Tokays have TEETH! :]

[shadowdragon619]

I've had my tokay for about a month now...i decided to start handling it today so it gets used to me...man those little buggers have some teeth! i've seen some of the pictures of the bites from them lol

i was holding him around the belly, mouth gaping as wide as it could...and i thought he couldnt reach me...well, he could...CHOMP! on my ring finger little bugger....felt like a pinch...with TEETH! and THEY DONT LET GO!!!

They're like little alligators!

no blood....this time

does this deter me from handling him from now on? NOPE NEVER!

i havent learned my lesson yet!

[ajblazin]

hahahaha just when ya think they cant get ya, they do.

[megaggie2002]

Holding him or picking him up around the belly is very threatening to him. You should not pick him up that way until he is so tame that he will not bite you anymore.

Check out youtube for videos on how to tame a tokay. There is a lady named reptilewhisperer that has a great technique for taming a tokay so that it can be handled/held.

[T-ReXx]

Ok, here's my method for getting tokays to relax around you a bit.

Step A: Making friends with food. I start off just getting the animal used to me being around the enclosure. Once the gecko no longer dashes for the nearest hide when I walk in the room, I start tong feeding. I use superworms for those who like them and roaches for those who don't. After a month or so of this they figure out I'm not trying to eat them and am the source of something good.
Step B: Enter the realm of the dragon. Now when I tong feed I start putting my hand closer to the gecko. Once they stop freaking out about me getting close I'm ready for step C. Step B can take a while, depends on the individual lizard. Most importantly, DON'T RUSH this step. Tokays are suspicious of everything but they are quite intelligent for geckos, and if you have to go back and repeat steps its better than completely losing their trust.
Step C: Touch time. Here's where you need to pluck up your courage and prepare to get bit. Tokays have two different bite patterns; a warning bite and a powerbite. The warning bite is what you will get here, it usually doesn't break skin and is meant to scare you away. Put your hand flat in front of the gecko. Take it slow. If he bolts leave him and try again later. If you're super worried about a bite wear light gloves. The key is to get the gecko to start thinking about your hand as something other than a predator. If all goes well(no gaping, barking, bites) I gently use my other hand to push the gecko forward onto my open flat hand. If you get this far you're close.
Step D: Lift and assure. Once they gecko is sitting on your hand in the cage, wait for him to start tongue flicking. Tongue flicking is a sign of thought and means he's considering the situation and is curious. Gently and SLOWLY remove your hand from the cage with the gecko on it and raise it up above eye level. Direct eye contact is something a predator does and if he's above your eyes hes less likely to react badly. Gently stroke the tail with your other hand, then after 5-10 min put him back in the cage. Let him dictate the situation and climb off, don't shove him or you'll get bit.
Step E: Now it's just repeating step D until the gecko no longer gapes or barks. Then you can start gently encouraging hand walking and exploring. Don't be surprised if you have to go back and repeat some steps. Once the gecko is comfortable walking around on your hands and arms keep doing so daily for 5-10 min sessions and he will remain friendly as long as you don't do anything to destroy his trust.

Things not to do:

Don't push it. Things have to go according to the gecko's perogative, not yours. If you push things to fast it will end up taking longer.
Don't Grab or restrain. Animals hate restraint. If you tighten your grip you're going to get a power bite, and they are not fun. Also the animal will cease to trust you and you may lose all possibilities of a tame animal.
Be prepared to accept the inevitable in some cases. Some tokays(males especially) are so freaked out by bad experiences with people they will never tame down. These animals need to remain display critters and not be pushed.
If you are patient and persistent you will have a friendly tokay. It just takes time and effort.

[T-ReXx]

And just because the proof is in the pudding, so to speak, here's an example of how it works. This is a wild caught male named Falcor, took me 6 months to get to this stage.