Does anyone have geckos? I've got 2 and although they are fine with me putting my hands in their viv, they struggle if I try to pick them up. I'm wondering if this is because I haven't had them from birth, but the bloke I bought them off said he handled them often and they were very tame. I obviously don't want to cause them any grief and if they don't want handling I'm happy not to, but I just wondered if I should persevere or just leave them alone? :confused:

The benefits of handling your animals are that it becomes easier to detect problems by allowing you to inspect them everyday. However as you have two geckos i would say that it is not necessary for you to handle them just to provide company, particularly if they show strong signs of discomfort.

So can reptiles be hand tamed like hamsters and mice? This is interesting stuff.

So can reptiles be hand tamed like hamsters and mice? This is interesting stuff.

I've heard that they will come and sit on your shoulder and stuff, mine just must not want to know me :( They are the best pets ever though :D

I went to a pet shop near to where i live a few months ago, and in there they had a huge glass tank that was full of little blue lizards. These lizards all ran to the glass when i went into the shop and followed me as i passed the tank. I was buying hamster food and i had dozens of little lizards all watching me! I never realised they were so alert and intelligent.
If i could afford it id definately buy some of those.

The benefits of handling your animals are that it becomes easier to detect problems by allowing you to inspect them everyday. However as you have two geckos i would say that it is not necessary for you to handle them just to provide company, particularly if they show strong signs of discomfort.

Thanks for that, I wouldn't like either of them to 'want' me to pick them up and not, but on the other hand if they're happy just doing their little gecko thing on their own without my intervention that's fine too!

I used to handle my snake every day- in fact he spent most of his time in my pocket. He was a very sweet little garter snake.

He wasn't restrained when he was with me, so he took the occasional trip out of my pocket and up the inside of my sleeve or t-shirt, and as he certainly was capable of getting away from places he didn't want to be (he could get out of his vivarium even with 20kg on the lid) I took it as a sign of his contentment that he chose to share body heat with me.

I don't know how I would have felt if I had been 'imposing' contact on him when he didn't like it, because I've never had that situation happen. I suppose that the same thing applies when you've got really venomous animals or ones that are big enough to be dangerous if they saw fit to hurt you. All I know was that it took Zith only a couple of weeks to get used to being handled every day, and from that point he got very hard to put down, and would rather snuggle up than lie under a heat lamp.

I think its important to seperate certain animals from the cute n furry mould, e.g. not every living thing needs to be mollycoddled! Most animals are quite comfortable with being handled and require it for their social integation and health, however reptiles dont tend to need human contact in this way, certainly I have never had one which appeared to appreciate it.

That said pay extra attention to them when you feed them as you will find it harder to pick up on health problems if you choose no to handle them.

You should get some, they are really good pets that you get loads out of, but they don't take much looking after. They are really cheap to keep too, once you've got your viv set up you only need to buy a bag of sand (special stuff from a reptile shop - can't remember what it's called) which is about two quid every few months, and your crickets and meal worms which are about £5 and last about 2 weeks. I bought my viv plus the 2 geckos from someone on the forum for £50, and that included lots of extras for the tank plus a heat mat so they're not too expensive

Looks as if im going to have to reassess my knowledge of the intelligence of reptiles..

You should get some, they are really good pets that you get loads out of, but they don't take much looking after. They are really cheap to keep too, once you've got your viv set up you only need to buy a bag of sand (special stuff from a reptile shop - can't remember what it's called) which is about two quid every few months, and your crickets and meal worms which are about £5 and last about 2 weeks. I bought my viv plus the 2 geckos from someone on the forum for £50, and that included lots of extras for the tank plus a heat mat so they're not too expensive
Well these lizards- i cant remember what theyre called- cost 50 quid each and you need three females for each male. The vivarium and everything together would cost me around £150.
I might think about getting some after christmas. They were fascinating little animals.

Looks as if im going to have to reassess my knowledge of the intelligence of reptiles..

