None of my leos have ever been aggressive towards my boyfriend, myself, or my visitors. I haven't heard leos ever been called "aggressive" but I suppose like any animal they have the potential to be. Regular handling can take care of that! As for crested and gargs, I don't know much about them!

I've never handled one... I have boas, pythons, a Sav, a Beardie and a baby Ig... even the baby Beardie is pretty flighty.... How are Leos in that arena... I know everything takes some work... But, in general terms?

When I first got each leo,  they were a bit skittish, but after a week or two of handling Rhett did much better. Now a couple of them will just sit on my shoulder. The others like to explore but they're not skittish anymore.

My first herp was a Leo named Echo, my dad got him for me when I was just a little kid and he was great.  They are very friendly, I'm not even sure if they have teeth.  Also with Cresties and Gargs, I handle mine all the time without issue, well technically I don't have any Gargs yet, but I know they are very friendly and easy to handle.

The only issue I have with Cresties is when they are little I'm always worried I'll break them.  They are so small and fast.

Another idea that is a little more unique would be a cave gecko.  No lighting or heating requirements and they look badass.  Mine is very friendly and I just love him to pieces.  The Chinese are reasonably priced, I paid $60 for a CB baby and he's got lots of spots, if you look on my page he's towards the bottom, his name is Nox.

none of the animals mentioned are non handelable. you can hold all of them. unless your are buying a wild caught animal they should all tolerate being handeled and with working with enjoy it. gargs are known for being a little more personal, but i have a thing for leos as they were my first reptile and they have nothing but personality as well. i have eleven cresties as well and love them all. your main concerns should be care requirements, all of these are good reptiles and are handable by a thirteen year old. my neice and nephew hold my reptiles all the time without problems once they know how thye act.

Thanks ladies!!

I am not too concerned with care requirements... Only because I've already done that homework :)  It was the stuff a caresheet can't tell you..... That's what I needed from you guys.  The personal experiences... to make me comfortable with my decision.

Currently, she has my 9 year old Ball in her room, and is attentive to his temps and such.  All my kiddos are super involved in all the herps.  My five year old loves being in charge of turning basking lights on and off!  The lil ones don't feed the snakes (my 13 year old does sometimes, though)... But, they do the herbavore and insectivore/omnivore feedings.  And they all hold all of my babies.  My favorite is watching them teach an adult about our animals!

I wish I had herps as a kid!!

Oh ya.. She wants a cave. It's over. LOL ... Good call Tiki

Lol, I think they are going to get more popular, I want to get some of the Japanese Cave Geckos, but they are going for like $250 a piece right now.  Look for captive bred ones, I got mine from Razor Sharp Reptiles, those guys have a great selection and are very nice.

Since she wants the leo, and you're okay with its care requirements, I'd say go for the leo.

All of the leos I've ever been around (which are admittedly few) were pretty laid back and not real squirmy or skittish.  Cresties can be kind of flighty/jumpy/leapy, especially as babies, and if you're not careful they can take a flying leap into thin air and take a long fall to the ground.  Luckily they're fairly durable.  I'm sure your 13 year old would quickly pick up on how to handle them though.  The gargs that I had were not as flighty or jumpy.  They were kind of like toned down versions of my cresties.  A little more calm, more deliberate in their movements.  But one of my few gargs did hiss at me and offer to bite me on occassion, which I think is unusual/rare.  I had way more cresties and none of them ever hissed at me or offered to bite (unless I instigated it).  All in all I'd say if you're up for the care of a leo - get her the leo!

That Chinese Cave Gecko looks pretty awesome too though. 

Ya, she LOVES yours!!... I noticed the HUGE price difference in the Japanese species.. YIKES.. lol.  Thanks for the breeder info.. :)

My leos detest being held. The two older ones will try to jet off &/or out of a hand so fast, i've given up on trying to handle them. 90% of the time they do it while I still have hold of them which makes me fear i'm going to break one of their back legs. The one i've had since a baby is a bit better, but not by much. All still give me great pleasure as they have zero problems looking absolutely cute when begging for food, which is almost 100% of the time. They will all run out when they see me in the room.

