I want a reptile. Can't decide.

[butch]

Nothing too big, or nothing that grows too big.

Skinks are cool, but I don't know.

Who's got a reptile, what kind, how is the maintenance of one?

[crazzyass]

Ehh...wished I knew more about them. Some are very low maintenance (my friend had a small iguana that he simply left out on his screened-in porch. He kept the water and food bowls up and that was all. The little guy just did his own thing).

Others, however, can require constantly care....like spraying them down every few minutes, etc. It sounds like the wrong one would be annoying as fuck. So...go to a pet store and ask them for a low-maintenance reptile?

[Cathy McGee]

Get a frog, it an amphi. but whatev.

leopard geckos and bearded dragons are also neato.

get a small breed of snake.

chamealons are sweet.

[Kwinnie Bogan]

FIGHT!

[Cathy McGee]

if you want to go critter way scorpians and tarantulas are also very badass.

[constantinople]

Snake wise, I'd say a ball python. They don't get very big at all, and you can keep them in a moderately sized terrarium. Plus they come in all kinds of patterns and colors (although the more exotic the more expensive, obviously). The upkeep isn't TOO bad, I guess the worst thing would be cleaning the cages after take a poop. But you don't feed them that often so that's kind of spaced out. And they don't eat as big of critters as other snakes so you'll save money on food.

I wouldn't reccommend getting a king-snake or something like that. They just aren't very impressive and will get old fast.

[HOLLISTER GUY]

Back in the day you could order Anoles for the cost of shipping, but I don't think they do that anymore they're still really cheap though.

[Ebola]

Originally Posted by butch

Nothing too big, or nothing that grows too big.

Skinks are cool, but I don't know.

Who's got a reptile, what kind, how is the maintenance of one?

I have had several types of lizards, both demanding and less demanding, dessert-living and rainforrest-living.

You should consider how much time you want to put into the terrarium/equipment and maintaince.

They range from very low maintaince (like most constrictors, talk to SHARP) eating only once a week or less to highly demanding species of Chameleon requiring running/dripping water, semi-aquatic or very big aminals.

All reptiles are cold-blooded and therefore need temperature regulation and most day active species need UVA and B supplementing lights.

The lowest maintaince and most hardy lizard I have had was a Blue Spiny Lizard. Bearded Dragons are similar in terms of maintaince and requirements, but grow a bit bigger.

I never had skinks myself (think they are a bit "boring" when you can get a spikey one ), but you can get some that are also relativly easy.

Also there are many different types of geckos (like the Leopard gecko) that are easy to start with.

I would strongly advise against Green Iguanas, poisonous snakes and chameleons.

[jolt890]

Snake: Ball python. They can be finicky eaters when babies, but if you get them feeding on a regular schedule and don't deviate from it, feeding becomes very easy and routine.

They grow to about 5 or 6 ft. And can be kept as adults in a 40 gallon tank or similar sized enclosure. They need temps of just below 90F, I keep mine around 87F. For most of their life 1 or 2 adult mice a week will suffice, costing around $3. No special lighting is required.

Sharp and I both have Ball pythons(royal pythons as they're more correctly but less commonly called) and I think it's safe to say that we both think they're awsome.

Lizard/Gecko: Leopard gecko. They are very easy to maintain. Gutloaded crickets should be the staple of their diet, you can feed mealworms, superworms, waxworms as treats or if they need to gain a bit of weight.

Do not keep them on sand, even calcium sand is non-digestable. Find a different substrate such as compressed coconut fiber or cage carpet(although this can sometimes entagle sharp claws.) Daytime temps around 85F.


Do not get a bearded dragon unless you have experience with reptiles.


I've been a herpetological hobbyist for the past 5 years and have experience with a variety of species.

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.

[FireStarter]

Maintenance, cost, and ease of care totally depends on what you want to get.

There are some reptiles that cost very little to get setup and maintain, and others cost a fortune in setup costs and feeding.

Totally depends what you want from your pet. Something to watch? Something you can handle? Something cheap? Something totally exotic? There are reptiles to suit just about any desire, you just have to be willing to provide proper care for them.

Personally, I have had Bearded Dragons, Chameleons, Snakes, Skinks, and I have cared for many others for years when I used to work in a pet store as a fish/herp/avian specialist. (I have certifications from PIJAC for each) Currently I only have a California king snake. They are very easy to care for, easy to handle, they eat ever week or two, the food is cheap, the setup is cheap, and the maintenance is minimal.

