Handling and Behavior

The short version

• No handling for the first two weeks in a new home [2].
• Start with five-minute sessions every other day, supporting the whole body and staying close to the ground [2].
• Never grab the tail. It detaches easily and grows back looking different [1].
• Keep one gecko per enclosure [2].
• A winter cool-down is a breeding technique, not something a pet gecko needs [20].

Settling in

Give a new gecko two weeks with no handling. If it has not eaten by the end of that time, keep your hands off and see a reptile vet [2].

To help it get used to you, rest a hand in the enclosure for a few minutes each evening, with no lotion or scent on your skin [2].

Handling

After the settling-in period:

• Start with five-minute sessions every other day, then lengthen them gradually and work up to daily [2].
• Support the feet, body and tail [2]. Many keepers scoop from the side and below rather than reaching down from above (keeper experience, not proven).
• Never grab the tail [2].
• Stay close to the ground, such as sitting on the floor, in case your gecko jumps [2].

Leopard geckos tolerate handling well once settled, but they do not seek it out. Think of yours as a pet to watch and hold now and then, not a cuddle pet.

Temperament and daily rhythm

Leopard geckos are mainly nocturnal and live on the ground [1]. Many keepers see them most active around dusk and dawn, so expect to see yours out and about in the evening. Research shows they can use low levels of UVB to make vitamin D3 [14], which is why low UVB can help (see the Housing chapter).

Front-opening enclosures make geckos far less defensive than a hand coming down from above (keeper experience, not proven).

Living alone

House leopard geckos alone. Housing them together can lead to severe bite wounds, dropped tails and even broken bones, and this happens between females as well as males [2]. Keepers report females that lived together peacefully for a long time and then turned on each other (keeper experience, not proven). Males fight, and a male and female kept together breed constantly, which wears the female down.

Tail drop

The tail is a fat store, and it is built to break off along natural fracture lines with surprisingly little pressure, as an escape from predators. It regrows as a cartilage rod [1], and the new tail usually looks shorter, fatter and patterned differently.

In captivity, tails drop when they are grabbed or pinned, when a cage-mate attacks, after a sudden fright, or when a tail is trapped in decor (keeper experience, not proven).

Care after a tail drop:

• Move your gecko onto paper towel to keep the wound clean.
• Keep the humid hide damp.
• Leave the stump alone. No ointments unless your vet prescribes them.
• Feed more often, with fattier items such as superworms or an occasional pinky mouse, because the fat store is gone [6].
• Keep handling to a minimum until the wound has healed over. Keepers usually see this take a few weeks (keeper experience, not proven).

See a vet if the stump swells, darkens or smells, or if your gecko stops eating.

Do leopard geckos brumate?

Pet leopard geckos do not need a winter cool-down. Some breeders cool adults to 74–78°F (23–26°C) for six to eight weeks before the breeding season, stopping food 10 days before cooling and keeping water available the whole time. They never cool first-year females that are still growing [20]. If you are not breeding, keep normal temperatures all year. A gecko that keeps normal temperatures and still stops eating and loses weight should see a vet. See the Breeding chapter for how cooling works.