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Tell me about your reptiles

26 replies

LucheroTena · 09/08/2019 10:32

I’d love a reptile (for me). Would like to keep one in a commercial sized enclosure, so not too big. Not a snake.

We have 2 cats but can shut them out of the room when we’re not around. DD is 14 so we have a calm household. And it would be my pet.

Not too worried about handling but happy to. Want an interesting lizard but not a bearded dragon. Happy to spend some money.

Can you tell me what you have, set up, where you keep live food etc. Pictures welcome. Ta

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LucheroTena · 09/08/2019 10:47

Also would like long lived, at least 10 years.

Not nocturnal.

Anyone had an Ackie?

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heather19771210 · 15/08/2019 18:58

My 14 year old just got a veiled (yemen) chameleon three months ago. They need a specific set up but are beautiful animals. Most are not fond of being handled.
I also have a cat who takes absolutely no notice.

heather19771210 · 15/08/2019 19:00

Pic because he is just too cute 😁

LucheroTena · 16/08/2019 15:10

He’s beautiful Heather. I wish I could say our cats wouldn’t take any notice but I’m pretty sure they’ll be obsessed, initially at least. I worry that a Cham might get easily stressed.

I’m thinking about a tortoise now. DD and DH both agree that they like them. I would have to get a table made with a cover for when they’re inside. I considered a Uromastyx but think a tortoise might be more interesting. Also no live food with either tortoise or uro which is a bonus!

How do you manage the live food issue ie where do you keep them and what size enclosures? Does he eat many in a day?

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Hoppinggreen · 16/08/2019 22:37

My 14 year old has a crested Gecko
He’s no trouble and is pretty chilled, but he came from a very experienced home where he was handled daily from a baby.
He can’t really bite so safe to handle and doesn’t eat live food, which was a big thing for me as I didn’t want anything that had to be live fed. He doesn’t do much, I prefer my cats and dog but he’s very handsome and DD loves him
Look at skinks as well, they are friendly and easy to look after, when DS gets a bit older I think he will get one
The initial set up is pricey for reptiles and they aren’t cheap to buy but after that they don’t cost much. Ours hasn’t needed a vet yet but you do need to find a specialist

Hoppinggreen · 16/08/2019 22:38

Oh,and the cats have never shown an interest in the vivarium and Dd doesn’t get him out when they are around.
The dog is just scared of him!

BelindasGleeTeam · 16/08/2019 22:42

We have a leopard gecko. She's very cool.

heather19771210 · 18/08/2019 18:34

We feed him crickets and locusts (and wax worms as a treat). I insist they're kept outside in the garage as I have an eight year old ds would would just love to show them to his friends lol.
You can train them to feed from tweezers but my dd just dusts some in calcium or vitamin powder and releases them in the cage.

LucheroTena · 20/08/2019 15:47

Where do you all store your live food? And how much do you buy at one time?

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Someonesayroadtrip · 21/08/2019 00:08

I love reptiles! I have a lot of snakes though, I currently have turtles and a Beardie. Planning on getting a chameleon, Uromastyx, collared lizard, skinks, tortoise and Ackie monitor soon though (just need to stop buying snakes 😄🙈).

Chameleons issue is humidity, as a beginner it can be hard, but not impossible to get the humidity right.

I guess it depends why you want a reptile in the first place. I wanted to be able to handle it, so we went beardie, he's a character. It quite a common pet though.

Your budget is an important factor, not just for the lizard and it's setup but for the on going costs. Think about what you will do when you go on holiday etc.

As for bugs. Most pet shops sell them, younger reptiles who eat bugs, like beardies can go though a huge amount, like seriously eye watering costs involved in feeding them, then they grow up and it's fine. A tub costs about £2 you can often get a deal for 3 or more tubs, you can keep bugs alive so that helps with costs or can breed yourself (I don't do this). You can buy sacks of bugs online too. Lots of options.

Reptiles that need uvb need good quality lighting. Bulbs need changed regularly, we change ours every 6 months, not sure what the recommendation actually is, probably a year, but check, but uvb lights degrade so need changed even though they look perfectly fine.

I would advise jumping on a Facebook group of whatever reptile takes your fancy and ask for advice. Things like tortoises there are rescues, but I'm learning the "proper" set ho requires a lot more than I expected.

Know your stuff before you go to the pet shop. I've honestly heard shocking advice from pet shops, just because something doesn't die doesn't mean it's right. Someone told me the other day that the internet was full of rubbish and don't let people tell you how to keep your tortoise. She said that people can only do so much, and just gave really poor and dangerous advice.

LucheroTena · 21/08/2019 06:22

Thank you, wow you have snakes. What species?

I think we’ll opt for a tortoise, DD has promised to inherit and look after it. I’ve conacted someone from the tortoise protection group who has pointed me in the right direction re reputable breeders, set ups, care information. Also joined a couple of Facebook groups. Need to have a good read up now and plan housing. We have a good sized garden, plus room inside for a tortoise table. And my friend also has a tortoise.

