I have a rescue leopard gecko in my care who I have next to no background on but I think he's an adult based on his size and I was able to sex him as a male.
From what I can tell, he was almost never, if ever, handled before I took him into my care. He literally darts into one of his hides as soon as I step into my room and only peeks out if I'm offering food (he has quite the appetite). The first time I picked him up, to transfer him to his travel container to his tank, he tried to bite me. I gave him a week to settle in and after that he'd tentatively come out of his warm side hide and walk across my hand and I was able to pick him up a few times without signs of aggression.
Due to a vacation, I wasn't able to handle him for about a week and now he PANICS if I try to get near him. I obviously don't want to stress the guy out but I don't feel comfortable re-homing him if he's too difficult to handle.
Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or suggestions on how to help him realize I'm not out to kill him?