Cage aggression

[Just for fun]

Hi!
I am hoping for some insight from keepers who have kept these wonderful guys longer than me.

I just got a new male on May 7th and as the title indicates he is a snappy little bugger lol! I have not actually tried holding him as I am letting him settle in...but everytime I clean or replace food/water he is trying to get me! Just curious from experience can they be gently handled and worked out of this behavior? I do have 2 others who are sweet as can be. I know personality plays a role in this and all are different but I am overall curious what other opinions are on trying to tame the beast

I am a fairly new to these guys but they are moving up on my list of favorites very quickly, I love their personalities!! I do keep gargoyles, cresties, e.agricolae. I have never had cage aggression with any of my others, though have been nippled on a few times by some of my gargs when startled. I just love the hobby and do not breed

Thanks for reading!

 

[Frogmom]

How old ? Chahoua usually calm down nicely. It's hard at this point to determine since he's new and been through a lot of changes. I have learned that baby / young chahoua of mine can get very reactive if they think crickets are coming. They will lunge first and think later. lol They out grow this. The only biting chahoua I have is a 7 yr old male who never attacked until he got a mate. Now he hates me. I think it's too early to pass judgement on your guy. Perhaps a little bigger cage so you can feed without being so close to him ? Lift him out when on a branch or cork. Don't try to pick up until he calms down. I usually handle new geckos in the bathroom with the door shut so they can't make a get away. You know these tricks from your other geckos !

 

[Just for fun]

How old ? Chahoua usually calm down nicely. It's hard at this point to determine since he's new and been through a lot of changes. I have learned that baby / young chahoua of mine can get very reactive if they think crickets are coming. They will lunge first and think later. lol They out grow this. The only biting chahoua I have is a 7 yr old male who never attacked until he got a mate. Now he hates me. I think it's too early to pass judgement on your guy. Perhaps a little bigger cage so you can feed without being so close to him ? Lift him out when on a branch or cork. Don't try to pick up until he calms down. I usually handle new geckos in the bathroom with the door shut so they can't make a get away. You know these tricks from your other geckos !

Thanks so much for responding! Duh on my part, I should have explanined age, enclosure and such. He is going to be 3 in July and he is an Exo Terra 18x18x18, he was previously in a setup equivalent to a 10 gallon from the previous owner. He does have cork rounds & flats, vines, magnetic hides & ledges & feeder. Also a live plant, as well as some fake plants which he seems to enjoy hiding behind! I try to not go near him at all but he seems to see me coming lol All of my others will just scurry away if they are near the feeding ledge, but he seems to like to defend instead of run. I know he definitely needs more time to adjust and though not a baby/juvenile he is still young when it comes to New Caledonia species. My curiosity got the better of me and I love to hear other people’s experience’s

 

[Michael]

Welcome to the forum!!

As much as Chahoua have sweet and interactive personalities, they can also have a protective and snappy side... but it really does vary individual to individual. Just as an overview:

• I have two geckos who will go up to the top of the tank when I walk into my gecko room and bang their heads/faces on the top of the tanks. As crazy as it sounds, I swear that both are asking to come out and when I slide the tank top off, they eagerly walk out of the tank, up my hand, up my arm and sit on my shoulder. They are, somehow, conditioned that when they see me, they want to come out of their tanks.
• I have other geckos who will dive and go into the Chahoua "O" form just at the sight of me going into their tank. Sometimes they even squeak!
• I have a female who will eat directly from my hand/fingers. I have others who will only eat in the dark of night.
• I have some females who will let me take their eggs peacefully, and others who are ready to wage WW3.

So... they definitely have their own personalities. I will say those personalities seem even more pronounce as your gecko gets into adulthood and then is paired up. I haven't found my chahoua to be as cage aggressive as leachianus, but during breeding season, both males and females can be snappy about my entering their cages. It's less of an aggression and more of a warning that I'm in their personal space.

Was your male paired up before you had him? Is he paired up now, or does he live alone?

