breathing?

I'm just wondering what do normal, healthy geckos breathe like? because I have never really watched my gecko breathe.. but today i did when she was sat on my arm.. meanwhile annoyed because i wasn't letting her run off the bed lol .. anyway, she takes deep breaths in and then does quick breaths out.. and i can see her body moving as she breathes.. it's weird :/ i don't know much about gecko illness.. just wanted to know if its normal.

and she also freaked me out a little. banana is a hyper gecko that doesnt sit still and be petted but after watching her breathe like that on my arm.. i decided to sit and watch for like 5 mins.. and she relaxed :/ which isnt normal for her.. or she just hasnt done it before. she laid down with her tummy flat and was all like docile and kind of floppy... do they go like that when they are chilling out? i picked her up and she was like all relaxed :S i probs sound stupid but she has never been chilled like that before.

im way over paranoid.. but i love my pets too much and i freak out and worry at the tiniest things

do you think she might have a respiration infection? I don't see how she would have one because the temps are 34-36C and she doesn't have too much humidity.. just the moist hide. But i think she is breathing weird and she keeps making noises :/ should i increase the temps higher?

from what you have said it sounds like perfectly normal behavior, my male that had both his hemipenes off breaths and relaxes like that even when you pick him up.
it doesn't sound stupid, i've found geckos behave in all manner of strange ways lol
and if she had a respitory infection she would be breathing with her head lifted up and mouth open so dont panic

haha okay i trust your advice because you've owned way more reptiles than i will probs own ever. i just get soo worried sometimes. she does lift her head alot but thats when shes being nosey i hope :/ no open mouth breathing yet soo I won't go to the vets. have any of your leos ever made noises?

no need to go to the vets yet.
my 2 super giant males make a clickin/grawling noise when i pick them up sometimes if thats the noise your on about?

yeah thats the noise banana makes .. she does it when shes grumpy (most of the time lol ) or getting annoyed because i won't let her run off. lol when i was reading about the symptoms of respiratory infections i was like AHH! because it said making noises was a sign.

yeah bubbling/popping noises are normally associated with respitory infections but normally a vet will hold the animal with its mouth open to there ear to hear whats going on when they breath.

my boys will chat to me if i talk to them by using the clicking/grawling noise but its only the super giant boys that chat to me as silly as it sounds lol

:/ how do i get my gecko to open her mouth for me? will she bite me lol?

do you know the second part of my original message on this thread.. is that normal? she has never relaxed like that before? she was like lifeless but breathing lol

its not always easy to open there mouths, i use the tip of my nail or a drinks stirer but you can do it by putting them on there backs and gently tapping the tip of there nose and yes you may get biten trying lol

with the relaxing maybe for the first time she felt safe/comfortable enough to do so, its not really a odd behavior.

:/ i feel bad because i spoilt her relaxed moment because i got freaked out that it was something to do with her breathing.. i bet she won't relax on me again

she may have been absorbing heat from you aswell, was she cold when you spoilt her relaxing?

not cold.. just normal.. not hot. and she is normally like that and im normally warm but she still doesnt relax lol

i think you just have a strange little girl lol, a couple of mine flatten there bellies and relax if i put them on garys hand due to him being warm if they are cold from me cleaning out before turning there heating on in the morning.

i do have a strange gecko i think she just doesnt like me lol

i a few that i think dont like me so i wouldn't worry lol

hahaha some people i know say that girl animals like man and boy animals like women. :/ soo i don't know when i buy a gecko from jordan it will hopefully be a lovely, docile one that loves me

Typical things to see when your leo is breathing normallly, is the skin on the bottom of their jaw going up and down and the sides of the ribs going in and out.
As Sam mentioned staring and gauping are bad signs.

Haha, hopefully Sarah, though young gecko's are rarely docile, more like fun hyper maniacs to play catch with. sorry don't mean to scare ya

okay that means banana is breathing normally then.. she does all that you mentioned. but why is she always making sounds? i thought leopard geckos were generally silent pets lol

haha thats okay i wont be handling it out of the viv until its big lol like 5 months old or something.

nah gecko's can be vocal, some more than others, its usually to show distress or pain, but i have some that do it for no apparent reason... lol

The behaviorest in me can certainly venture a guess... breathing deply and huffing like that could be an objection or threat display anxiety or stress but sounds most to me is a threat. Objecting to your handling by acting all bad ass and intimidating... then you call the bluff by staring it down, adjusting your body posture so your looming over banana now YOU'RE be threatening and then you see submission as banana knows she'd nevr win a confrontation hence the low limp submissive posturing. Eros goes flat and semi limp when he fells threatened or if a dog passes by while he's out. With all animals regardless of species body language is universal and key. Submission and threat are unmistakeable.

Just a little off topic for a sec, Sarah next time you're playing with your bunny and you're lookin right in his face layin on the bed or floor, wiggle your upper lip/nose at the same pace he is for about 10 seconds then switch it and wiggle slower than him, he should adjust his nose wiggling to match your pace. My french lop Marilyn will do this with me for a half hour taking turns who sets the pace of the nose wiggle. Wish I could tell you what type of behavior is expressed thru nose wiggling (fear axiety etc) but the best people have is speculation. It is speculated a slow nosewiggle is a sign of relaxed/contentment then after were done she'll usally run off in a circle and do a couple binkies (flying bounicng twisting kicking kinda move) which they do when they're happy.

So there's your rabbit fyi for the day check out a site called "the language of lagomorphs". It's great for understanding what your rabbit is telling you

haha thats okay then. banana will just be sat on my arm and make a noise. it worries me lol .. like tonight i was sat there reading something in my head soo i was talking and she was sat there and then croaked at me lol

:/ i can't see banana feeling threatened lol .. i just sit there and she walks on my arms and then gets annoyed when i move her if she's climbing off me and starts running to hide down the side of my bed lol i would be happy if she was in submission mode all the time .. then she would be easy to turn over to remove shed lol and not get all hissy with me when im handling her.

haha that rabbit thing sounds cool i will try it with jacob tomorrow lol .. woo i love it when they go crazy and start jumping around. if i leave jacob in my living room, he runs across the floor and leaps into the air and then slides on the wooden floor