Lizards? Snakes? Other reptiles?

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I'm considering getting a lizard or snake, or some other reptile. Anybody know about raising/owning them? Costs?

[Maester]

I do. Ask away

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Whats the best to start off with???

[JasminaJ]

Same here. Lots of experience with reptiles.
links:http://www.petreptiles.com/
http://exoticpets.about.com/library/.../aa091101a.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=17
and finally http://www.herpetology.com/

Study a lot, so you know what reptile suits your personality and lifestyle best, and most of all how you can take the very best care of them.
They make wonderful pets, especially for allergy-prone people. Enjoy!

[JasminaJ]

What kind of reptile attracts your interest?

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

The Geico Gecko.

[Peach]

We had an iguana for some years, and he grew to nearly six feet long. He was not what you would call a lively pet. In the end, we didn't know he was dead for several days because he didn't look any different.

[JasminaJ]

Hey, Peach, the smell wasn't a dead giveaway?
DFP- geckos are fairly easy to keep. When they get excited, or scared, they cough. It sounds like"GAK!" And their cute little sticky toes make it possible for them to hang out upside down for ages. I envy that.

[Maester]

If you want a pet you can hold all the time, I wouldnt really recommend most geckos. But, leopard geckos are great starters. Theyre laid back, and look pretty cool.
But if youre into snakes more, corn snakes would be easy.
If you do alot of research before buying anything, you can get anything you want. The internet can teach alot. lol

[JasminaJ]

So can visits to the local Herp store, hanging out with other herp people, and handling the animals before buying.
I like bearded dragons as a starter. Easy to handle, easy to keep, and don't grow into dinosaurs like iguanas do.

[Maester]

Yea, you definetly want to handle them and talk to people with them first. I know too many people who bought a pet they thought theyd like, and then ended up being bored and neglected the poor things. Itd hard getting rid of them too.

[glowstix]

if i had to choose one, i'd go with a snake. i think lizards are absolutely creepy.. i hate 'em.

[mrbiggs]

My cousin has a snake. You feed it baby mice. He also has dreadlocks.

That's all I know.

[Beowulfman6]

Don't buy an exotic species as a pet unless you are absolutely sure you can handle it reponsibly. Some reptiles can grow very large and be a huge problem, leading many owners to release them into the wild. This can have potentialy devestation consequences on the local ecosystyms. The Florida everglades are experiencing some major problems with Burmese pythons that people have released.

If you do eventualy find that you can no longer keep a pet at least do the environmentaly responsible thing and give/sell it to someone responsible.

The ownership responsibility also means ensuring that it cannot escape accidentaly.

That said, reptiles can make excellent pets. One great solution to the above problem is to get a native species, like a corn snake. They can be very tame and only require a clean terrarium and a few nice mice each week.

Good luck with finding the right pet!

[ThatReallyHurt]

Get a goldfish. Preferably one of those ones that are eight for a buck or something.

When it dies, ask your friends and family if you were inconsolable for days or weeks after.

If the answer to that is "no", then find out if you were a good to it. No experiments, underfeeding, overfeeding, neglect, that sort of thing.

If the answer to that is "yes", then go nuts. A friend of mine has some manner of lizard - I've no idea what it is, but it'll sit on his shoulder when he watches TV.

[TrainingDummy]

I have a turtle. He used to be really afraid of me, but now he swims around when I go to his tank because he knows it's feeding time. He hisses and tries to bite me if I pick him up, though. I am in school, but when I get my own house I plan to breed turtles on the side. Gonna be a few years, though.

[Valerio Versace]

Iguanas are pretty: I first saw one in Cuba. It's a lot more friendly than a snake, which is also unpleaseant to touch.

[Maester]

lol. I had an iguana, and that thing was pure evil. Itd whip me in the face, and scratch, and beat me as if I were its b****. Snakes are nicer.

[howtobrew]

Regarding small lizards: "Escaped Crickets"
Regarding Horned Toads: "Must catch more ants"
Regarding Iguanas: "Salomenella"
Regarding Snakes: "Move Damn You!"
Regarding Big Snakes: "Raising Mice-Rats-Guinea Pigs-Rabbits"

Best reptilian pet I ever had was pair of geckos that escaped from the terrarium and lived on my bedroom walls, going in and out doors at will via the constantly open window. They left small droppings on the wall, but were very low maintanence otherwise. Fed themselves. Eventually I moved.

In terms of maintanence/performance ratio: I think a cat is the best.

[oiuyt]

I own a turtle. Came with my house (which has a small fish/turtle pond). Very easy to take care of, even taking into account the fact that we bring them all inside for the winter.

Also own a number of fish (some from the fish/turtle pond, others in a tropical tank that I've had for several years).

-B