*Show us your pet reptiles.....*

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Bullet, when you need an upgrade let me know. I'm not taking any more in so once the current lot have grown I'll have a 5x2 going free with all the gubbins. It's totally sealed, the bottom is a bit scratched but substrate covers it.

Cheers, will keep you in mind when i need an upgrade.

Thinking a gopher but hes trying to persuade me to get a ball python as hes not got one but im unsure as its my first snake done a lot searching for information on gophers and they seem ideal.

As danny said go with what you are interested in. I went with a ball python as they are simple to look after. I really like their pattern (nephews not a fan, they are happy to hold my brother adult corn snake and scared by my small python as it looks like a 'real' snake to them) and also I took into consideration the size of the snake when an adult.
I really only see Monty about an hour after his light goes off at half 7 and usually back in a hide by 7 in the morning.

 

[ValiantUK91]

Well my mate has just been down to the shop whwre ill be getting my snake from (hes bought himself 2 scorpions) hes only got vine snakes in atm so i would have to order what snake i wanted and it wont be available until next month so ive got more time now to do a lot more research on different snakes one thing is for sure i would prefer one i can easily handle but i dont mind getting bitten if he/she is lively.

 

[DannyDrama]

Well my mate has just been down to the shop whwre ill be getting my snake from (hes bought himself 2 scorpions) hes only got vine snakes in atm so i would have to order what snake i wanted and it wont be available until next month so ive got more time now to do a lot more research on different snakes one thing is for sure i would prefer one i can easily handle but i dont mind getting bitten if he/she is lively.

If you've got any questions don't hesitate to PM as I've been around reptiles/shops for years. Always looking to help people in to the hobby (it will become one, trust me).

A shop will put honestly a colossal premium on anything you get. As much as I always encourage people to use them (they keep closing for lack of custom) I'd always either rescue an animal or buy direct from a breeder. Bearded Dragons and Royals are the two most over-bred species so there are literally thousands being discarded by parents bored of looking after the kids' pets. Gophers are less common, so not so much.

A bog standard royal would be lucky to get £40 for a breeder and a shop would at least double it, give you some wrong information and sell you the wrong thing. I can list the names of genuinely respected shops in the country on a single finger, so don't think they are run by experts.

 

[BDEE]

Always looking to help people in to the hobby (it will become one, trust me).

This. End of.


I started with one tiny dwarf day gecko.

At one point I had 13 lizards, a snake and a tortoise.

I am down to 10 lizards, a snake and a tortoise at the moment. If I had the space and the money it would probably be about 20 lizards, 6 snakes and a tortoise So many species I would love to keep but don't have space for the vivs.

 

[DannyDrama]

This. End of.


I started with one tiny dwarf day gecko.

At one point I had 13 lizards, a snake and a tortoise.

I am down to 10 lizards, a snake and a tortoise at the moment. If I had the space and the money it would probably be about 20 lizards, 6 snakes and a tortoise So many species I would love to keep but don't have space for the vivs.

So to sum it up, one does not simply buy 'a' reptile.

I held a lizard when I was 8, ended up working my way through a million species while I lived with my parents then went for the retics when I moved out. They probably regretted taking me to the zoo that day a thousand times over, especially when we couldn't find the one cricket keeping us all awake.

 

[robfosters]

Danny, have you got a plan for when the retics become too big to safely handle alone?

 

[BDEE]

especially when we couldn't find the one cricket keeping us all awake.

Ha! The number of times we have been in THAT situation.

 

[DannyDrama]

Danny, have you got a plan for when the retics become too big to safely handle alone?

I've got a couple of contingencies such as a SIM card panic alarm type thing into a friends' house nearby but in all honesty they're largely useless. The problem has mainly been handled via genetics, I did lots of homework on where to find the smaller breeders that take size and temperament into account when breeding one animal to another. I have one full size, one 50% dwarf and a small island locale, the biggest is around ten feet now. It's easy to hear ten feet and think it's big but it's only two and a half royals, hardly a danger to a person. I've been bitten by an 11' burm and that was much more of a concern, retics are slender and weak compared foot for foot. Just to note, the full-size one came from a genetically small line so he's smaller than the actual dwarf.

If the worst comes to the very worst and I get badly wrapped, there's always the bottle of vinegar nearby. Unused as yet, but you never know.

 

[ValiantUK91]

If you've got any questions don't hesitate to PM as I've been around reptiles/shops for years. Always looking to help people in to the hobby (it will become one, trust me). .

Thanks i definitely will and yeah ive got a feeling its going to turn into a hobby just popped around my mates to see the 2 scorpions he never told me he purchased something else aswel, A red eyed crocodile skink he/she looks amazing i never even heard of them until now but i want one now.

Edit: another local pet shop are asking £80-£90 for a gopher i can get a ball python for £50 off a breeder my mate knows

 

[DannyDrama]

Don't just rush to get anything, I know snakes that hatched before I was born.

With breeders you need to make sure they're all 'proper', there are plenty of not-great ones out there.

