Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting on this forum, but not my first time on Kingsnake. I usually post on the Chameleon and Iguana forums.

I'm thinking of getting some geckos and am torn between the white-lined geckos and the gold dust geckos. What mostly concerns me is handleability. I realize that neither gecko should be handled very much because of their delicate skin, but would like your input on just how skittish they are and what is their likelihood of biting.

For instance, how difficult are they to catch when comes time to clean their enclosure? We do reptile shows (i.e. birthday parties, school presentations, etc.), so I'd also like to know whether I should consider them strictly as display animals or whether or not it would be possible to take one out to show the kids.

Any input will be greatly appreciated! Thanks a million.

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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com

well if you want a gecko to show off get a crested gecko they are very tame! gold-dust day dex have VERY VERY secitive skin and are very fast compared to someone who does not regularly catch geckos and white lined geckos are fast and they bite and are pretty big. so if you want a presentation animal go with a crested gecko

Other friendly geckos are the PAKISTINI LEOPARD GECKO and the AFRICAN FAT TAIL GECKO.Both of these geckos are very gentle and AFTs being the cheapest out of the two.
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-The guy who posts messages(Kevin)

Tarentolas@hotmail.com
Geckos
1.1.0 Gekko gecko(Geico and Gekko)
2.1.0 Eublepharis macularius(Leo the male Blizzard and Cleo the normal female and Geo the snow/hi-yellow male)
2.0.0 Hemitheconyx caudicinctus(Gex the striped male and Bandit the banded male)
1.0.0 Tarentola mauritanica(Croc the light phase)
1.0.0 Hemidactylus turcicus(Med)
Other Lizards
0.1.0 Basiliscus basiliscus(Bassie)
1.0.0 Physignathus cocincinus(Louis)
0.1.0 Anolis carolinensis(Apple)
1.0.0 Chamaeleo calyptratus(Ace)
1.0.0 Iguana iguana(Rex)
Boidaes
1.0.0 Python regius(Lenny)
0.0.1 Boa constrictor imperator(Carl)
Turtle
0.1.0 Chrysemys picta(Painty)

They are both geckos that really shouldn't be held for several reasons. Not only is their skin delicate, but the white lined are a very close relative to the tokay, which is the pitbull of geckos, so they can also be territorial and agressive. They are easier to handle though because they wouldn't be as skittish and they are larger, but then again agressive. The golden dust geckos are small and easy injured, they also have delicate skin but are not agressive, just fragile. Be careful with whatever you choose, but if you want an arboreal gecko that you can handle easily I would go with probably a crested gecko, otherwise a leopard gecko or african fat tail would be better.

Crested geckos can get used to handling. They don't tend to bite that much. I was bitten once by one because it was never handled. The bite is nothing like the bite of a Tokay Gecko (White Lined's cousin). If you do use crested geckos though make sure that it is not nervous around crowds of people. Cresteds have this ability to drop their tail whenever they feel threatened and sometimes for no appearent reason at all. However unlike many other lizard species they cannot regenerate their tail. So if you crested loses its tail it is gone. Their tail is also a really neat feature in that it has the same "sticky pads" on it like their feet. Really cool.

Leos and Fat Tails are both really cool and easy to care for. They don't have sticky pads on their feet so they are less likely to escape. They can easily be fed mealworms.

I have Leos and Cresties. I have worked with Fat tails too. All three are great candidates.
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14 Leopard Geckos 5.9.0
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0 (on vacation in my house)
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
1.0 Ambystoma sp. "Axolotl"

Wow, thank you everyone for your great advice. I will definitely stay away from the gold dust and white-lined geckos, especially since we do birthday parties where young children will want to touch them and pick them up. For some reason, I always thought crested geckos were really expensive, but I just checked out prices and they're actually pretty affordable, plus they're very cool looking.

Can anyone point me to a good reliable caresheet on crested geckos? I think that's what I will end up going with.

Thanks again!
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Julie Williams
www.baskingwonders.com