I do think a little more time will help... but he might just have a more protective personality. Also, share a pic of him if you can!

 

[Frogmom]

Chahoua are VERY intelligent. They don't forget. Everything Michael said and it's hard to say at 3 yrs old how your guy lived before , was handled and what experiences he had. And some are just stinkers like anything can be. I sold a lovely young leachianus because he wouldn't settle down. Bought him at 1 month old and by 8 months he still wouldn't cooperate. We are not supposed to expect any reptile to be tame / social. But I personally enjoy interacting with them

 

[Just for fun]

Welcome to the forum!!

As much as Chahoua have sweet and interactive personalities, they can also have a protective and snappy side... but it really does vary individual to individual. Just as an overview:

• I have two geckos who will go up to the top of the tank when I walk into my gecko room and bang their heads/faces on the top of the tanks. As crazy as it sounds, I swear that both are asking to come out and when I slide the tank top off, they eagerly walk out of the tank, up my hand, up my arm and sit on my shoulder. They are, somehow, conditioned that when they see me, they want to come out of their tanks.
• I have other geckos who will dive and go into the Chahoua "O" form just at the sight of me going into their tank. Sometimes they even squeak!
• I have a female who will eat directly from my hand/fingers. I have others who will only eat in the dark of night.
• I have some females who will let me take their eggs peacefully, and others who are ready to wage WW3.

So... they definitely have their own personalities. I will say those personalities seem even more pronounce as your gecko gets into adulthood and then is paired up. I haven't found my chahoua to be as cage aggressive as leachianus, but during breeding season, both males and females can be snappy about my entering their cages. It's less of an aggression and more of a warning that I'm in their personal space.

Was your male paired up before you had him? Is he paired up now, or does he live alone?

I do think a little more time will help... but he might just have a more protective personality. Also, share a pic of him if you can!

Thanks so much for responding and your helpful personal experience!

I am 99% sure he was never bred, he has a slight underbite. He lives all alone. I only keep males, I never plan to breed and really prefer not dealing with eggs.

I totally agree that every gecko has a unique personality! I am hoping that he will settle down or I can win him over with my charm lol

Total side note- This forum is so awesome, I have already read most posts and can not wait to see it grow. I have never been a main stream social media person and love the “old” forums

 

[Just for fun]

Also here is a picture of his enclosure and of him. There is cork bark all around, it is just hidden. I know most people don’t use to many plants but so far he seems to enjoy them??? I did not get a great picture of him he was hiding and I did not really want to get to close.

 

[Just for fun]

Chahoua are VERY intelligent. They don't forget. Everything Michael said and it's hard to say at 3 yrs old how your guy lived before , was handled and what experiences he had. And some are just stinkers like anything can be. I sold a lovely young leachianus because he wouldn't settle down. Bought him at 1 month old and by 8 months he still wouldn't cooperate. We are not supposed to expect any reptile to be tame / social. But I personally enjoy interacting with them

I have never ventured into leachies, I have heard that they tend to be more nasty than not, but always assumed that is probably a personality thing as well. I also heard there poop is no joke lol. I 100% aggree, I do not expect to cuddle but I like to interact with them as well!

 

[Just for fun]

I think he knew I was talking about him and came out to say hey lol

 

[ET Geckos]

In my experience so far, it is really kind of a crap shoot... Example: I have one male here on loan for 2 years now who was sweet as could be. Easy to handle and always completely calm. (Even the two past people who had him said he was one of their sweetest.) Well...let me tell ya. Ever since I paired him with his current mate, he has been nothing but insanely protective of her. He is by far my most "evil" chahoua. He has leapt out of the cage at me to bite me. So sometimes they just..flip a switch. It does seem to get worse when they are paired up too (for me at least).

Out of all my animals, I think only 4 are really "aggressive". And they have all been handled at various levels. Sometimes you just never know with these guys. He may learn with some handling that you are not a threat and he may not... the fun of chahoua!

