Handling your herp

When people get a lizard or a frog or a snake, they often think of it as a pet, and mistakenly think that they can handle it as such.

Many herps are still caught in the wild and even those that are domestically bred, still have the instincts of being in the wild.  They will use any efforts to escape, which include; biting, dropping their tail, slapping with their tail, smearing their cloacal contents, wriggle strongly, play dead, change colour, inflate themselves or tear patches of their skin free. 

There are many lizards that are very handleable, Leopard Geckos and Bearded Dragons to name a few.  Just make sure that you approach them slowly so as not to scare them.  Once they get used to you, they might climb onto your hand when you put it in their tank.  Larger reptiles need some better handling.  Skinks and iguanas are too large to sit in your hand like a Leopard Gecko.  You need to make sure that you support their entire body and will need to be supported by both your hands, or it's body can lay supported by your forearm. Some reptiles will even perch quietly on your shoulder.

Of course there are some herps that should not be handled, or handled very carefully.  A day gecko has very delicate skin that will tear quite easily. Most amphibians have delicate skin and don't make good handling animals.

Even though you can handle your herp one day, doesn't mean that every day will be the same.  Animals get more aggresive during mating season and some experience behavioural changes when exposed to natural sunlight.  The best thing to do is learn your animals body language, it will let you know if it's a good time to hold it or not.