 

[BDEE]

Love red eye crock skinks. Very shy species on the whole so you don't see them out much. They really shouldn't live on their own though - better in a 1.2 group.

The best advice I can give you is NEVER buy on impulse. You need to spend appropriate time researching the right environment that the animal needs to be kept in and all it's care requirements. You can't always rely on the shop to be right with the info they give you either. We have a lot of reptile shops around the north east and there is only one which I trust implicitly with their advice. I have been given duff info from a number of places who are so said "experts".

 

[robfosters]

The 'collecting' aspect is one that bothers me a bit. Sometimes I feel like people forget they are living animals and treat them more like figurines or something. Royal's are the worst. "Ooh!, must have an albino, must have a spider, must have a bumblebee, must have whatever new mutation they have bred into them"

I'm not accusing anyone on here of this at all. We all seem responsible reptile keepers, but I worry in general about the general public that more animals means more work and sadly, more work can make neglect more likely.

 

[DannyDrama]

The 'collecting' aspect is one that bothers me a bit. Sometimes I feel like people forget they are living animals and treat them more like figurines or something. Royal's are the worst. "Ooh!, must have an albino, must have a spider, must have a bumblebee, must have whatever new mutation they have bred into them"

I'm not accusing anyone on here of this at all. We all seem responsible reptile keepers, but I worry in general about the general public that more animals means more work and sadly, more work can make neglect more likely.

I've been watching the same thing starting to happen with retics, luckily nowhere near the same numbers but I've seen several posts on FB where the owner is clearly going to have issues.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't benefit though, it's exactly this that makes the price of wild types plummet and that's what I prefer. It's sad when you see yet another person with racks though, why keep something like that in a drawer?

Ed made the news with this example of a well mannered retic so I doubt he'd mind me posting it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAETPPpYjhE

 

[Noxia]

I got a bearded dragon in Dec. I love him, so much character and a nice temperament. Not too high maintenance either really. I know they're not very exotic compared to most pets here but I can't wait to get another and maybe breed.
I'd really like a water monitor but I'd only have if I worked from home.

 

[ValiantUK91]

The best advice I can give you is NEVER buy on impulse. You need to spend appropriate time researching the right environment that the animal needs to be kept in and all it's care requirements. You can't always rely on the shop to be right with the info they give you either. We have a lot of reptile shops around the north east and there is only one which I trust implicitly with their advice. I have been given duff info from a number of places who are so said "experts".

Yeah all the information i have so far is what ive gathered myself asked a few mates i know who have had snakes for years, there dont seem to be many reptile shops around here.

 

[BDEE]

I got a bearded dragon in Dec. I love him, so much character and a nice temperament. Not too high maintenance either really. I know they're not very exotic compared to most pets here but I can't wait to get another and maybe breed.
I'd really like a water monitor but I'd only have if I worked from home.

PLEASE do not breed your beardie.

They are massively over-bred and there are literally thousands in rescue. We really don't need to fuel that fire. It is becoming a MASSIVE problem.

 

[Noxia]

PLEASE do not breed your beardie.

They are massively over-bred and there are literally thousands in rescue. We really don't need to fuel that fire. It is becoming a MASSIVE problem.

I was musing really, I'd never have the time. My next one needs to be red as well with black eyes but I forget the technical morph term.

 

[DannyDrama]

I was musing really, I'd never have the time. My next one needs to be red as well with black eyes but I forget the technical morph term.

Take no offence as I mean none personally but the kind of keeper you are is the problem. They look cool enough to keep you a bit interested but not so much that you even remember the name of what you want.

Even if it's 'only' a pet rather than part of a wider hobby it's poor form, everyone knows the breed of dog they have/want don't they? Even more so with pedigrees, which is what the morph you're describing would be compared to.

Like I said don't take personal offence but how on earth do people remember the care for these things if not the name?

 

[BDEE]

I got called harsh today for comments I made on another forum about a keeper who wonders why his BD isn't moving, despite already being told it is in a totally inappropriate setup.

Why ask for advice, then not follow it, then ask why the dragon is still appearing lethargic?

I basically said either look after it properly or re-home it. I didn't think I was being at all harsh.

 

[DannyDrama]

I got called harsh today for comments I made on another forum about a keeper who wonders why his BD isn't moving, despite already being told it is in a totally inappropriate setup.

Why ask for advice, then not follow it, then ask why the dragon is still appearing lethargic?

I basically said either look after it properly or re-home it. I didn't think I was being at all harsh.

I'm not even a member of the forums, banned from one and left the other. I only bother with FB for the pretty pictures and an odd question, totally ignore any arguing etc. Will answer a question and if it sounds like there's going to be an argument I just don't reply.

I'm not going to sit and argue with someone whilst watching their animal go down the pan, it just enrages me. Another one is 'does it need a vet?'. Well if you're asking...

And that isn't harsh. The girl I got an underfed, dehydrated, excrement-covered, shredded looking boa from ended up crying and running out. I'd never seen any animal in such a sorry state and when she said she was too scared to do anything with it I lost my **** in a big way. It had obviously been that way for many weeks, more like months.