Progress with Loki!

So I have had him for exactly 3 weeks and 3 days, and every day since I have gotten him I have tried getting him used to me by sticking my hand in the cage. He always really slowly crawls into his cave and hides from me when I do so. Tonight was no different, and when I was about to give up and pull my hand out, I see him pop his head out of the cave. He then crawled right toward my hand and licked it! I am so excited to finally be making progress! I want to jump for joy!

awwww bless him looks likes he's finally getting used to your hand congrats and good luck with the little fella

That's exactly how it should go. Let him check your hand out and lick (taste) it until he is comfortable enough to climb on. Patience is key here.

Well done

Patience is everything with taming leos

Awww! Congrats!
Keep up the good work and soon he will be loving you!

Great news!

I was always such a big chicken with that part of the process that I just couldn't do it. I was always afraid that he would bite me, that I smelled like food or some other trigger so I just started picking him up and holding him, letting him walk all over me as we sat on the couch (found out that he loves watching TV doing that ) insted of doing all the hand laying stuff. He's hand fed so he was use to my hands in his viv. He turned out just fine I'm glad to hear things are going so well with Loki (which is also my son's ball python's name )

I think Loki is a perfect name for reptiles in general, because many are so mischievous! I also decided that since in one comic of Thor, Loki is reincarnated as a female, it doesn't REALLY matter if my leo ends up being a girl or a boy. And it is nerve-racking sticking your hand in the cage! But I figure since he's little even if he DOES bite me, it shouldn't hurt too bad. I've been bitten by a turtle, and that hurts a LOT, so I'm prepared! He came and layed down near my hand this morning, so maybe soon enough he'll let me touch him!



Also, I read on one site that you shouldn't hold a leopard gecko until they're at least six inches, but I've seen many other people hold babies. Is that just a personal preference? Is it okay to hold Loki before he gets to be six inches?

I've never heard that six inch rule personally. If we all waited until they were 6 inches to handle we'd be taming sub adults insted of juvies Just when you do start to touch your leo be aware that the bumps on their backs (tubercles) are very sensitive. Try to touch more of the lower sides and underside of the leo. It doesn't freak them out as much.

Thanks for the advice. I'm so excited to go home now and see if he'll let me pet him!

I'm not sure the act of "petting" is really gonna thrill any herp but I found that my boy eros, who is a quite shy fella, was a LOT more comfortable with being picked up and sat in my hand rather than any form of stroking or petting. Remember that these animals are prey creatures, they're use to when things larger than them picking them up or "licking" (which is what it can feel like if petted) usually means someone's gonna try and make a meal outta me. I found that picking up Eros and sitting him in my hand or taking him to the couch and letting him explore my lap was much more relaxing for both of us. He didn't feel threatened, I could put my knees up and make a platform with my hand that he would have to walk onto which got him use to getting on my hand (not that I ever take hiim out of his tank like that I always just pick him up), I just never let him get much farther up my torso than my chest as I kidna freak a bit when I can't see what he's doing, I'm still afraid he'll bite my neck as he has tried eating/biting or attacking my hair (not sure which hubby was the only witness to that one, I just felt it) before.

I think we put too much stock into not shocking our leos much. Anything we do is going to be slightly traumatic, but working in behavior for nearly 17 years has taught me that the more we try to baby them into an uncomfortable situation, rather than throwing them in head first, is harder for most animals to accept. We try to condition them gently into accepting being touched by upping the ante each time we interact, from seeing us to tasting us, to eventually being in our clucthces... why put your animal thru 3 stages of shock when you can put him thru 1 and accomplish the same end... your animal being conditioned to tolerate or maybe even come to enjoy handling.

Wow, what a good speech! You make a very valid point. I'm just going off what most websites say, but the "licking" thing makes total sense to me. I'm just going to be patient and HOPEFULLY, he'll crawl right into my hands! I'm really glad I joined this forum, all of my questions are answered thoroughly and everyone is really nice and very knowledgeable.

I'm really glad that we're meeting all your needs Callie Just move at your own pace with acclimating your leo to handling. No one knows your pet and your comfort levels better than you do. We're meerly here to be guides and advisors and possibly provide a little insight you may have not thought of.

You'll find that the more inf you get "from the horses mouth", being those experienced in the field, rather than any joe schmo that can throw up an inacurate care sheet regurgitated from someone elses mistakes insted of actually doing the research themsleves, will generally be the more reliable source of accurate information. Everyone here brings something special to the table, whether it's housing, morphology, feeding issues, what have you, I can almost guarantee we have a member that can help you accurately and effectively straight out the gate. No guessing or hunting for the right answers here

I'm so glad! I wasn't sure how I would feel about the board, but everyone here feels the same way I do about their herps, and I love it! And everyone giving advice seems really experienced, so I feel better about getting straight advice from you guys. I agree about the joe schmo dealie, and with anyone being able to post on the the internet nowadays, it's easy to get bad advice.