Anything in particular you'd like to know more about? I can try my best to inform you about just about anything, but I know about beardies, chameleons, skinks, monitors, anoles, snakes, geckos and anything commonly found at a pet store off the top of my head. Any questions, please ask in the thread so everyone can benefit from the info.

[Vizier]

I'm more of a turtle guy (i liek turtles), but a lot of people find them boring although they are rather easy to take care of. PM me if you need help with them.

[AnotherAnimal]

I agree with Ebola, get a bearded dragon.

Bearded dragons chill large when you smoke with them, and it's funny to watch them and cats fight, if you have a cat.

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by Vizier

I'm more of a turtle guy (i liek turtles), but a lot of people find them boring although they are rather easy to take care of. PM me if you need help with them.

I find them quite the opposite... Rather expensive and maintenance-heavy. Lighting can be very expensive. Enclosures can be rather expensive as the turtle gets larger. They also tend to eat a lot. I suppose it depends on the species though.

OP, please ask questions in this thread rather than PMing people. Then everyone can learn from the answers given.

[AliceWut]

Piebald python <3

[Vizier]

^ Yeah, well, it depends on the place you live and the species itself. I used to have turtles outside with normal shadow and basking areas and a large water DIY pool and fed them pellets of random insects and stuff I found anywhere.

They hibernated in winter, survived the occassional snowfall and were back to life in spring with no issue

[Kwinnie Bogan]

Would it be bad for a turtle (as in, it could get infections?), or would it plainly be a clean and beneficial source of protein, if it ate jizz? I am not at all joking, despite the very odd nature fo the question. Have you ever fed you turtle jizz?

[Yggdrasil]

Originally Posted by FireStarter

I find them quite the opposite... Rather expensive and maintenance-heavy. Lighting can be very expensive. Enclosures can be rather expensive as the turtle gets larger. They also tend to eat a lot. I suppose it depends on the species though.

Haha, white people and pet maintenance. My tortoises live in the backyard and eat mostly dry dog food, dood. I guess in whatever climate it is you live in these tortoises would be outside their natural habitat, though, and keeping an aquatic turtle would be an even greater hassle

[BadaBing]

No!

-SHARP

[Dread_Lord]

No!

-SHARP

[AliceWut]

No!

-SHARP

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by Vizier

^ Yeah, well, it depends on the place you live and the species itself. I used to have turtles outside with normal shadow and basking areas and a large water DIY pool and fed them pellets of random insects and stuff I found anywhere.

They hibernated in winter, survived the occassional snowfall and were back to life in spring with no issue

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

Haha, white people and pet maintenance. My tortoises live in the backyard and eat mostly dry dog food, dood. I guess in whatever climate it is you live in these tortoises would be outside their natural habitat, though

By all means, if you keep them outside, it can be cheap and they take care of themselves.

I was referring to keeping them as indoor pets.

[Vizier]

Indoor turtles are easy but, species like red-eared sliders grow fast and you need to change enclosure, have them have clean water regularly; etc, so it can be a hazzle.

@Kwinnie..and no, I can assure you none of us have fed our turtles jizz. To begin with, turtles don't really need that much protein so feeding stuff like dog food to turtles and most reptiles in general isn't a good idea.

[Yggdrasil]

^^ Hehehe

Originally Posted by FireStarter

I was referring to keeping them as indoor pets.

Erm... you sure about that, chief? I mean, the tortoises we keep are out in the backyard, but they're corralled in a relatively small area/aviary, and turtle shit reaaaally tends to stink something bad. How would you dispose of their droppings if you kept them in an indoor terrarium before the droppings start stinking up the whole house?

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

^^ Hehehe



Erm... you sure about that, chief? I mean, the tortoises we keep are out in the backyard, but they're corralled in a relatively small area/aviary, and turtle shit reaaaally tends to stink something bad. How would you dispose of their droppings if you kept them in an indoor terrarium before the droppings start stinking up the whole house?

Thus why the maintenance is such a chore. They have to be cleaned up after constantly. Thus why I said they are a lot of work.

[jolt890]

Reasons why bearded dragons are not for inexperienced people or people wanting a low maintenece pet.

