# Leopard Gecko mouth gapping



## Zoekins

I recently rehomed 4 leopard geckos from a rescue centre i worked at over easter as i wanted to offer them a nice permanent home having already got 4 others, and I have only had them for around 4 days but i have noticed one of the females gapping her mouth on a couple of occasions. When shes done this she's opened her mouth really wide like shes yawning but she keeps it open for much longer (so i know its not just a yawn!) and occasionally its accompanied by shaking of the head and a little squeaking noise.. i was thinking it might be her trying to communicate to me that she wasnt happy being picked up as both times i have seen her do this it has been after handling her.. I didnt want to just assume this was the case though so i thought i would ask on here for some advice.. i will take her to a vet obviously if no one on here knows for sure, as her health is very important to me but i just thought i would ask just in case anyone knew!

Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated!


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## K.J.Geckos

geckos can quite often do this but its more so after feeding.most the time its just a cricket leg stuck.

leos show aggression by opening their mouth though also.with you mentioning its after handling it might be a sign of aggression or dislike for being handled.


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## purpleskyes

They usually do this before they bite you :lol2: its like a warning to leave them alone.


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## Zoekins

yeh i thought that might have been the case, i'm glad its aggression/dislike of being handled rather than her health because that i can deal with! i think i'll let her settle in a bit more before i attempt to handle her again as shes probably stressed from having her surroundings change! thank you both so much for your replies!


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## tgreensmith28

There is one other rarer reason for it.
If she/he was very very cold, and then moved somewhere warmer, i have known several leos to open their mouths in an effort to heat up faster, it can be accompanied by whats called gullar flutter, a pumping or wafting motion of the back parts of the mouth (technically in a leo it would be the skin of the neck but still). As i say, its a much rarer cause, but something to think about,
Tom


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## Zoekins

oh ok thats really interesting, i didnt realise they could do that.. I dont know whether this was the case with this one as she came from someone who kept her in a viv with the right temperature etc with the three others, and the journey between taking her from the rescue centre and my home was only about 40 mins so hopefully she didnt get too cold inbetween that time as i put her straight in her new warm enclosure when i arrived home.. i think its more probable that its a dislike of being handled in this case as i dont think she is used to handling, but its a very interesting suggestion and definitely something to consider (and a useful piece of information for the future as well!) Thank you for your reply


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