How often is it okay to handle my gecko?

[Indecisive]

I will be getting a gecko Saturday, it's almost a year old and is from my friend. He will have the same habitat as before, as she is giving it all to me. So the tank is not changing just its surroundings. What can I do to help him adapt? To tame him? To get him to like me? Once he gets used to me how often is it okay for me to hold him and handle him? How often do you handle yours? Is hand santo are okay to use after handling him?

 

[LEOPARD1]

I only handle mine when its necessary. I try not to stress her out. If I clean/disinfect the enclosure she gets to climb on my bed. If I need a photo for some reason I do my best to have it done while she's in her enclosure. I rarely hold or play with her for the fun of it. I usually handle her to examine her and make sure she is healthy. Although most Leopard Geckos are CB they really should not be exposed to tameing. You will hear people say to let the gecko smell you, slow movements while in the enclosure, dont pick the Gecko up by tail or from above, those are great to get in the habit of. If you must put your hand in front of the Gecko, coax it onto your hand and let it move freely as you move with it, thats how I handled my Cobras. The Herp should dictate the movement, you just go with the flow. It seems to keep Herps calm. Herps dont have the ability to "like" you, only tolerate you.

 

[kholtme]

I dont handle mine all that much, but when I do i really enjoy it. I will put my hand in his tank and leave it there for 5 to 10 minutes. A couple times he has crawled onto my hand and thats when i take him out. Sometimes he will come lick my hand but doesnt crawl on. I just do this so he doesnt see me as a threat in case i even need to get him out. If you decide to pick your gecko up without it climbing on you, dont grad the tail, and try not to come from above like a bird. I like to "fork" my fingers under his belly.

 

[majahawt]

It somewhat depends on the gecko as well, you definitely shouldn't handle them too much the first 3-4 months and after that you'll probably start to get a good feeling of their personality. I have one that comes out once-twice a week and she only wants to sit on shoulders, not hangs. My other nags to come out pretty much every day and loves going for adventures in the hallway, and he's totally into neck scratchies :3

 

[Tongue Flicker]

I only handle if i lay my hand inside the enclosure and they voluntarily climb otherwise, hands-off.. no direct picking up

 

[LEOPARD1]

I only handle if i lay my hand inside the enclosure and they voluntarily climb otherwise, hands-off.. no direct picking up

How do you feel about gentle coaxing onto a hand?

 

[Tongue Flicker]

coaxing is still disturbing them no matter how gentle that would seem to us humans. Notice how they look spooked when touched even lightly especially by the toes and tail. Even the mere friction between my hand and their belly when they turn around is sometimes startling to them

 

[LEOPARD1]

coaxing is still disturbing them no matter how gentle that would seem to us humans. Notice how they look spooked when touched even lightly especially by the toes and tail. Even the mere friction between my hand and their belly when they turn around is sometimes startling to them

My inability to be patient just gets the best out of me. Whooosaaahh.

 

[kholtme]

It does take a lot of patience, and many times the gecko wont climb on. But i feel it is important to have a little bit of hand action just in case you need to remove your gecko and handle it, then it will be some what used to it. I use the same method as tongue flicker.

 

[majahawt]

It does take a lot of patience, and many times the gecko wont climb on. But i feel it is important to have a little bit of hand action just in case you need to remove your gecko and handle it, then it will be some what used to it. I use the same method as tongue flicker.

Honestly, I pick them up myself. I place my flat hand next to them and then gently and quickly lift them up into it. We did the whole hand-in-tank-thing in the beginning to get them to trust us and now they know nothing bad is going to happen if we pick them up. Donut is so chill that I don't even need to use two hands, I just pick him up and twist my hand. It's much easier to deal with Eclair when she's picked up too because she only wants to sit on shoulders so that way I can put her straight up rather than worry about her slipping off of my arm while climbing up.

I definitely agree that you need to let them take it at their own pace in the beginning but the good thing about picking them up is that they don't know if "bad times" (tank cleaning, weighing, etc.) or good times are happening because it's always the same situation. There are probably a lot of differences with them though! Some might not take picking up well at all!

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Haha yeah of course tank cleaning means unavoidable handling and stress. But since we do things little bit different in this part of world, we clean enclosures during the day when the geckos are in their hide and since majority of people here are not into the 'natural' looking hide most use microwave tubs with a cut hole at the side or at the lid, we simply lift the hide out with the gecko still in and proceed with cleaning. Returning once done. Hence no handling required haha

 

[majahawt]

Haha yeah of course tank cleaning means unavoidable handling and stress. But since we do things little bit different in this part of world, we clean enclosures during the day when the geckos are in their hide and since majority of people here are not into the 'natural' looking hide most use microwave tubs with a cut hole at the side or at the lid, we simply lift the hide out with the gecko still in and proceed with cleaning. Returning once done. Hence no handling required haha

Yeah a lot of the time when I'm going to clean, I'll pick out a hide and clean it first, then pop it in a tub along with the gecko so they don't get too upset. Last time I cleaned though, Eclair screamed at me when I came to get her back in lol