Our rat snake has to have a rubber stopper slid between the vivarium doors to stop him opening them. He pushes against them and uses his scales to grip and slide it across.

Our rat snake has to have a rubber stopper slid between the vivarium doors to stop him opening them. He pushes against them and uses his scales to grip and slide it across.
I always thought they were run purely on instinct... this is interesting stuff.

I think its important to seperate certain animals from the cute n furry mould, e.g. not every living thing needs to be mollycoddled! Most animals are quite comfortable with being handled and require it for their social integation and health, however reptiles dont tend to need human contact in this way, certainly I have never had one which appeared to appreciate it.

That said pay extra attention to them when you feed them as you will find it harder to pick up on health problems if you choose no to handle them.

That's very true- one of the things that I considered is that if anything happened and I needed to handle one of them they might freak out if they wern't used to it? Having said that, they love it when I spray water into the viv and both come up to me, so they should be used to my scent?

You should get some Jabber, I've seen Claires their gorgeous :love: :D

You should get some Jabber, I've seen Claires are their gorgeous :love: :D
I might do after xmas,,, id have to get my other half to agree though because shes got a thing about snakes... im not sure about lizards though. Shes ok with the frogs and newts in the garden so lizards might be ok.

I always thought they were run purely on instinct... this is interesting stuff.

Oh no- definitely not. If you had ever tried to put down a snake that wanted to be snuggled you'd understand this. They can hold on with every bit of them down to the end of their tail- and sometimes do. With a non-venomous snake them being naughty isn't a threat, it's just a worry that you're going to tread on them by accident when they've escaped (or run them over with the hoover or something).

Im really going to have to learn more about this...

That's very true- one of the things that I considered is that if anything happened and I needed to handle one of them they might freak out if they wern't used to it? Having said that, they love it when I spray water into the viv and both come up to me, so they should be used to my scent?

They probably think your going to feed them lol. They are obviously not afraid of your presence but their is a good reason why most animals dont appreciate being picked up- in the wild as prey animals predators carry them off and the sensation of being lifted and moved out of their control kicks survival instinct in, e.g why rabbits kick and scratch in transit.

They probably think your going to feed them lol. They are obviously not afraid of your presence but their is a good reason why most animals dont appreciate being picked up- in the wild as prey animals predators carry them off and the sensation of being lifted and moved out of their control kicks survival instinct in, e.g why rabbits kick and scratch in transit.

It's something that kittens have to learn early on too- they're like little motion sensors- quiet until their little paws leave the floor, then they squeal like you've just pinched them. It's only once they've learned to associate being picked up with the safety of being with a human that they trust that they relax when they're picked up.

Unfortunatley its something that many animals never become comfortable with(of 5 adult rabbits i have only one which enjoys being held), it is better to let them come to you.In this respect you have already made progress with the geckos claireb.

I handle my snake daily, apart from after a feed.

I could easily fool myself into believing he likes to be with me :lol: but I think looking at it from the snakes perspective, he's getting my body heat, and the chance to climb and nosey around for more food.

It's great trying to get a 3 foot long snake out of curly hair :rolleyes: but it's warm at the back of your neck, and dark (not from muck! lol) but he will come to the front of his viv and happily slither onto my arm and up. Putting him back in is another story!

I don't know much about geckos as i've never kept them.

reptiles tend to like being handled althought most do not appreciate being restrained, once you have them out of the viv, just place them on your arm and they should be happy, the will wriggle like mad when you try to pick them up ut then will be fine running arrond your home, i have 2 leopard gekos, a beardie, 2 water dragons and a corn snake, all of which are handled regularly and seem to enjoy human contact

I handle mine everyday apart from after feeding time and they come to me when i open the viv well the biggest does.

I love reptiles, i am definately a reptile person, snakes mainly but i love lizards. We at the moment have one corn snake and unfortunately my dad wont let me have a python lol. If you rear them from when they are really small and socialize with them alot then they are normally ok it the case with all animals and reptiles alike. Animals bite, reptiles bite, its something to expect when you get a pet.

From Fallen