told me to remove his cave that he loves to hide in leaving him with only a small log to hide in or his humid box. The breeder told me that he was going into hibernation mode and that I needed to make him come out and roam. I feel for him because he won't get into his log or humid box. I need some more expert advice on this as he looks somewhat miserable (although it's only been 24 hours) and I don't want to cause unnecessary stress on him. Any help would be much appreciated.
Question about "shy" leopard gecko
- Thread starter kenseth03
- Start date
Tongue Flicker
New member
My young geckos are nervous and shy as well. Always hiding in their moist hides. I just let them be. They'll overcome it thru time. Just make sure they are eating right
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
About how old are these leos? Housed together? Sexes? Similar in size?
A leo should not be "forced" to leave a hide where he feels safe. Let's troubleshoot other reasons for his behavior.
A leo should not be "forced" to leave a hide where he feels safe. Let's troubleshoot other reasons for his behavior.
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Ok. It's like I said they were rescued about 3-4 weeks ago. They were housed together in a 20 gallon long aquarium with a divider because they are both males. They each now have there own 20 gallon long. Before removing the cave he had that cave, a log hideout, and a humid box to take his choice where to stay. One half of the aquarium has a heat lamp and the other side is his cool side. The warm side stays around 82-84 degrees according to the thermometer on the back wall of the aquarium The cave he liked was directly in the middle of the aquarium. I don't know there ages due to them being rescues. This particular one is 6-7 inches long. The people who had them before said they got them about a year ago from a pet store. The "shy" one will let you pick him up but does squirm to get down after a few minutes. I have two geckos that were housed in the same 20 gallon long and they have totally opposite personalities. The only thing I can figure is one was more dominant and the other one continues to be shy due to being forced to be housed with him even though they had a divider. I think since he has his own enclosure now im just gonna have to keep picking him up and socializing him.