 

[Michael]

Total side note- This forum is so awesome, I have already read most posts and can not wait to see it grow. I have never been a main stream social media person and love the “old” forums

Thank you so much for joining and participating! One of the hard things about social media conversations is that there's really no record or library for people to reflect upon and research. The forums provide a great, usable place to share knowledge, do research and create more of a community. Thanks again for being here!

I think he knew I was talking about him and came out to say hey lol
View attachment 88View attachment 89

Random thought: if you were to just open his cage and put your hand on that opening, do you think he would walk out onto it? Some of my geckos will come to the front of the tank like this, and when they do, they usually want to come out. Could be something to try - letting him come out on his own terms.

 

[StikyPaws]

I've found that hand feeding them right when it's lights out has helped my guys get used to me. I usually put their food in right at lights out so I started by getting the deli cup close to their noses and letting them lick it, eventually they all climb onto my hand and eat it while perched on me. This was more for skittish and young chahoua though so I'm not sure how to curb aggression

 

[Just for fun]

In my experience so far, it is really kind of a crap shoot... Example: I have one male here on loan for 2 years now who was sweet as could be. Easy to handle and always completely calm. (Even the two past people who had him said he was one of their sweetest.) Well...let me tell ya. Ever since I paired him with his current mate, he has been nothing but insanely protective of her. He is by far my most "evil" chahoua. He has leapt out of the cage at me to bite me. So sometimes they just..flip a switch. It does seem to get worse when they are paired up too (for me at least).

Out of all my animals, I think only 4 are really "aggressive". And they have all been handled at various levels. Sometimes you just never know with these guys. He may learn with some handling that you are not a threat and he may not... the fun of chahoua!

Thanks for responding and letting me know your experience! He has not leapt out of his enclosure to get me yet, thank goodness lol He is a snapper..and quick!!

 

[Just for fun]

Thank you so much for joining and participating! One of the hard things about social media conversations is that there's really no record or library for people to reflect upon and research. The forums provide a great, usable place to share knowledge, do research and create more of a community. Thanks again for being here!



Random thought: if you were to just open his cage and put your hand on that opening, do you think he would walk out onto it? Some of my geckos will come to the front of the tank like this, and when they do, they usually want to come out. Could be something to try - letting him come out on his own terms.

Great idea! This was the first time I have seen him come anywhere near the front. My gargs like to come near the front and then run away, but he actually did not run while taking the picture so maybe he would like to venture out on his own terms!

 

[Just for fun]

I've found that hand feeding them right when it's lights out has helped my guys get used to me. I usually put their food in right at lights out so I started by getting the deli cup close to their noses and letting them lick it, eventually they all climb onto my hand and eat it while perched on me. This was more for skittish and young chahoua though so I'm not sure how to curb aggression

Thanks for responding! I did have a cup of dubia that I put close to him and he snapped at it a couple of times. I decided he may not be ready for that lol! I will keep trying though!

 

[Canvas_geckos]

My female, Eve, is very enclosure aggressive. I don’t even attempt to hold her unless she is already sitting on her globe or a branch that I can take out, and then allow her to climb onto me at her own will. Once she’s out, she’s fine.

 

[Michael]

I've found that hand feeding them right when it's lights out has helped my guys get used to me. I usually put their food in right at lights out so I started by getting the deli cup close to their noses and letting them lick it, eventually they all climb onto my hand and eat it while perched on me. This was more for skittish and young chahoua though so I'm not sure how to curb aggression

I think this is a great point... I feel like their cage aggression is often a result of them being startled or scared. Being nocturnal, they are usually much more aware/alert at night, and more receptive to me going into their cages (because they can see me coming).

 

[StikyPaws]

I think this is a great point... I feel like their cage aggression is often a result of them being startled or scared. Being nocturnal, they are usually much more aware/alert at night, and more receptive to me going into their cages (because they can see me coming).

Be careful though, they're also a lot faster at night and (in my experience) more willing to jump away lol.