Well, I did it! I picked Dakota up twice! I put him in a box while I cleaned out his enclosure tonight. When I finished, I noticed that his head was peeking out of the top of the box. He was so cute! So, I opened the box, picked him up and put him back into his home to explore. He's so strong! That surprised me. Even his tail is strong and seems powerful. He was gentle and certainly able to keep from falling - I was worrying needlessly over that. Next, I'm gonna pick him up and hang out with him. Small, teensy steps - but it's very exciting! My thanks to all of you for helping me to understand how gentle these creatures really are and for helping me to understand a bit more about his motivations. I couldn't have gotten this far without all of you!