Meet my little one!

[MissFrances]

Hi everyone! I've had my (not so little!) leo for about three weeks now - I've been researching them for well over a year and finally adopted mine on my birthday! I'm new to the forums and to reptiles as a whole, so I've been quite a nervous new owner! Starting to relax a bit now we've had her for a while.

I impulsively refer to her as a female, but I don't actually know yet! I've picked two names - Izzy if she is a girl, or Richard (the Third) if he's a guy.

Anyway, here are some pictures! Taken the other day when I had her out for a weigh and a clean.


You might notice she has a bit of a lumpy back - she was like that when I got her! I was assured though that she's had a scan from the vet and that it's just a bit of a deformity, not a serious condition.

She's not had any issues eating, which I am super please about. There was a short period where she wasn't pooping, but that's cleared up now. We still don't see much of her, she likes to stay in her hides until really late at night, when she'll sit half-in, half-out of her hot hide, staring at the world! I weighed her on the 24th and she's at 52g at the moment, which I think is about right?

I made some mistakes when I got her - I actually bought her from Pets At Home, simply because I was happier with how they were kept than at my local reptile specialist - they had more hides, food, water, climbing rocks etc. Anyway, they hadn't sexed her, and I completely forgot to ask how old she was, or if they'd weighed her. I'm guessing, by her markings and her size, that she is an adult and not a juvie, but I don't know if there's any way to be sure?

I also wanted to ask about handling her. Obviously I have handled her already, after about two and a half weeks, but I don't quite know how to proceed from here. She seems quite uncertain about how she feels about humans at the moment. Some days, she'll be out in her tank and not concerned about movement around her. Others, she dashes off at the first sign of movement. She seems nervous about being picked up - I don't get any angry tail wags, screams or posturing, but she completely freezes and backs away from my hand - but once she is out and with me, she doesn't try to escape. She moves slowly, doesn't jump, climbs on me and sits on me for a while. Basically, I'm not sure if I should keep picking her up and handling her, or if I need to take it slower?

That's the end of my very long introduction. Nice to meet you all!

 

[Yoshi'smom]

Welcome to GU! Glad to have you both here! You've got a cute little one there! Little hunchback.
She definitely looks to be an adult.
If you look at her vent area and google search "sexing Leopard geckos" you should see a major difference between males and females. She should be relatively easy to sex at that size. If you need a second opinion, post up a clear, well lit picture of that area and we can help.
Handtaming geckos can be an arduous process that requires patience and maybe more so in your case as she's older and not had as much human interaction. Just take it slow and leave your hand in the tank. She'll eventually see you as a friend. I've had luck with putting my hand slowly down in front of a gecko and gently tapping the bum to get him to walk up and onto my hand.

 

[CWilson13]

She is definitely very pretty This picture at the end should help you determine her sex. I would guess she is about a year old given her size.
When I first got my male and was trying to get him used to everything, including being handled, was to speak to him each time I was in the room. Simply acknowledging him and making him aware of my presence went a long way. Also, any time I would clean up after him, feed him, give him water, etc I always let him smell my hand so he knows it is me and he is safe. I do this with all three of my reptiles in fact. Occasionally after he would smell me I would gently pet his back and depending on his reaction I would either let him be or do it a couple more times before carrying on with things. Now he is so used to me that I can put my hand flat in his tank and if he is in the mood he will climb right on and let me bring him out. The main thing to remember is to go at her pace. She may never be as happy to see you as say a dog would, but she will accept you and enjoy the time you spend with her out of her tank

 

[MissFrances]

Thank you both so much! She is a beautiful little hunchback! I fell in love with her straight away and couldn't turn her away

That's how we got her out the couple of times I've held her - tapping her carefully onto my hand. She loves her hides, though, so getting her to smell me is often hard because she's stashed herself away in her humid hide most of the time. When she is out in her hot one, I have been laying my hand in her tank to get her used to it or see if she wants to investigate. Most of the time she sits there and stares at it, but I think that's progress that she's not hiding away at least!

 

[MissFrances]

Used a laser thermometer to check the temp on her hot side tonight and suddenly out bursts a little someone! She chased it about and pounced on it like food. I took that to mean she was hungry and fed her some mealies. Is it mean to get them to chase the dot? :biggrin: she was more energetic hunting that than she is about any of her food normally!

 

[JessJohnson87]

I wouldn't suggest the laser dot thing for a gecko they can get hurt really quickly but for a cat then yes lol. I usually entice mine to come out by waving my roach spoon around with one on it and sometimes he just sticks his head out of the hide to eat it but it entices him to come out to hunt the rest that I throw in there.

