Everybody emphasizes how you need to leave a new snake alone, but it’s often ignored when it comes to lizards, especially leos & AFTs. Rules of thumb for a new leo:
- If you got a leo from an expo, they are most likely to be far more stressed than one shipped directly to you. Leos are not diurnal, and going from living quietly in a tub to being in a transparent box, with no hides, next to a ton of geckos, possibly being handled, definitely not at correct temps- most geckos get frazzled.
- Adult geckos are going to be more stressed & slower to adjust than younger animals (after the initial panic- babies tend to throw a tantrum, then be fine pretty quickly).
- If their house has previously held anything, they will be slower to adjust than if it has no traces of other animals (not much to be done about it, I just mention it for folks where that is an option).
- Don’t handle at all (or even clean the tank/tub, in my opinion) for 2 weeks
- Have their cage/tub in a room with little traffic, if possible
- Make sure 3 sides of their cage are blacked out (you don’t need to paint them or anything- darker cardboard can just be taped on a tank, just be sure nothing flammable goes further than the top of the black-thing-around-bottom-of-tank (the frame)
- Do not put new geckos anywhere near your other geckos/reptiles, and always care for them last of all your reptiles, for 30 days, as you watch for signs of illness. This is called ‘quarantine.’
- If you can, only offer the food they are accustomed to for at least a week before slowly switching over (if needed- it’s just not common for breeders to feed diets that are acceptable long term).
- If possible, keep the room a little dimmer than people usually have when they’re using it.
- The biggest thing (in my opinion, and I feel strongly about this): do NOT leave any loose/uneaten prey in the enclosure with the gecko. You should never do this anyway, but a stressed gecko is even more vulnerable to being eaten, especially by crickets.
Something I would suggest is having a gecko start out in a smaller tank (10-20 are fine) initially. With a big tank (which I absolutely endorse once a leo has settled in!!), she’s not going to be sure where hot or cold is, and it would take more exploration to find out. Given that she’s terrified, she’s very likely to prefer improper temps over thermoregulation, if it requires her moving about in the open. Definitely make sure she has appropriately-sized hiding spots available on (1) hot side, (2) cool side, and (3) humid in the middle or warm. Also add some stuff in there to act as ‘cover’ for when she needs to move around, so she’ll be more likely to thermoregulate properly.
The skittish gecko is displaying pretty normal behavior, imho. Don’t take her out to feed her. Unless you’re knowledgeable re: rack construction, don’t try and add a divider yourself between the geckos, though it might help in the future (debatable).