Handling juvenile geckos

[OneFishTwoFish]

I have no idea how old my gecko is because he was purchased by a friend last weekend at a pet show. Here is a pic if anyone might have an educated guess:

Very shortly after this pic was taken, Louie started freaking out. He was trying so hard to get out of my hand that I had to quickly put him back in the tank before he took a leap of faith. I'm wondering, should you wait until your gecko is much older to handle them? Is there a better time to handle them - like maybe after a big meal when they seem to be a bit more lethargic? Will geckos eventually get to a point where they enjoy being held and will come right up onto your hand?

-Mike

 

[LeopardLunatic]

from this angle it looks to be about a month and a half old. at that age its ok to handle them for short periods of time and yes they will eventually get used to it and eventually learn to like being handled to some extent. hope this helps

 

[fallen_angel]

I think it's about 3-5 weeks old. The camera flash/sound probably scared him a little bit! It's definitely better to handle the gecko when it's young so that it is used to handling by the time it is an adult

 

[lucia]

My advice (and I am by means no expert) would be to place your hand in his tank very often so that he can get used to your hand. When you feed him, hold the mealie between you fingers and slowly bring the mealie up to him. He may learn to eat from your hand, or at least he will eventually realize that you are the God that brings the food. When you hold him, try to get him to move onto your hand, instead of grabbing him from above, which always freaks them out. You might try to just hold him on your hand while your hand is in the tank-- that way if he does take a leap, he'll be safe in his home. Don't worry, with patience and a lot of practice, and especially as he matures, he will become tame. Good luck!

 

[Ccrashca069]

I always place my hand in front of the leopards as I am talking so they know I am their. A few of them just come right up to my hand to be held while I am cleaning and feeding.

 

[Leopardgeckosunlimited]

It does seem to be about 3-5 weeks old. If you do decide to hold it out of the cage, I recommend sitting on the ground. If it does jump out of your hand, the shorter the fall the better. I have learned that the hard way. And it should get more comfortable with you holding it after some time. The only leos that I have dealt with that don't get used to me holding them are the ones that I have got that were older. Whenever I have had leos from a young age they calm down with some age and handling.

Henry Carota
Leopard Geckos Unlimited
http://www.leopardgeckosunlimited.com

 

[LeopardLunatic]

another thing to take into account it wont be a problem for u but ive noticed Blizzards and Patternless leos seem to be a bit more skittish and may not get used to handling

 

[OneFishTwoFish]

Thanks for all the thoughts. I think I'll take the suggestion of sitting on the floor and I'll keep trying to handle him once a day. I hope he calms down because I really like the idea of holding him in my hend.

-Mike

 

[fallen_angel]

another thing to take into account it wont be a problem for u but ive noticed Blizzards and Patternless leos seem to be a bit more skittish and may not get used to handling

I always wondered about that, our Mack Snow group is totally laid back and mellow; whereas our Patty group is totally skiddish.. I thought it could be because the Patty's weren't held very much, but I'm beginning to think that is not the case. The male patty that we got loves to be held and handled, but still runs for dear life every time I open the cage.. That being said though, I suppose you can get them used to handling to a certain extent (since he doesn't mind actually being held)..

 

[LeopardLunatic]

yeah my pattie and my blizzard both hate handling and i got them both as babies

 

[Mel&Keith]

We don't have any Blizzards but I have a Patty that would just sit in my hand since he was 4g. Every Leo has a different personality, some are mellow, some are spastic. Sitting on the floor and handling it a little every day would be a great idea. I would guess (unless you have abnormally small hands, lol) that it's any where from 4-6 weeks old. Make sure you give it time to settle in to it's new home before you handle it too much.

 

[bitterbeauty]

he will eventually realize that you are the God that brings the food.

This made me laugh! lol

Turtles learn this very quickly but Geckos not so fast....