1. Require uva/uvb lighting.

2. Require a basking spot 95F+

3. Require a non glass enclosure to prevent nose rub and infections (they don't understand glass)

4. It's hard to keep a high enough temp in a non glas enclosure and keep a gradient so they can be comfortable.

5. Access to fresh greens/vegetables daily

6. With the high temp in the enclosure comes lower humidity, misting every other day and help shedding is common.

7. Can be picky eaters when it comes to veggies, you might have to vary type and color to get them to eat enough.

8. Defecating in water is easier for them so you'll often find the water quite putrid and it'll need to be changed.

9. Beardies have a hard time recognising water that isn't moving or isn't droplets. A bubbler in the water does wonders for hydration but will increase then wanting to defecate in the water.

10. Just don't do it if you're looking for a low maintenece animal. Sure they don't NEED all that, but for them to live properly and to the end of their life expectancy, it is REQUIRED.

[DrGoogfan]

http://anoles.mrgoogfan.com

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by BadaBing

Wow you're retarded. I managed to keep a bearded dragon when I was 8 years old. It was just fine in a glass tank. Don't listen to this tard, bearded dragons are one of the easiest pets to look after, provided you have money for a uv light and heat lamp.

Don't be so fast to call him a retard.

All of his points were absolutely correct, and he is quite right about glass tanks having the potential to cause nose rubbing. It doesn't always happen, but it does occur fairly often. Some beardies don't understand the concept of glass (why would they?) and they rub their nose on it till the scales wear away and it become raw and possibly infected. Not a good situation.

I think perhaps you might be the retard for grossly oversimplifying the care of an animal that requires very specific care to be healthy. Sure, you may have had one that lived for a while, but chances are it wasn't as healthy as it should have been. Anyone who buys a reptile and doesn't care for it 100% is absolutely a retard.

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by BadaBing

Internet is serious fucking business.

The internet may not be, but bad advice when it comes to caring for a pet is quite serious. If you give someone bad advice, and it causes an animal to suffer, it isn't lulz on the internet anymore.

[L33tz]

From my understanding Draconians are the biggest and most powerful. I suggest you get one of them.

EDIT: Apparently this isn't about the right kind of reptilians. Disregard my post.

But on topic Iguanas are cool

[SHARP]

Regarding Ball Pythons/Royal Pythons, it's correct that a couple of us keeps them presently and find them awesome to no extent, personally I haven't kept 'em for as long as Jolt, emag, and Vamp - they were all posters back on Noah's Ark on Totse, and they know what they're on about, but I do know a bit about 'em too.

As someone suggested, "scorpions or tarantulas" could be interesting but if you want something you can pick up and pat 'em on the head I'd advice against it, I have a bit 'o experience with one species of scorps, and a good deal with the big spiders as I've kept them for years...

[Cathy McGee]

Originally Posted by SHARP

Regarding Ball Pythons/Royal Pythons, it's correct that a couple of us keeps them presently and find them awesome to no extent, personally I haven't kept 'em for as long as Jolt, emag, and Vamp - they were all posters back on Noah's Ark on Totse, and they know what they're on about, but I do know a bit about 'em too.

As someone suggested, "scorpions or tarantulas" could be interesting but if you want something you can pick up and pat 'em on the head I'd advice against it, I have a bit 'o experience with one species of scorps, and a good deal with the big spiders as I've kept them for years...

Pythons are great, if you dont want a super active animal. Watching them eat is the tits tho.



and you can definitly pet tarantulas, they are quite cuddly.

[yawanur]

Originally Posted by SHARP

emag

is he still here? he was an awesome poster


on topic: aquatic turtles are high maintenance for noobs, avoid them.

[SHARP]

Originally Posted by Cathy McGee

Pythons are great, if you dont want a super active animal. Watching them eat is the tits tho.

Yeah well, they're nocturnal hunters so usually they'll be laying low while you're awake...
But, it is quite interesting watching them eat, I still can't understand how they can possibly eat something almost as thick as themselves...

Originally Posted by Cathy McGee

and you can definitly pet tarantulas, they are quite cuddly.

Are you sure about that?

Well, I can think of one or two spiders it wouldn't be a good idea to touch, some of them can be a bit defensive...

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Runaway_Stapler

is he still here? he was an awesome poster

Haven't seen him around lately, I don't know if he changed username or something to that effect, but I'll look around.

[Ebola]

Originally Posted by jolt890

Reasons why bearded dragons are not for inexperienced people or people wanting a low maintenece pet.

