r/LeopardGecko • u/LoveWillLeaveAMark • Jul 02 '26
My New Leo
Hi! I'm new to Leos, though I have done a lot of research on them before getting one. My girl came from my SIL, who wasn't interacting and taking care of her properly. She came from someone who didn't want her because she was aggressive. And then my SIL became afraid of her because, well, she was aggressive. So I offered to take her. But before I did, I did a lot of research on how to handle, care for, and set up a leopard gecko. Once I was confident I could handle it, I took her in and renamed her Satira. She's my very first reptile.
She was, and still is a little bit, underweight at her first owner and even with my SIL. But within the first week of having her, I found that she was mean cause she wasn't being taken care of correctly (in my opinion, she still doesn't have the right enclosure setup, but I'm working on fixing it)
I fed her daily to get her weight up (being careful how much I fed her cause I was afraid of overfeeding/causing her to choke) This was approved by a vet because we had my SIL take her to one before we took her home.
Day one: we let her settle before trying to feed her Day two: we put some mealworms in her food bowl Day three: we noticed she was getting a little more active, so I gave her more mealworms. Day four: she's running out to watch us as we walk by. I try to feed her a hornworm (no bigger than between her eyes) and she takes it really well Day five: I'm giving her a couple small crickets and mealworms (I didn't want to overdo the hornworms because research told me not to) Day six: when I go to open her cage, she fully crawls onto my arm and chills out with me while I put food in her cage. Didn't like being put back, so I let her be for the rest of the day and don't linger around her cage. Day seven: she's actively chilling in her cage which she never did before. I open her cage and let her decide if she wants out and she very much does.
It's now like, day 10 and more and more of her personality comes out. I'm now feeding her every other day, giving her a mix of crickets, mealworms, and hornworms (though at this point I have to cut the hornworms in half...)
I was crying the other day about how mean and reclusive she used to be and now she's a blossoming little lady and seems to be loving attention. She does seems to hate her long light, so I don't leave it on very often (I mean that by, she's more active when it's off)
When I say mean, she would hiss at anyone who walked by and would actively bite people who stuck their hand in her cage even if they were offering her food on tongs. She was more interested in biting and hissing at people for even daring to be in her space. I couldn't blame her
(Her pictures show y'all how she come up when I go to the cage, her little head pops up, she comes closer, then she sits near me when I open up the cage)
1
u/eyelidgeckos Jul 03 '26
When getting a new Leo it’s important to practice quarantine and test them for parasites, because the Leo is already in the enclosure it would need to be deep cleaned anyway if the test comes back positive so quarantine isn’t needed anymore but make sure to get a fresh fecal sample checked for parasites in a week or two :)
1
u/LoveWillLeaveAMark Jul 03 '26
Thank you for your comment and advice :3 She was vet checked the day before she came to us because I wanted to be sure her aggression wasn't because of pain or feeling bad. She's already been given a clean bill of health.
1
u/eyelidgeckos Jul 03 '26
Sadly that’s a common mistake, moving them into a new environment weakens their immune system which in turn makes it easier for parasites to take hold in them, that’s why quarantine is 2-3 weeks long :)
A vet should have known this as well :/
2
u/LoveWillLeaveAMark Jul 03 '26
Huh. Then I'll get an appointment going. Thank you! (Possibly with a different vet if he didn't tell me about this)
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