Newbie Question

[Art_Gecko]

I just purchased a leopard gecko (Lucca) for my 9 year old daughter (for myself too, but don't tell her).

My daughter loves Lucca (we got her/him from a local breeder). Normal leopard gecko about 4 mos old with some jungle traits.

Newbie Question:

The breeder told us to only hold Lucca in the tank for the first month. It's been about 3 days now and my daughter won't stop hold Lucca and carries her around the house. Will this stress the gecko out or is this good socialization?


Thanks for any tips

 

[Mel&Keith]

Leos do need some time to settle in. They get stressed out when their environment changes so it is a good idea to leave them alone at first. I usually try not to handle new ones too much for the first week or so.

Young juvies can be really squirmy so I'm guessing they told you to handle her in the tank in case she jumped or got dropped. It's not a bad idea to get your daughter and the gecko used to handling/being being handled in a space where Lucca can't get hurt or lost.