Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Before you felt comfortable holding it? I havn't held mine since I got it..which was probably in January, but it's nearly time for him to change cages. He's about 5 inches now.

I've never really felt comfortable trying to hold him because he can climb any surface, as you all know, and he's quite fast. He's no leopard gecko.

Any suggestions?

>>Before you felt comfortable holding it? I havn't held mine since I got it..which was probably in January, but it's nearly time for him to change cages. He's about 5 inches now.
>>
>>I've never really felt comfortable trying to hold him because he can climb any surface, as you all know, and he's quite fast. He's no leopard gecko.
>>
>>Any suggestions?

They will generally climb up rather than down or sideways, so if you present your hands as a diagonal surface, you can usually 'walk' them like you would a leopard gecko. Of course, they will occasionally take a flying leap too, so I kinda like to keep my hands just a little separated when handling them so that they sort of have a pre-designated place to leap to - the other hand.

As far as how big before handling them goes, much like leos, younger ones are more nervous, but occasional handling (say 2-3 times/week) will help them calm down faster. I'd say start now, stay low to the ground when handling your little guy so that if he does take a leap out into nothing (which young ones sometimes will), he won't have too far to fall, and you'll easily be able to recover him.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

wow, i hold mine from the time they're a couple weeks old...the earlier you start, the tamer they will be. and the more you handle your gecko, the more comfortable you will be in doing so. cresteds are nowhere near as fast as, say, a house gecko. and usually, when they jump, they don't take off running. they may jump around a bit but usually they just sit there after landing. don't worry about it, start handling yours regularly right away and as the other user mentioned.
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3.1 snakes, 3.3 crested geckos, 0.1 gargoyle gecko, 2.0 devon rex cats, 1.0 betta

Alright, i'll give it a try! He makes me nervous, because he looks so fragile. The one mishap we did have, he was harder to catch than one of my Anoles. I've never had trouble handling any other reptiles. This guy is crazy!