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Might be interested in getting a Leopard Gecko. Do they like to be handled?

>>Might be interested in getting a Leopard Gecko. Do they like to be handled?

Depends on compared to what? A dog, no, other reptiles yes.

The big three always recommended for first timers to start caring for herps are: corn snake, bearded dragon, and leopard gecko. All of these "tolerate" handling and are relatively straight forward in their care. But also realize these are still considered "display" animals, meaning they are more to watch than pet and are not for unsupervised children.

A good rule of thumb is a tame leopard gecko can be handled about once a week without any stress to it. Some geckos can be handled more and some are more nervous. There is a great post here by "olstyn" explaining how to tame a gecko.

Now that I've made owning leos sound completely unfun, let me tell you they make the best pets if you are willing to put in the time. Our leos readily climb onto any hand placed in their enclosure and our little girl will do anything to get to watch TV with us. They have amazing personalities that I, before being exposed to them, would have never have guessed. Our first gecko was a big fan of watching my boyfriend play FPS online and would always get in a good spot to watch late at night. And although a hamster or something can be handled a lot more, to watch a leo stalk a cricket! It is like watching a dinosaur in real life, they even wag their tails just before striking at the cricket and crunching it down. Hours of entertainment just for feeding them!

There is a few things that need to be considered before owning any reptile, I would suggest you get your hands on a good care sheet (they have them on this site) or even pick up a copy of "The Leopard Gecko Manual" it is something like $5 last I checked, really cheap and an amazing resource. If you continue to consider a leo as a pet, please feel free to ask us any questions you have about their housing and care. We are very happy to help you get all set up and would greatly prefer to answer your questions and solve your problems BEFORE you take the animal home. Let us know if you have any more questions or want more detail.

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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Excellent response... thank you. I have posted on the "general Forum" for some advice because I am struggling between a leo and a bearded dragon. I'm an adult...i have children, but I have a dog, so it's not like I'll be cuddling with the lizard. I also have two RESes, and I just can't handle them AT ALL. They are huge, they want to eat my hand and they are wet...yuk... My roomate had anoles in college and it was great to watch them hunt... my other friend has a green iguana, and all it eats is salad so thats not too much fun, although it does like to come out. Igs are way too big and need too large of an enclosure.

I read that leos don't need UV lighting? Is this true? And all they eat is insects. Those two points make them easier to care for than a bearded dragon, which eats salads and insects, and need the UV lights. How big does a leo get?

Please correct me if I have misstated anything.
-Ivan

Strictly speaking they don't need UV, but ours seemed perkier when we added a full-spectrum bulb to her enclosure. As far as size goes, presuming you don't get a giant, it shouldn't exceed 10 inches nose to tail, with most adults being in the 8-9 inch range and weighing in at about 50-70 grams or so.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

I agree with everything Olstyn said, I am a huge fan of the bulbs with UVB included, but wanted to add:

My friend ended up with the bearded dragon when he was looking for a herp for him and his (then) 8 year old daughter. Everything you said is correct and I will just add that a leo is much smaller adult than a dragon. In fact, most leos are just fine as adults in 10 gallon aquariums. We prefer to keep ours in a 20 gallon "long", but then she grew a big bigger than normal and you have about 9 months before you need to consider anything other than a 10 gallon if that is the case. So that is an advantage over beardies who really need a larger enclosure as adults. Feel free to ask any questions comparing both, I can try to help as my friend complains to me about his pet often since I am part of the problem why he has his dragon. I have a fair idea of the requirements and such. You would want to consider a light and a UTH (Under tank heater) on a timer for both choices of pets. Substrates for the enclosure should be papertowels and you can consider a sand when they are adults. (I stick with papertowels, it is not as pretty, but is easier/ safer.)

Just to note, I really think leos do better with a diet of crickets, so you need to consider the care of feeder insects, but if the choice is between breaded and leos, you've got the same considerations for both. Both choices of pets would need a place to keep the crickets, gutload/food for the crickets, and some sort of vitamin/mineral dust to use just before feeding. (For a dragon you would also "dust" their salad course.)

Feel free to ask anything else and we will be happy to help, everyone here loves talking about their pets. I think they make great pets, just be careful about where you buy it from is all. Good luck!
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

Listen to sleepy, s/he knows stuff.

My gecko won't eat until I hold him. He tries to climb the walls of his enclosure until I put my hand down, which, upon seeing, he climbs on and hunkers down for a good 15 minutes before getting up and walking around again. Sure, some will say it's for warmth, though his cage is at a toasty 85 degrees at night. All I know is that he won't eat until after he's been handled, and then, after feeding, he climbs over and inspects all of his furniture. He's a wierd little guy.