My new pet

Epic bump! :p

This thread got a lot of people looking into mantis / lizards...thought id bump it back up again after nearly a year to see how peoples AWESOME pets are doing...not them boring cat and dog things ;)

Picked up 10 of these little guys yesterday :D

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I'd really like to keep some sort of 'alternative pet'. It's something I've always wanted to do as a kid but my parents would never let me.

I'd love to keep something I would actually be handle and interact with, what would you suggest for a total noob like me?
 
The easier reptile species to keep are the likes of Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Corn Snakes. Royal Python. Thy can all be interacted with.
 
robfosters said:
The easier reptile species to keep are the likes of Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Corn Snakes. Royal Python. Thy can all be interacted with.
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Pretty much this, snakes tend to be a touch easier for the beginner I find as they have easier dietry requireents as you can just stick a bag of frozen mice in the freezer and feed when they need it.

Lizards tend to need more daily care with fresh insects vegitation etc

In other news picked up our baby albino boa a few weeks ago

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Wow not seen this thread for a while, Well my Male Dragon is still going strong, hes still being picky as to what he eats and when he eats, goes weeks without touching his food, been to the vets around 15 times since i last posted here and everything is fine, fecals and bloods done all fine, he is just a picky sod.
Made a new 4x2x2 Viv for him, and still has the T5 UV system in there, swap between the 75w halogen from arcadia and a 100w reflector bulb - thinking of changing to a ceramic heater with a secondary fitting with a tiny energy saver for a light source so he knows where to sit.
 
I miss my lizards and amphibians

I made a big L shaped tank years ago that went along a wall 6 feet x 1.5 feet came out 3 foot into the corner and at that end went up 3.5 feet in height.

The L shaped end had 5inch water and rocks and a waterfall. (6 Oriental fire bellied toads and 5-6 fire bellied newts) 2 pumps one on continuous for the water fall and one on a timer to provide "Rain" worked really well.


Above the waterfall were branches and fake trees for the 5 green and 6 grey trees frogs.
Boy were those bad boys loud at night

The dry (desert) area at the far end kept the 4-5 Green Anoles living in harmony with 3-4 Brown Anoles. A couple of common house gecko's and 2 little Egyptian lizards wall

There was always something going on whenever you looked into it.


It sound like it was rammed full but they never showed any signs of stress in fact I think that as we had managed to produce young that should show that we had a good balance.
 
smoove said:
Does anyone have any spare mantis going? Always wanted to have one and call it "twiggy" :D

If so, drop me an email and i'll sort you out a few quid :)
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Need to wait for the weather to get a bit warmer mate, people wont post out during the winter at all...unless you ave a local shop that sells em, itll be a few months before most people will send livestock via the mail :(
 
KnightStalker said:
Wow not seen this thread for a while, Well my Male Dragon is still going strong, hes still being picky as to what he eats and when he eats, goes weeks without touching his food, been to the vets around 15 times since i last posted here and everything is fine, fecals and bloods done all fine, he is just a picky sod.
Made a new 4x2x2 Viv for him, and still has the T5 UV system in there, swap between the 75w halogen from arcadia and a 100w reflector bulb - thinking of changing to a ceramic heater with a secondary fitting with a tiny energy saver for a light source so he knows where to sit.
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You don't mean ditching the T5 UV do you, or you will be back at the vets?

If you want a ceramic heater. The AHS systems from Microclimate are incredible. My 500w on has been going strong for 7 years now. That's a bloody good record for a heater that's on 24/7. You can find details here http://www.microclimate.co.uk/ahsnew.html
 
Just had a read up on keeping one they only live 6 to 12 months I think I'll stick with my 3 bearded dragons :D
 
robfosters said:
You don't mean ditching the T5 UV do you, or you will be back at the vets?

If you want a ceramic heater. The AHS systems from Microclimate are incredible. My 500w on has been going strong for 7 years now. That's a bloody good record for a heater that's on 24/7. You can find details here http://www.microclimate.co.uk/ahsnew.html
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Oh no i wouldnt dream of doing that, just meant the heat lighting fixture, sometimes the 100W does the job nicely, sometimes it barely does anything and the Halogen is more of a spot so works when the house is warm..all hooked up to a dimmer stat.

Ill look into that one, would be good for the winter months as i could keep the viv slightly warmer if it drops too low.
 
KnightStalker said:
Oh no i wouldnt dream of doing that, just meant the heat lighting fixture, sometimes the 100W does the job nicely, sometimes it barely does anything and the Halogen is more of a spot so works when the house is warm..all hooked up to a dimmer stat.

Ill look into that one, would be good for the winter months as i could keep the viv slightly warmer if it drops too low.
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Yeah look at the microclimate ones!
 
Wow that unit is a bit of a beast, would that not be overkill for a 4x2 viv and 1 dragon, wouldnt it be easier to buy a ceramic heat bulb, ive already got a ceramic light fitting, so would only need a pulse stat (hopefully with night and day cycles), plus a cheap plastic light fitting for the energy saver to give the light for the area.
 
KnightStalker said:
Wow that unit is a bit of a beast, would that not be overkill for a 4x2 viv and 1 dragon, wouldnt it be easier to buy a ceramic heat bulb, ive already got a ceramic light fitting, so would only need a pulse stat (hopefully with night and day cycles), plus a cheap plastic light fitting for the energy saver to give the light for the area.
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Why isn't the 100w. Bulb enough?
 
It gets the basking spot to temperature fine enough, its anywhere between 102-111F depending on the day it seems, but its lacking in heating up the actual air in the viv, my cold end is usually in the 70's and the hot end barely gets above 82f. Cold ive read should be about 80-85 and the hot end in the 90's supposedly, just doesnt seem warm enough at times.
 
KnightStalker said:
It gets the basking spot to temperature fine enough, its anywhere between 102-111F depending on the day it seems, but its lacking in heating up the actual air in the viv, my cold end is usually in the 70's and the hot end barely gets above 82f. Cold ive read should be about 80-85 and the hot end in the 90's supposedly, just doesnt seem warm enough at times.
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What substrate?
 
KnightStalker said:
Wow that unit is a bit of a beast, would that not be overkill for a 4x2 viv and 1 dragon, wouldnt it be easier to buy a ceramic heat bulb, ive already got a ceramic light fitting, so would only need a pulse stat (hopefully with night and day cycles), plus a cheap plastic light fitting for the energy saver to give the light for the area.
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Not overkill at all. I have 500w unit in a 3X2X2 python viv. Keeps a perfect temperature.

But as you say, a normal one would be cheaper. As for the thermostat, I would stick with Microclimate and pick up the B2 MEHT. It's a great pulse thermostat with night time drop facility. It can be picked up for around £40-£50. Just make sure your beardie can't reach the lamp.
 
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