Is there any reason to stick to a regular handling schedule?

[shirshine]

Hi all! I have 1 adult female garg named Polly, who is healthy (a little underweight, but we are working on it!) and lovely to handle-- she's a jumper, but she has never bitten and only pooped on me once. :biggrin: I mist her terrarium 2-3 times a day and offer new food every 3 days, but probably handle her only 3-4 times a week. I never handle her twice in a day or for longer than a half hour.

I'm wondering if there is some benefit to regular handling (ie every day/ every other day at the same time)-- would this be less stressful for her, or maybe get her more accustomed to handling? I know geckos do not need direct attention from humans like other pets, but I love to handle her when I need a destressor.

TL;DR: Is there any benefit to regularly scheduled handling sessions, or is it alright to just take her out for a session when I want to?


(bonus pic of Polly watching the West Wing!)

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GU! I feel that they're pretty flexible as long as they don't seem to mind handling.

Aliza

 

[jetfire]

I've got Gargs that will just hang out for hours, and I've got Gargs that are loose their minds as soon as you pick them up. The gecko's body language will tell you when it's ready to go back in it's enclosure. I try to handle all my geckos fairly often as juveniles, so that they're nice and chill when handled as adults.