Do geckos like being held?

[Bitterclown]

Mine seems to like it, he just hands out on my hand and seems to like my body heat and just relax but I want to know from everyone else and see if there's likes to be held.

 

[T-ReXx]

Reptiles in general don't "like" human contact. Although leos will hangout on you, soaking up the heat and often eat prey items from your fingers(mine do, they know where the food comes from lol) they really would be perfectly happy to never have human contact. That said, there are reptiles that do seem to actually enjoy human company, even seek it out, bearded dragons, for example, and some green iguanas.

 

[gothra]

Again, that really depends on the individual gecko. I wouldn't completely rule out that some leos enjoy being held - not for heat or food - just enjoy being held by a familiar hand that they felt safe.

 

[OneFootedAce]

Most geckos dont really "like" being held, but they can learn to tolerate it.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Some like taking a little venture out but I notice once they are surrounded by an unfamiliar situation they will get scared. I think handling them in their cage or reptile room keeps them more mellow. I mostly leave them alone bc it stresses them out to be touched a lot.

 

[gitrdone0420]

I have one leo that is just like a dog. He sits and stares at you through the glass until you come over. Then he looks at you and waits for you to put your hand down. Then he immediately starts crawling all over me. He seems really happy to be doing this. I think he really enjoys my company...

 

[Taquiq]

Generally any reptile would be better off going without handling. We handle them for our purposes, it doesn't benefit them. There might be a few that enjoy handle but in general most could care less.

 

[Latlaw]

Out of my five, Gus really acts like he enjoys being out and held. He waits by the glass and immediately climbs up on your hand when you put it in his tank. He is so sweet. Hank seems to be ok with it once he is out. My girls are more skittish although Pippi and Sophia seem to tolerate handling more.

 

[Stomlin35]

My oldest girl (not counting my 2 new geckos, I haven't gotten to know them well enough yet) loves to have her back rubbed. Yeah it sounds weird, but she's more akin to a cat sometimes than a leopard gecko.

My youngest girl will bail the hell away from you as soon as you get within 5 feet of the cage. :main_rolleyes:

I think it depends on the gecko and how often they're handled. Kind of like my hedgehog who hated me at first, but now she's starting to like being out and about with me before I go to bed.

 

[STUTFL]

My gecko enjoys (that is, seeks out) being held when it means being warmed up and/or lifted out of the cage.
He enjoys being covered with my hands when he is out in the open and frightened.
He would also enjoy sitting in his hides 24/7 with occasional food, water & bathroom breaks, though. :tongue3:
He would like it even better if the food and water were always within lazy head-stretching distance of all the hides. :main_rolleyes:
I don't think he particularly likes *me*, though.

 

[Angel]

my newest girl will climb at the tank when i walk in the room and loves hanging out with me I usually put her on the bed and she crawls up my arm on my shoulder, also loves her head scratched, however my male shogun could care less about being held actually im sure he'd rather not be, and my male blizzard clyde hates being held he will chirp at me when i do but he likes being on my shirt just hanging there , the female bonnie will tolerate being held but will eventually chirp when she has had enough.

 

[gothra]

It would be interesting to know how everyone's gecko react to human interaction. I think how you keep them, how much attention you give them, and also their gender all plays a big role here.

I keep mine in glass tanks with no top. I walk in and out of my gecko room all night, I will pick them up if they start climbing and seem to want to get picked up. I also talk to them all the time.

Out of my 7 males, 4 will climb on my hand as soon as I put my hand in front of them; the other 3 (one of them is a new juvie, only here for 3 weeks) may not voluntarily walk up my hand everytime, but they can tolerate brief handlings.

Of the 4 females I have (again, one is a new comer), none will voluntarily walk up my offering hand. If I pick them up, only one will stay on my palm to absorb heat; the other 3 will want me to put them back immediately.

 

[Haligren]

Both my girls seem to tolerate me handling them, but Mandarin seems to actually enjoy it sometimes. When she's in the mood she'll emerge from her hide and wait patiently for me to pick her up. She's even climbed onto my hand a few times. Mandarin seems to enjoy taking a ride on my shoulder as I walk around the house. Tiamat, on the other hand, will tolerate me picking her up but is often eager to get back into her tank. I'd love to have a gecko that actually 'seeks' out my attention like so many I've read about on here.

 

[GeckoNub]

Yoshi is a funny guy, he will seem like he hates anything and everything and even swishes his tail at me sometimes...but once ive picked him up he really seems to love looking around and just chilling out and when i put him back he claws at the glass door to come out some more hehe.

