# Taming a crested gecko



## deadbobsuncle (Apr 30, 2010)

My lil crestie, Gary, it about three years old now. Beautiful pinstripe specimen. But thats the problem... I just see him as a specimen. It's more like looking after a delicate plant!!

Not that I'm complaining, I built him a cage with real plants and substrate full of healthy spring tail and tropical woodlouse populations and an automatic rain system. Never really had to clean it... everything eats it an fertilizes the plants. Just keep it trim and pretty.

But there in lies the problem. I wouldn't mind having more of a pet than just something to look after. I have tried taming him several times. Best I can get it a little stroke when he's cold and half asleep in the day.

Currently he runs like nuts - hops across my hands and my room and eventually craps on me because he's scared - nd I dont know how many of you have smelt it but crestie crap smells really bad! I'd like him tame but don't really wanna stress him out that much.

Any final ideas for taming the little fella?


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## zulu202 (Aug 11, 2008)

Hi,
To get him used to your hand maybe try and put him in a big tub and put your hands in there for a while everyday and just keep getting him out daily and handling him, he will get used to you, will just take a while

Hope this helps


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## c_1993 (Jun 10, 2011)

I would say just leave it be, my crestie doesn't like to be handled and I respect that so I leave him alone. 

I think the worse thing you could do is put him into a tub and then put your hand in. 
He obviously doesn't like being handled, so taking him out of his enclosure and putting him in unknown territory, definitely isn't going to earn you any trust with him.
So I'd strongly advise against that.

IMO The best thing you can do is just put your hand in the enclosure, sort his food, mist, spot clean. So he's used to your hand being in his tank, and just leave it at that, If he doesn't want to be held then leave him be : victory:

We have to remember that they are reptiles and not fluffy rabbits or hamsters, they don't want to be handled, and they couldn't give a monkey if we never held them again.


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## deadbobsuncle (Apr 30, 2010)

haha, yeah I thought it may be worth one last try... but i've tried most things in the past. Anyways I've got my brother's leopard gecko to play with who enjoys coming out. I always end up looking after it anyway because he's in the forces (yeah... great idea... buy gecko - get family to look after it apart from every other weekend)

I don't really think it's worth the stress on him, crapping on me might be a defense mechanism or he might just be terrified - like I said I get enjoyment out of simply looking after him, making sure his food is healthy etc.. 

I'll leave little Gary be.


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## UKCrestie (Sep 9, 2011)

If you could find a suitable night viewing light you may find he is quite entertaining on his own after the lights are out.
They tend to just roam around, unless you feed him his bugs just before you turn out the lights - then you'll get the pretty interesting 'show' of watching him hunt.
Being the little ninjas they are its quite a spectacle and many of them hunt quite aggressively too, even the youngsters who are like a dog with a chew toy : victory:

As for trying to calm him down, it may or it may not be doable.
If handled from being small they tend to be a little more accepting of it but even that isn't guaranteed.
It took my over a year to calm down a very skitty female who would try to escape every time I opened the enclosure. I didnt really do anything particularly difficult or specific, I just continued handling her for short periods of time and eventually she really calmed down. I would have been terrified at 1st of even opening her enclosure but now she will sit still whilst I change food/bugs/spot-clean and has even voluntarily walked onto my hand a few times which was major progress :2thumb:

I'd suggest that if you did want to try again with the handling, just take it very, very slowly and look out for the signs that he is maybe getting stressed, so you can return him when he does and keep him reasonably stress free.


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## PJWotters15 (Dec 30, 2014)

*Mine is cool!*



deadbobsuncle said:


> My lil crestie, Gary, it about three years old now. Beautiful pinstripe specimen. But thats the problem... I just see him as a specimen. It's more like looking after a delicate plant!!
> 
> Not that I'm complaining, I built him a cage with real plants and substrate full of healthy spring tail and tropical woodlouse populations and an automatic rain system. Never really had to clean it... everything eats it an fertilizes the plants. Just keep it trim and pretty.
> 
> ...


