Gloves

Do you use gloves with your geckos/feeders


  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .

LZRDGRL

Active Member
Messages
2,807
Location
Southern Illinois
Gloves with geckos: no. Gloves with feeders: yeah, when I have to take waxworms out of their shipping boxes, and some are dead and brown and stink terribly!!! I always wear latex gloves for that, because I don't want to have THAT on my fingers.

I don't wear gloves when handling mealworms or crickets.

I wash my hands after handling geckos. Since they get our taste from licking us, I wouldn't want them to taste latex. I want them to get my smell when being handled, not rubber smell. I'm not worried about infections or germs from touching my geckos. Also, I don't handle them very often; I don't "play" with my geckos. They live in naturalistic-looking tanks, and I want them to feel as much as possible as if they were in the "wilderness." I just handle them quickly for cleaning purpose, or for photos/selling.

Chrissy
 

reps4life

New Member
Messages
656
I hit the wrong option, no gloves with my reptiles, forceps for the feeders, gloves only to pick up poop :)
 

andrew5859

Hats Off Exotics
Messages
321
Location
Pennsylvania
Gloves with geckos: no. Gloves with feeders: yeah, when I have to take waxworms out of their shipping boxes, and some are dead and brown and stink terribly!!! I always wear latex gloves for that, because I don't want to have THAT on my fingers.

I don't wear gloves when handling mealworms or crickets.

I wash my hands after handling geckos. Since they get our taste from licking us, I wouldn't want them to taste latex. I want them to get my smell when being handled, not rubber smell. I'm not worried about infections or germs from touching my geckos. Also, I don't handle them very often; I don't "play" with my geckos. They live in naturalistic-looking tanks, and I want them to feel as much as possible as if they were in the "wilderness." I just handle them quickly for cleaning purpose, or for photos/selling.

Chrissy

Thats a very good point made! I think this would be the best thing to do
 

LD404

New Member
Messages
67
Location
Los Angeles
I use chopsticks with feeders (that are dedicated to the feeders only, I don't eat with those chopsticks lol!) wash my hands before and after handling my gecko, gloves only if I'm cleaning up poop or cleaning the gecko house.
 

T-ReXx

Uroplatus Fanatic
Messages
1,745
Location
Buffalo, NY
I rarely use any form of gloves for anything. I don't use latex or rubber because it's easier to just wash my hands and there's few zoonotic diseases carried by geckos. I don't use them with feeders because bugs don't bother me.

The only occasion I think gloves might be necessary is with extremely large, aggressive lizards like iguanas, monitors, tegus, etc. And not to protect from bites but rather from the claws. Even then, a stout long sleeved shirt will usually serve. Leather gloves reduce sensitivity and in doing so greatly reduce your ability to feel how an animal is reacting.
 

Russellm0704

Active Member
Messages
1,070
Location
Marietta, Ga
Gloves to handle a gecko? If someone feels that they need to wear gloves in order to handle their geckos then they are probably in the wrong hobby
 

alliegex

New Member
Messages
25
I do not use gloves to handle my geckos. I simply wash my hands both before handling them and after. However, if I was handling a gecko who was potentially ill, I would likely wear gloves to ensure "sterility" for both the ill animal and for myself.

As far as feeders are concerned, I am not an insect person. I don't mind them, but I do not want to touch them unless necessary (and I have done so when needing to hand-feed or whatnot). In that situation, I do not use gloves unless I am cleaning out their containers or handling deceased feeders. I do, however, use tweezers or tongs where possible.

When it comes to cleaning my geckos' enclosures, I do not wear gloves when replacing paper towels or other substrate. I do use gloves when disinfecting and when doing a more thorough cleaning. If I'm not wearing gloves, I wash well before and after.

I try not to be crazy about wearing gloves, washing, and the like. But, I think it is an important facet of keeping herps. And, the fact that I am a diabetic does factor in - I am not afraid of catching something from my geckos, but keeping their environment and mine sanitized is certainly a benefit. And, an important one at that.
 

Wolvenspawn

New Member
Messages
136
Location
Hesperia, California
No gloves for me either. To easy for the possibility of handling improperly. Specially when they want to zip out from one hand to the next. I just wash and use an anti-bacterial gel inbetween geckos and after. Nor do I use gloves with feeders. To easy to squish with less sensitivity... Plus tong feeding is hard enough without the gloves. (trying to get the gecko tasty morsels started between the tongs)
 

G.E.C.K

New Member
Messages
13
Location
Miami, FL, US
I don't use gloves at all. I did use a pair of garden gloves to handle a bitey young kingsnake for a while. But I've never had an issue with geckos or feeders that would require the use of gloves, though I might use latex gloves if I ever have a sick reptile.
 

M_surinamensis

Shillelagh Law
Messages
1,165
The only occasion I think gloves might be necessary is with extremely large, aggressive lizards like iguanas, monitors, tegus, etc. And not to protect from bites but rather from the claws. Even then, a stout long sleeved shirt will usually serve. Leather gloves reduce sensitivity and in doing so greatly reduce your ability to feel how an animal is reacting.

Weird, the last line is exactly why I don't use them, even with large and aggressive animals. I'm a lot less likely to be bitten or scratched if I am more aware of the animal, have greater sensitivity to pick up on shifts in their weight and the tensing of muscles.

Although I will use disposable gloves when it is appropriate as a step towards relative sterility. Some quarantine situations and when handling an animal where I want to ensure nothing is transmitted to or from them, under conditions that make it more likely.
 

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