Maybe a Tokay?

[Rell18]

I'm contemplating getting a Tokay. I love their "touch me and you die" personality. I love arboreal geckos more than ground dwelling geckos like leos so I'm deciding between a Tokay or Crestie. Its really hard for me to decide which I really like. I am choosing a Tokay over a crestie just because of their personality and colors, though cresties have some awesome colors and personalities too, there's something about a Tokay that makes me really want one.

I am 100% fine with having a gecko that will bite the crap out of me if I reach into it's enclosure for any reason. I've been doing a lot of research on them for awhile and I might just get one at the next reptile show or for my 18th birthday. Although I really don't want to, I would actually like to try and "tame down" my Tokay just a little. Does anyone here have a Tokay that is "tame down" or do you just let them be what they are?

 

[TokayKeeper]

it came be done...

And if doing so, best to start with this...

That's my fiancé's hand and the gecko is a grand-son/daughter to the adult gecko pictured above. And on the similar note, hopefully T-rexx will chime in. I have a 4 year anniversary date with a hottie and we have to leave in about 15 minutes, otherwise I'd type a novel. GET CB if you can!

 

[touch 13]

I have both cresteds and tokays! love them both!!!

 

[T-ReXx]

*CHIMES IN*

Ok, here we go. Tokays are great animals. They are my favorite species of gecko. They are beautiful and impressive animals. They are fairly easy to keep if you give them the space and some basic requirements they need. As far as handling goes, it really depends on the individual animal. I have 6 adult tokays and 3 babies with eggs cooking still. This is what I've learned about tokays and handling over the years in a nutshell:
Tokays are individuals. Some will become quite tame with time and effort, some will never do anything other than bite the hell out of you, and some will tolerate some handling with the odd warning bite here or there. In my experience, most fall into category C.
Tokays are smart and smart animals have trust issues. Once you have a tame tokay, one mistake can undo all of it. No grabbing. No chasing them around. If they are "in a mood" and don't want to be messed with, respect that and leave them alone and try later. If you push with them you will only end up with a distrustful gecko and a lot of bleeding fingers.
To get a tame tokay, it is a VERY good idea to start with a cb baby. WCs can be tamed in some circumstances, but most are so freaked out by what they've been through it will take a long time to get through to them if ever. Babies will bite but you don't lose fingers and after a while they usually stop.

Females are generally easier to tame than males. This has been my experience with both WC and CB animals, and it is linked to Tokay society. Male tokays defend a territory and females and eggs and young. Females come and go as they please in and out of a male's territory. So aggression is less in the fairer sex.

So yeah, for a tame tokay; captive bred baby, handle often for short durations daily(10-15 min per session) NO GRABBING, and learn to read the animal. That's your best chance at a tame tokay, but it is not a guarantee. Tokays are defensive and skittish animals, and that's just a part of what they are. Some never tame at all. Either way, they are great animals to own and make fantastic display species.