My cresties are a bit better about handling. The hatchling is as jumpy as a cricket. she'sscared me a few times with unexpected leaps, but they are more durable then they look! My bigger boy will actually stick around on my shoulder, but usually makes way for my head to perch on.

Out of all my geckos, my AFT is my best for handling. He's really calm, even if he puts up a fuss, it doesn't seem like a big deal   Just throwing another species out there.

Tried the AFT... she said it's too plain.. ugh.. kids. LOL..

I personally vote for a Crestie, maybe a nice dal one if she loves the spots? It might be easier for her to feed/clean the tank without the hassle of heat lamps (burns holes in carpet if set down wrong, lemme tell ya!) and she can feed the crestie CGD which is incrediably easy to mix. Just for general maitence and 'calm' temper that would be my vote. Leo's are cute, I just don't like the idea of a heat lamp being accidentally knocked or something, they are also super hardy and can be handled/have their cages cleaned super easily :)

Repticon will be here the day after her birthday... so, with all suggestions in mind... This will enable her to actually handle some animals (other than our own) and see what "fits"...

Thanks soooo much for the input!!  Definitly helps!!

I tried Leopard Geckos two separate times, and found they just aren't my kind of reptile. I like Cresties and Gargoyles more than Leos, they are more laid back and their diet is easier to deal with IMO. I also think they look way cooler so that probably doesn't help. That said if she has her heart set on a Leo I'd go with that, but I'd have her at least hold a few different options at the show so she can decide :P

Get a young leopard gecko and hold it before purchase, which is what I do before my picks if I can. The ones I buy online I have found to be completely different because I couldn't handel them before. Since you will be helping with the pick of the reptile I would reccomend just being the one holding it till you get home, additional noise movement, etc, makes them more jumpy. See if the leo will sit with you. My babies that I picked out will literally just chill on your hand or do slow hand walks, but it took a few weeks to get them to calm and get use to this. I reccomend sitting on a bed or floor with a blanket or towel down incase the leo decides to jump (I've only had one jumpy leo out of the ten I've had in my life. They are not really jumpy more climby when young and with no toe pads they don't grip as well as the other gecko species haha). You can let your thirteen year old do this since it will let her bond with the gecko and help it get use to her sent and handeling, plus being close to the floor or cushion will keep the gecko safe and make her feel safer about it too if it is a baby. This will also give her the fun of seeing it change it's pattern as it grows to an adult, which is always interesting with leos.

Have fun I love my leos and their personalities.  

I have both leopard geckos and crested geckos (haven't owned gargoyles...yet). I find that even though each of them start out fiesty/jumpy as babies, the leopard geckos tend to tame out easier. I even have 2 adults that willingly walk onto my hand and up to my shoulder. None of my cresties are that willing. They can sometimes even be difficult to catch in their cage (the cresties). Don't get me wrong, I love my cresties (especially Kone who will sit for hours in one spot on my monitor), but the leopard geckos seem to have more personality.

She picked an amazing Chinese Cave Gecko from Razor Sharp Reptiles (who are wonderful to work with... thank you Tiki!).  The (possibly) male, late 2012, is on hold until temps are over 40... which may be a while.  We haven't had highs over 25 in weeks!!  But, my daughter said she's willing to wait until Spring if need be to wait for what she really wants, rather than settling.  What a bright young lady she is becoming! 

Congrats!

Oh that's awesome! I've been wanting cave geckos since... well, since I saw Brittany's!  It's great she got to go to the expo and check them out and decide for herself. Or did you just check out the website? Brain is mushy today... either way, it sounds like she's well on her way to having her very first herp! Yay!

I'd have recommended a garg if I'd gotten to this question earlier. Alas, too late. But I'm excited for your daughter and her new friend!

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