Well, let him setlle in first and then gently but firmly get him out of the cage. He will leap like a maniac but if you get him on your hand quickly pull out and make sure there is nowhere he can get caught in (e.g. a sofa). Gently let him crawl around and make sure he isn't being squished.

After 24 hours to settle and two handling sessions, mine loves me!


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## MDFMONITOR (Oct 8, 2009)

Just do it the easier/non invasive way, build your trust with your pet>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTTVgY8tp7U


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## aquited (Oct 30, 2008)

In your situation id accept he doesnt like handling and use it as an excuse to get a beardie :mf_dribble:


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## wagg (Feb 6, 2014)

Ive had mine for almost a year now and hes still quite skittish. Ive found the best way so far to get him used to my hands is to live feed with my hands. Have to be patient with it lol and just take it slow.


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## Wheezy (Jan 1, 2015)

Mine will not let me touch him at all, my Mrs can carry him about and he will happily sit and get his head and chin clapped but the second I touch his he defecates all over me.


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## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

First step is getting him used to you and not seeing you immediately as a threat.

There are multiple ways of doing this. Sitting near the viv when he's active and where he can see you, but not coming at him will help, but it's a small step.

You can place a piece of worn clothing in the tank, which will help him get used to your scent in a non-threatening situation.

Do regular (even if uneccesary) viv maintenance whilst he's active (or at least awake) without removing him from the viv or coming too near him (e.g. moving his hide about a bit on the other side of the viv).

These will all help him get used to you being near the viv and less worried about your hands. A lot of people won't watch their animals much in the viv, just when they get them out to handle. If the animal in question instantly knows when he sees you that you'll be trying to handle him, even before you've opened the viv, he'll be getting defensive.

After he seems comfortable with your hands being in the viv and doesn't bolt whenever you get near, try tong feeding him in his viv. After he starts regularly accepting food, try the following steps:

- Place your hand between the animal and his (tong held) food, so your hand needs to be crossed so he can reach the food. 

- Place your hand so your pet has to climb onto your hand to get the food, rather than just cross it to get to it.

- Tong feed, and when the animal has got his food, try GENTLY petting him. Just introducing your hand gently. Don't pet him like a dog or a cat, or even a large lizard. Keep it gentle.

Once your animal is used to your hand, you can try lifting him out of the viv once he's on your hand. Do not at any point "grab" your animal. If you absoluely need to get him out of the vivarium at any point, a gentle but firm grip would be okay, but this should not frequently be done until the guy is more tame.

If you want a lizard for handling though, a crestie probably wasn't a great choice. A leopard gecko or a beardie would be a much better candidate for a lizard for regular handling. Ackies too if you fancy something a bit less common. I don't really get why you'd buy a tiny, relatively flighty animal that is mainly active at night if you want a pet to interact with a lot.

If he doesn't easily take to handling, the most you should expect from him is tolerance of brief handling. I fully support the "buy a red light for night time" viewing approach. You don't need physical contact to appreciate a pet!


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## MrHobbsReptileMan (Dec 25, 2014)

Jamie XVX said:


> First step is getting him used to you and not seeing you immediately as a threat.
> 
> There are multiple ways of doing this. Sitting near the viv when he's active and where he can see you, but not coming at him will help, but it's a small step.
> 
> ...


I've done this with both my ackie and crestie, it does work. 
You have to make sure once handling that you make it a daily occurrence so they come to recognise you and feel at ease with being handled.
My crestie now has a tendency to climb up my arm while I'm cleaning the enclosure and either sit on my head or sit on top of his viv as if watching what I'm doing.


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## PJWotters15 (Dec 30, 2014)

*Made my day*



Wheezy said:


> Mine will not let me touch him at all, my Mrs can carry him about and he will happily sit and get his head and chin clapped but the second I touch his he defecates all over me.


That last line made me laugh my ass off.

'The second I touch him he defecates all over me."

My god, I nearly broke my PC laughing.

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:


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