Did we mess up the first year with our panther gecko?

Discussion in 'General Geckos' started by onnawufei, Apr 2, 2012.

  1. onnawufei

    onnawufei Embryo

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    I hate being the newbie whose first post is a question, but I thought y'all could help me out. Basically my questions are:

    1. Did we mess up by not handling our panther gecko?

    2. Is there a way to get him to stop being so reclusive?

    And now explanations! A little over a year ago my husband bought a panther gecko. I want to point out that since he wanted to get a lizard he did all the research, it didn't dawn on me that maybe I should do some too. My husband told me that panther geckos don't like to be held, so in all the time we've owned him I've only touched him once, and that was to get him to move so I could put something in his tank. Now I'm looking around and reading that panther geckos should be handled, but I don't know if it's too late or not. Given how reclusive he is now, I have a feeling he wouldn't like it if I tried to hold him.

    At first we would frequently see Perry out and about, sitting on his log or behind the rock he hides in. When we'd feed him he had no problem being out in the open, and I was even able to get some videos of him hunting crickets. But for the past few months we've stopped seeing him. The only reason we even know he's alive is because the tank isn't overrun with crickets, and sometimes I'll see him stick his head out of his rock. On the weekends I'll sometimes be up till 2:00 am and even then I won't see him out. Is that normal? It really bums me out that I never get to see him anymore, I keep hoping this is just some phase he'll get out of.

    Anyway, thank you to anyone who can help, and I apologize if starting off by asking a question is frowned upon.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Louie

    Louie Member

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    My male is very shy and will not venture out in light . He is the white one in black light that I use at night but the female is very bold and out in day light and you see her all the time.

    I am not into holding them as due to their thin legs I wont risk it but those that do have gotten them used to them by holding them since young.

    As you know they are super fast so keep that in mind and another reason why I did not hold them.

    Due to the female as they have gotten older the male is out much more and though we should not give lizards human traits. I do think they enjoy the company of another gecko as long as not two males and they feel more secure.

    Is the room where he is kept brightly lit?

    PICTUS a1.jpg
    PICTUS A2.jpg
     
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  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    Welcome to the boards! =)

    It is certainly not frowned upon, actually we encourage members to ask questions. Thats the forum is for: to ask questions, help each other out, and gain knowledge.

    1) Not necessarily; there is always time to acclimate a reptile to being handled. Now, there is really no benefit for the gecko itself to be handled, but if you would enjoy handling your pet and wish for it to be a low-stress experience for the gecko then it is important to try to get the gecko used to being handled. This will make it easier for you come time to handle the animal, and it can make it less scary for him. While establishing a relationship early can be better; most young herps are naturally flightly and tend to become more relaxed with age. You should start slow with handling, and allow him to build trust with you. Perhaps try offering food items by hand to start so that he associates food with you.

    2) This is a difficult question to answer. For starts, this is a nocturnal species who will naturally want to hide throughout much of the day and may only be active while you are sleeping in the late night. We also do not know enough about the animal or his husbandry to decide if there is a minor flaw that must be remedied which may be resulting in him being so shy... furthermore, it can completely depend on the individual gecko. Some are just very shy and reclusive, others are more adventurous...this species may be a more timid one to begin with. And finally, it has been cold winter the last few months, and many species naturally slow down in the wintertime.

    We will need a little more information about your care/husbandry practices to aid you further... with deductive reasoning it may be possible to find a detail that can be fixed to help the situation. Sometimes a few degrees can make a substantial difference in reptile behavior.

    Can you tell us more about the care you are providing?
    -How large is the enclosure? Where is it located? (high traffic area of the house for example)
    -How many hides does he have?
    -What kind of substrate/bedding are you using in the cage?
    -What kind of heat source are you using (UTH, Heat tape, Heat lamp, etc). If using a bulb, how many hours a day is it on?
    -What are the temperatures in the enclosure? What are you measuring these with? [Be specific, some types of thermometers are very inaccurate]
    -How frequently do you feed him? What prey items do you offer?
    -Are you dusting the food items with supplements? What kind and how often?

    I also want to add, that you should never leave insects unattended in the cage for an extended period of time. If the gecko is uninterested in food or sleeping, they will nibble on him. Crickets can do serious physical and psychological damage to reptile...I've seen some pretty nasty pictures of wounds and even death by the feeder insects. This could be another potential problem, I see that you mentioned that the gecko's cage is not overrun with crickets which may imply that you leave them in there for long periods of time. Generally you want to only offer as many insects as the gecko will eat in a 10-20minutre period of time, then remove them; or feed from a dish.
     
    Louie likes this.
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Louie

    Louie Member

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    Here is a pic of one of the anery babies . This year I have hatched 20

    baby pictus.jpg
    baby pictus eggs.jpg
     

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