I'm looking to get a new friend, and the gecko family has really caught my eye. Are leopards hard to handle? I know they're desert animals, and I know that some people handle theirs, but I always get so worried about the tail coming off. Is this something that happens often? Can you handle a leopard gecko daily?

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Once you turn Mac, you never look back.

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.” -- Ayn Rand

Leopard Geckos are typically easy to handle, Ive never had ones tail fall off.

Nah, I handle mine a lot and as long as you're careful when you pick them up and make sure you don't accidently grab their tail, you're good. It also depends what state of mind they're in. If they are freaking out because you just picked them up, be extra careful, but if they are relaxed you should be good.

I'm just wondering because we had one at our store, and it didn't like to be handled

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Once you turn Mac, you never look back.

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.” -- Ayn Rand

That always depends, it may just have to get used to being handled. I adopted mine from a pet store my brother in law works at, he was already full grown and had no problem being handled or even hand-fed.

Depending on how it was raised wil be the main factor. If it was consistantly handled as a baby it will be used to it and view humans as non treatening. If it came from what I refer to a breeding warehouse, where all it got was fed and cleaned out, it will be a bit more skittish.
But most will tame down and accept handling. The tails are dropped when feeling threatened.
If you scare it or grab it by the tail,...POP!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

thanks for everyone's feedback, but I've decided to go with a crested gecko, as one can live in the setup I already own.

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Once you turn Mac, you never look back.

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.” -- Ayn Rand

Crested geckos also can lose their tails. Generally for the same reasons. My daughter likes Cresteds a lot, her girlfriend likes Leopard Geckos. So we have seen issues with both, although only one ever lost its tail while being one of their pets (it got caught in the plant or rock in its enclosure and panicked.

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Kat

I know, I just think they're prettier. and it can live in the tank I have.

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Once you turn Mac, you never look back.

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.” -- Ayn Rand

A friend of mine got one that was a spaz, but after a few weeks of leaving it alone and a few more weeks of gradual handling it became like velcro, it comes out on her hand and just sits still, I have never seen one that is "hard" to handle, I have seen some that don't like to be manipulated (gripped or turned), they all seem to be fine as long as they are left to their own thing and not forced.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



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