Daisy has been tame from the day we got her and is a little sweetheart. I truely believe she likes to be picked up as she comes to the glass and waits for me to open it then climbs onto my hand and will just sit there letting me stroke her head. She is so calm and friendly that even my mum who is scared of them has held her and so has my 5 year old niece with no problems

Peppa used to be scared but now climbs onto my hand and will walk on me and chill out She is a little unpredictable at times and will bolt for no reason so you always gotta be ready

Bubba used to be very chilled out but now he is more excitable. I think it is because he is "turning into a man" He is still friendly and walks onto my hand but is a little crazy at times for running up my arm

Freya is my problem child. When we first got her and picked her up to move her she squeeked and has very slowly got to the stage where she wont always try to wriggle outta ur hand. At one point she was happy to be picked up and walk on my hand but now she is just too skittish to pick up much so i just leave her alone a lot until she is ready to be handled more. If she never is then its her choice

Apart from Freya who is in my bedroom atm all my geckos live in my living room so they see me a lot and i baby talk to them whenever they are out and about I think that because they see me so much that is why they arent scared of me

 

[STUTFL]

The funny thing is, mine will not climb into my hand every time (he turns around and closes his eyes when he's not interested), and yet when he does want out he shows no signs of it until I offer my hand. He just sits there, peeking out a bit timidly, until my hand shows up, and then he'll climb right up with a "FINALLY :main_rolleyes: " sort of look about him, even if I was trying to give him food. :laugh:
If he's in an unfamiliar place like the cricket tank, he'll try to jump or climb the glass to get out, but he just waits there patiently when he's "at home."

 

[calabarpythonlover2]

Kind of like my hedgehog who hated me at first, but now she's starting to like being out and about with me before I go to bed. stomlin35 this is exactly what my hedgehog is like she would roll up into a ball the second i opened her cage and now she enjoys me i think my gecko likes me because when i pick up her hide and go to pick her up she will crawl onto my hand and whenever i put her back she doesnt want to go back in her cage

 

[STUTFL]

Mine takes a flying leap back into the cage, even though he'll crawl right back out again if you let him. :laugh:

 

[Designer Geckos]

All of our geckos like being held, but some are more human-bonded than others of course.
The key really, is to start to gently train them when they are young. If you buy an older leo it could be tough to win them over in some cases. I'd shoot for leos less than a year old, preferably less than 6 months. We handle each and every gecko daily.
Talk to them in a calm confident voice and use key phrases like "Good girl/boy", "It's OK", etc. They learn that these are good, happy phrases and respond to them. When they do something good, like walk over to you when you call them, give them a happy enthusiastic "Good boy/girl!" These are not stupid animals, and they learn quickly if you socialize them the right way and take plenty of time, going at a slow measured pace, being careful not to stress them....no loud noises, sudden movements, etc. while training.
I have used various training methods and find that a positive method like this works great.
Also, I think low volume radio, like soft music or classical in your leo room is WAY better for them than dead silence, like a prison. That way they have something to listen to and learn that human voices are non-threatening. Studies in lab animals have proven that low level radio improves animal health dramatically. We use very low level classical music in our leo areas at night when they are awake, and turn the music off in the day when they are sleeping.
There's no reason why your geckos should not be friendly towards you if you train them the right way and get their trust. They actually learn to love people very quickly.
An example of this training is our gecko, Starlight. She came from a large production facility with no real human socialization, so when we got her we knew she would be a project to tame. Using these methods, she now craves to be held...when I have her out on the couch and she walks over to the far end, when I call her, she literally runs over to me every time! She is now super tame. When people see her do that they are in shock. So she is the ultimate example of how tame you can get these great critters.

Good luck.

 

[greedo11]

I only get Greedo out if she "asks", basically she poses and stretches herself out, and will sometimes climb the glass. She will always do this when we have visitors, she loves to show off!
i think she enjoys a bit of contact with us every now and then, but geckos definetly like there private time and I will never disrupt this or just pick her up against her own free will.
Oh to the 2 people who have hedgehogs, wow thats pretty unusual!
Are they rescue animals? They are so shy and secretive and would never have thought of them as pets.
They are so cute, but you hardly ever see them in the wild.

 

[Jheuloh]

Mine seems to like it, he just hands out on my hand and seems to like my body heat and just relax but I want to know from everyone else and see if there's likes to be held.

Some do, some don't. Many leopard geckos "tolerate" handling; they will accept it as long as the interaction is peaceful. Some appear to "enjoy" handling; that is, they look forward to the human-animal interaction. Others still seem to never have their prey instincts at ease, and fear interaction.

Although I've yet to have developed a strong relationship with my own leopard gecko, having only been taking care of him since 12/5/09, he appears to be the kind of animal who will become either very tolerant of handling, or see it as something to look forward to. As of now, he will come out and wander around in my presence, though still doesn't seem confident enough to actively inspect my hand.