Wild Leopard Gecko

Question
I live in Texas and we have leopard geckos here that run around wild. Today I found a juvenile leopard gecko running around in my house.  I was just wondering if it is safe to keep it as a pet and hold it - or if it may have diseases that captive-bred ones don't have?

I have had reptiles in the past that I have gotten from pet stores and such, and would love to take care of this little guy, but I don't want to jeopardize either of our health.

If you have any insights, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Amanda,
What you are seeing are not leopard geckos but are different species of geckos.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reptiles_of_Texas will show you the "types" of geckos that are in Texas.
With wild reptiles they do carry more diseases than captive bred reptiles. Parasites, both internal and external, salmonella and a few other diseases that a human (and other pets/reptiles) can be infected with.
I am VERY happy to see that you are concerned about the geckos health also!!!
I would show him to a safe place outside of your home and hopefully you will be able to see him now and then in the wild...
With touching them, IF your hands are super clean BEFORE and AFTER touching the gecko, it should be fine...IF..IF.. the gecko isn't stressed out at all.  Sometimes wild lizards seem to be very calm with human interaction.  They do not do well at all in captivity though.