Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Im usually in the corn snake forum but have been wanting to keep a Leo for a while. I have the cage and the money I just need the permission to get one from my dad. I have a question on handling though. I am able to safely handle my corn snakes twice a week. Wed-Fri I cant. I wanted to know if It would be a stressful sitution to handle my Leo once or twice a week if I get one. I’ve seen many people handle them very loosely, letting them set on desks and beds. Is this stressful to do? I would like some opinions on the subject.
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No, we're never gonna quit,Ain't nothin' wrong with it,Just actin' like we're animals - Nickelback, Animals

1-2 times weekly should be totally fine. Sometimes mine even comes out to watch TV with me for a while. As far as getting them to be comfortable with it, the advice I usually give is to start out by just putting your hand in their enclosure for a while and not moving it around. Let them come investigate you; they're curious, and they will come check you out. Once that happens, they'll gradually get more and more comfortable with you. Some will even voluntarily climb up onto an offered hand.

Basically, if you're nonthreatening enough, they'll see you as warm, moving terrain. One thing with juveniles though is that they tend to be a bit nervous and aggressive, so keep your fingers together; if it moves and is vaguely close to the size of stuff they normally eat, they think it's fair game for chomping. But then, you probably know that from keeping snakes. If you do get nipped, it's no big deal, especially with juveniles, as they can't really apply enough force to do any real damage, and in my experience, they quickly realize you're not food.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

just wanted to say Olstyn is our resident expert on gecko handling, following his technique my geckos have been so tame one would beg to be brought out and my current girl (when she was younger and less cynical) would crave attention to the point of climbing the back of my hand when I was just trying to get her water bowl out to clean it.

I realize I'm not adding to the conversation, but now we have a new post to cut and paste about handling, thanks Olstyn. It has been awhile.

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

OK thank you very much! I hope to have one by Sunday but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. Thanks again! I'll post pictures if I get it.
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No, we're never gonna quit,Ain't nothin' wrong with it,Just actin' like we're animals - Nickelback, Animals