tips for getting over handling anxiety?

[fan.]

hello, i'm looking for some tips to get over anxiety when handling leopard geckos. i'm not afraid of the gecko itself, and i'm excited to get her completely conditioned to my hand, but at the same time every time i've held her in the past she has jumped and screamed at me (she never falls far, an inch or two at most). what is a routine i could possibly get into to help condition her at a slower pace? its currently 2 am in my area and she's running around a lot. i put my hand in the tank and pet her some, and she tried to climb onto it, but i was too afraid of her getting up too high on my arm to let her go onto my hand. i'd really like to change this fear of mine! i don't want her living cooped up in her tank all the time. any tips will be gladly welcomed and appreciated!

 

[Hilde]

There's no benefit to handling the gecko, so you don't have to get over any anxiety.
The geckos tend to tolerate it, but they do perfectly well without handling. They learn you're not a predator, just some big thing that picks them up once in a while. They're not social, like dogs and cats.

You can save yourself and the gecko lots of stress by just enjoying it and looking. Touching is optional, and offers no benefits.

 

[fan.]

perhaps they tolerate it, but i'd like to at least be able to handle her when i actually need to. i need to pick her up to get her out of her tank to clean it, so i'd like that to be as easy of a process as it can be without stressing her out too much.

 

[muffin_song]

There's no benefit to handling the gecko, so you don't have to get over any anxiety.
The geckos tend to tolerate it, but they do perfectly well without handling. They learn you're not a predator, just some big thing that picks them up once in a while. They're not social, like dogs and cats.

You can save yourself and the gecko lots of stress by just enjoying it and looking. Touching is optional, and offers no benefits.

As far as I can figure out, the benefits of handling are:

1. Giving a leo the opportunity to exercise (for those that are on the verge of being obese)
2. Providing some sensory stimulation to a bored gecko (okay, okay, this is a stretch, and "bored" is probably projecting human emotions onto them)
3. Convincing the all-might Hand That Feeds You of your cuteness ;-) For the opportunistic leo, this may even lead to an extra bug!

Seriously, I think Hilde's right about "tolerating". Leos are pretty good sports about it, but it's definitely NOT a requirement.

Fan, it sounds like your leo may be very young? They're jumpy at that age. Just sticking your hand in there and letting her get used to you may be the best way to start out until she learns you're not a predator.