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Rich, who does the leo pictures?

HomeBreeder

HomeBreeder

Herphilious Lunacious
Rich, do you or your wife take the leo pics on the SerpenCo page? Do you dangle a grub near the lens or something? Whatever your trick, I think they are some of the cutest leo pics I've ever seen!

^Curtis
 
I guess I have to confess to taking the photos.

They are all hams and very easy to get some nice shots of. Connie has them all spoiled rotten so they are excellent photo subjects. My biggest problem is trying to keep them from walking directly towards the camera lens because they are curious about what the heck that thing is! They don't care much for the flashes, though, so I limit the number of photos I will take of any one animal.

My wife and I once read a section in a book on Leopard Geckos that said you shouldn't handle them at all, because they are very skitterish and easily drop their tails. We laughed so hard at this innacurracy that we almost choked to death. One of these days I need to get some photos of how the young ones will run across the shoebox when she opens the lid, stand on their hind legs at the front with their front legs dangling over the edge of the box, waiting for Connie to rub them on their heads and give them their crickets.
 
Elvis is in da house!

I just got my first gecko, Elvis (he's just as adorable as the formar ELvis, (when he was young, not old and fat)), I don't know much about them, and heard the same thing, this freeked me out, I don't want him to loose his tail that would be too sad however a friend told me that it's a wives tale that as long as you don't yank on the tails they stay firmly attatched... true, yes?

any gecko advise is greatly appreciated as I am new at this and don't have alot of gecko resources and my internet time is limited to when I am at work, and should be consentrating on work, which is hard when so many people post in one day and I have to catch up
 
Missy,

I'm not trying to "speak down" to you, but simply explain the issue regarding leos and their tails as best I can, so please bare with me...

A Leo *can* lose it's tail quite easilly. The reason so many pet-store leo's have stumpy tails is because they are kept in overcrowded conditions and so not only are the bigger leo's nipping the little ones, but they are ALL stressed out. I'm sure someone will correct me if there is a more expert voice in the croud, but I think that most accidental tail losses in lizards are a COMBINATION of environmental stress in conjunction with the other helpful conditions, such as responding to a fight/flight instinct at the same time a human is trying to keep them from sailing to the floor. Great conditions to lose a tail in: stress, running in great fear, and something grabs it by it's tail. One of the main reasons lizards HAVE tails is for self defense. Almost all lizards can lose their tails without suffering greatly.

Honestly, though - as long as you are careful you don't have to worry too hard that you're going to make your leo drop it's tail by handling it once in a while. The skin of a leo, as with many geckos, is also quite tender. A bad experience handling a leo would be at least as likely to result in a serious skin injury as a harless loss of the tail. So the message I'm trying to communicate is to be cautios and responsible when you handle your leo:

1. Do not hold your leo standing over an open floor; be seated or at a table (seated on the floor might be best) so that if the leo gets out of your grasp and falls that it's not going to be falling a great height.

2. In the event that your leo jumps out of your hands, you should be in an area where the critter can't hide. Not only is this helpful after the fact, but it will make YOU more relaxed if it makes a sudden move, thus helping you NOT grab it by it's tail.

3. The "together time" should be fun for both you AND your leo; try to pay attention to it's behaviour, and understand it's personality - they are all unique. If your leo seems more stressed than usual, maybe it'd be good to let them have some quiet time and try visiting again the next day.

If you and your leo are both calm while handling, that is the best situation. Until your leo is near adulthood I'd also be cautious about getting her out to show or share with friends. The extra noise and smells and movements will compound any stress she (or he) is experiencing.

The line Rich quotes IS pretty funny to anyone who's owned a leo for any length of time, but until you know any given leo that you make your pet I would excersize as much caution as feasible while handling, nevertheless.

In summary, leo's are the least "flighty" small lizard I can think of, but they are still prone to occasions of flightfulness, if you will. And they have just as much ability to auto-detach their tail as most other lizards, it's just that since they are more mellow it's not a real problem for the careful herper. So, please - don't get too worried, but remember that no matter how good a "parent" you are to your leo they might still lose their tail, and if they do it probably isn't the end of the world.

(You'd want to take it to your vet though, or at the very least dab a touch of neosporin on the stub (just once should do) to help limit the potential of infection; you'd also want to move the leo to a paper substrate for at least a week or two - again to limit the potential for any infection to set in.

I hope you and your leo have a long and happy life together!

^Curtis
 
I have also read somewhere that a a gecko in general can grow their tail back, but it will not be nearly as pretty as it was before.

I have also read that the biggest thing to be causous about is their skin. There is one type of gecko that all you have to do is touch a lil to hard and the skin will come off like rubbing allumin foil off of a potatoe.. (sorry I couldnt think of a better example but it is very sensitive and easy to do!)

So just buy a few books and read up on your spare time. :)
 
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