 

[MissFrances]

I thought that! That's why I didn't keep at it once I realised what she was doing, worth an ask though! I normally wave whatever I'm feeding her in front of her cave, sometimes she goes for it, other times I have to near enough put it in there with her to get her interested. She was keen tonight though!

 

[JessJohnson87]

If you feed mealworms, you can get an escape proof dish and put it near a rock or something slightly taller than the dish for her to eat out of. I have the Lee's mealworm dish for mine and I will put 10 or so mealworms in and they're usually gone by morning or before I go to bed.

 

[MissFrances]

Thank you, Jess! I wondered why she stopped eating her mealworms when I put the escape proof lid on, I'll get her a rock to stand on!

I wanted to ask, is it harmful to take their hides off them? Not frequently, obviously, but there are some times when I don't see her for a couple of days and I need to spray or check her moss, and I wondered if it's alright to pop the lid off her hide in these cases to encourage her out. Is it very stressful for them?

 

[JessJohnson87]

That can cause them to become insecure but if it needs to be misted, there's not much you can do if she's in there. I wouldn't do it with the regular hides though.

 

[amsdadtodd]

Welcome to GU, and thank you for the detailed introduction!
I'm glad you aren't having any feeding issues, that's often the first and most immediate challenge!
Although it sounds like you've already decided against the laser pointer, I'm going to chime in just the same. There are two reasons why I would advise against this game. First, you just never know if you may accidentally bounce the laser off the glass and into your pets eye, causing damage. This same applies to cats, but moreso with leo's since we tend to keep them in glass tanks. Secondly, as you observed, they are visual hunters. They don't recognize the pointer as a game, rather than a meal, and if they are too often deprived of a meal they have been chasing, they may become reluctant to eat.

As to sexing, you should certainly be able to tell at that size. Use the pictures which Cory posted, the V shaped pattern of dark dots is very distinctive, and is a failproof way to determine a male. An immature male may be mistaken for a female, but a female will never show those dark dots the way a male will. She may show a pattern, but not darkened in like that.

Enjoy your new pet, I'm sure you'll be amazed as you recognize how intelligent these guys are!

Todd

 

[MissFrances]

Thanks for explaining that to me! You're all so helpful, I'm very grateful! I'm going to check her sex the next time I can get hold of her, which might take a while! I'm sure I'll get a picture to double check with you guys when I do

 

[CWilson13]

One thing I have seen often is people placing the Leo on glass or clear plastic, like a coffee table, and then taking a photo from underneath. Might be easier than trying to check with her in your hand.

 

[MissFrances]

That's a fantastic idea! Wasn't sure how I'd get her in a good position otherwise!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hi ~

A warm welcome to Geckos Unlimited! Beware, though, our hobby is addicting!

Another way to take a photo is to place your leo in a tall clear glass or deli cup and gently press her against the side. You could also gently press her against the glass of her enclosure.

 

[MissFrances]

Thank you, Elizabeth! I'm starting to feel it already, trying to hold off from getting consumed by the hobby too quickly

I haven't held her tonight, but when I went to feed her, I found this!

Looks like she's ready for a shed. I'm not sure if this is pre-shed or mid-shed, is this likely to happen tonight? If it does, would if be a good idea to get her tomorrow to check for anything stuck?

 

[amsdadtodd]

yes, that's happening tonight for sure. And, yes, you absolutely do want to check for pieces stuck to her feet, ankles, and eyes particularly, but generally all over.

Todd

 

[MissFrances]

She's shed and she looks gorgeous! She has some very pretty tones in her

I checked her over and I couldn't see anything stuck but now I worry about her toes because they looked a bit pale. However, her whole feet are quite pale anyway ,I don't think her toes were actually a different colour to the rest of her foot, and it didn't look loose or flappy, so I think I'm probably overreacting a bit. She won't come back out for me to check until tonight and I don't want to disturb her again and stress her out. If it is stuck shed, could she possibly sort it out herself today?

 

[ShiaLover44]

I am also new to owning a gecko. I don't have one yet. Hopefully by the end of this week. I don't care what gender it is. My best friend is an expert on reptiles/amphibians. She owns snakes, anoles, geckos, bearded dragon too and frogs. She told me the easiest reptile to care for for a beginner like me is the gecko. I can't wait!

 

[amsdadtodd]

Usually, they can take care of stuck shed themselves, especially if the moist hide has been kept properly moist. You're right in not wanting to stress her out, but if there is a good reason to believe she has stuck shed on her feet, then it's worth the risk of stress. Stuck shed can cut of circulation and cause loss of toes. So, it's really your call to make.

Todd