1. Require uva/uvb lighting.

2. Require a basking spot 95F+

3. Require a non glass enclosure to prevent nose rub and infections (they don't understand glass)

4. It's hard to keep a high enough temp in a non glas enclosure and keep a gradient so they can be comfortable.

5. Access to fresh greens/vegetables daily

6. With the high temp in the enclosure comes lower humidity, misting every other day and help shedding is common.

7. Can be picky eaters when it comes to veggies, you might have to vary type and color to get them to eat enough.

8. Defecating in water is easier for them so you'll often find the water quite putrid and it'll need to be changed.

9. Beardies have a hard time recognising water that isn't moving or isn't droplets. A bubbler in the water does wonders for hydration but will increase then wanting to defecate in the water.

10. Just don't do it if you're looking for a low maintenece animal. Sure they don't NEED all that, but for them to live properly and to the end of their life expectancy, it is REQUIRED.

In general I agree to the above but with some comments:

1, UVA/B: I would expect everyone (especially if they take time to ask around forums and get other peoples oppinions rather than running out and buying a "pocket iguana") to provide the nessecary equipment to house the animal incl. lighting. As almost all dayactive reptiles require UVA/B I would say that is a basic requirement and not something that should discourage getting a Dragon.

2, Basking spot: A little like the above, I would expect anyone getting a reptile to provide it with a basking spot. That again counts for most dayactive reptiles and the only natural way (imo) is a spot and not a pad/carpet.

3, Nose rubbing: I have a theory about this behaviour and have seen it with many other species than Dragons. I don´t think its that they "don´t understand glass" but rather that it reflects their own image and they are fighting themselves. A way to avoid it is make a wooden terrarium with only the front from glass and possibly place vents at the bottom so the animals don´t see their own reflection.

4, Temp. problem: Solved by above.

5, Fresh food: That is more an issue of your own access to fresh greens. I live in the middle of a farely large city with greengrocers and shops everywhere. Unless you are breeding your own feeding bugs, I consider bugs being harder to get fresh than greens. So the only "low maintaince" in your oppinion would be a snake?

6, Misting: I consider misting to be part of keeping any animal in a terrarium. Thats the 2 mins you spend a day on misting and checking your pet is alive and very low maintaince imo.

7, Picky: See 5.

8, Water: They will gladly lick water from rocks when you mist. Might want to consider the water bowl as a toilet. The shit should be removed regular no matter if its on the ground or in water. Having it in the water bowl would ease maintaince as I see it; only one place to clean, easy to wash and clean.

9, Water. No problem with regular misting and fresh greens.

10, Life quality: Counts for any animal be it a guppy or an elephant. Some just tend to care more when the animals are in the more advanced or evolved end of the scale. If I was to list most of the discussed animals in maintaince and difficulty relations (also considering their potential life span) it would be:
Leopard gecko / Anole -> Bearded Dragon / Python / Swamp Turtle -> Scorp / Spider -> Tortois -> Green Iguana / Chameleon.

[monotoned]

My ball python doesn't move around much, if you're getting a snake and want one that's more active a corn snake is pretty nice for a newbie.

[jolt890]

Yes. Colubrids are a more active snake in general, if you want something that moves a corn snake or rat snake are also good choices.

If you want a gecko for display, Tokay geckos are pretty fucking badass, although they can rarely be tamed enough to be handled without extreme caution. They bite pretty much anything that comes near them, makes them easy to feed though. They also climb glass so you'dd need a secure enclosure. They also like to hide so even though they're pretty, you won't see them most of the time.

[FireStarter]

Originally Posted by jolt890

Yes. Colubrids are a more active snake in general, if you want something that moves a corn snake or rat snake are also good choices.

If you want a gecko for display, Tokay geckos are pretty fucking badass, although they can rarely be tamed enough to be handled without extreme caution. They bite pretty much anything that comes near them, makes them easy to feed though. They also climb glass so you'dd need a secure enclosure. They also like to hide so even though they're pretty, you won't see them most of the time.

Tokays also scream like a bitch if you try to grab them.

[ShutMeUp]

some excellent info in this thread, nice one guys

I'd say leopard geckos are one the lowest-maintanace lizards.

what level of interaction and activeness do you want in a pet reptile?

[SHARP]

Originally Posted by ShutMeUp

some excellent info in this thread, nice one guys

Yeah, it brings a smile to your face when the forum works like it should, doesn't it.

And just to stay on topic and hope I'll be excused this little ill-concealed thumbs up to all the contributors, disguised as a personal response to a fellow Mod, I'll drop a couple of pics of my Pythons in the hope it might convince someone they need to get better aquainted with these fine animals.

My male and female:

[Vizier]

Those pythons... I think I just fell in love.

What do you feed them normally? Rats, chicken/chicks?