My mum will do the house sitting (she looks after the cats anyway when we’re away). I was a bit worried about if she’d manange live feeding. And a bit squeamish about housing crickets and so on. So a vegetarian will be easier. Just need to grow my own weeds!

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Someonesayroadtrip · 21/08/2019 21:22

Sounds perfect. Sounds like you have looked into it properly.

I have royal/ball pythons. Different morphs (colours and patterns) and we intend to breed them.

People often vastly underestimate the needs of reptiles, but sounds like you are well aware.

LucheroTena · 22/08/2019 19:27

Sounds fantastic someone. Yes reptiles need the correct space, food, heat, light, UVB, calcium, humidity, the list goes on. Some more unforgiving than others. Quite expensive outlay, at least initially. I think if the setup is right they thrive and are robust though.

We only have cats which are pretty easy / the easiest pets in many ways. I’ve had lots of rescue rabbits over the years, they’ve been hard work. Plus the usual dogs, hamsters, budgies. All animals in this house get the correct care and have thrived. Important to know what you are getting into I feel.

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CheckingOutTheQuantocks · 23/08/2019 13:49

I only have snakes as well. They're lovely gentle animals if you get a young one and bring it up with lots of regular handling, but they're not an easy option and you have to prepare for them to live for at least 10 years. What were your reasons for not wanting one? I do like to advocate for snakes because my royal python is the biggest, most adorable dork ever Grin

I have a friends who has a very old tortoise who has been sort of handed down through the family. He lives outdoors and has no special housing or heating arrangements. They just bung him some food every day and he even takes care of his own hibernation - when the time comes, he buries himself! This is basically everything that isn't recommended when you buy a tortoise, and I would in no way advocate that approach, but I think they're pretty hardy and probably a good starting point if you have no previous reptile experience.

LucheroTena · 23/08/2019 18:20

Thanks checking. I wanted a reptile who was fun to watch, and every time I’ve seen snakes they’re just curled up, unless they’re eating. I do think they’re beautiful and understand the appeal but I’d be a bit freaked at feeding mice, especially large ones. I understand we’ve all got to eat etc and am sure it gets easier. But no way could I get mum to agree to doing that when we go away. Especially as she was so attached to our hamsters!

I fancied a chameleon because they’re awesome but the responsibility for mum maintaining the live feeding, temps and humidity when we go on holiday is probably a bit much (she would do it but I’d feel bad). I could put them into boarding but understand they’re fragile creatures and think it would be unfair. Plus they’re not long lived and I’d like a long living creature.

DH and me are not far off 50 and DD has agreed to inherit the tortoise so that’s good. We’ve had a lot of animal experience over the years all long lived and well cared for so I’m not worried as always research properly. But haven’t had a reptile yet, although have been wanting one for a few years and almost went down the chameleon route but hesitated as the care requirements, etc.

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CheckingOutTheQuantocks · 23/08/2019 18:28

Fair enough, snakes don't do an awful lot off their own bat, but they are quite fun when you get them out and handle them. The mouse-eating never becomes exactly pleasant (although you can buy them frozen in individual little sachets at Pets at Home, which helps) but it is quite fascinating to watch it go down!

I'll just leave this picture of my adorkable python here Grin

Good luck getting a tortoise, I'd love one myself but I don't really have the space for a table and I would also have nobody to pass it on to if it outlived me. The reptile shop near me has lots of different kinds, all of them extremely cute when they're eating lettuce.

LucheroTena · 23/08/2019 21:25

He’s adorable!

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Someonesayroadtrip · 24/08/2019 17:57

There is a tortoise rehoming group on Facebook if that's of interest. Lots of people all over the country.

Also to throw another in the works, created geckos (I bought two this week), as long as your house is warm enough you don't need additional heat, they don't NEED UVB although ideally it's a good idea. They eat a a crested gecko diet and occasion bugs but for if your mums looking after for a few days it's just adding a little water to the powder, so it's easy.

Pigmy hedgehogs are quite different, not reptile but classed as exotic, messy creatures but super cute.

As for snakes, they only need fed once a week max (unless hatchlings), older ones can be 2 weekly. So if you are away a week then you probably don't need anyone to do anything. Super easy. And you can get so many different types. I just bought a banana enchi pinstripe spectre royal python (5th royal), which will look something like attached. (I've paid for but not collected yet). There are lots of different morphs in royals.

Tell me about your reptiles
Tell me about your reptiles
LucheroTena · 24/08/2019 19:09

That’s a pretty snake someone. I just don’t think we’ll get over the whole defrosting rodents business. Pinky mice not too bad but the furry larger ones would be tough.

I love crested geckos but wanted a non nocturnal reptile. The cats would go bonkers with a hedgehog in the house plus I hear they’re really smelly?

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LoonyLunaLoo · 24/08/2019 19:21

We have a Horsfield tortoise called Luna. She’s 1.5 years old and she’s awesome! She has a great personality and is very friendly. She’s a bit greedy though so we have to be careful with what she eats. She eats weeds from the garden or, in winter she has Florette crispy salad (very specific but this is what all the tortoise groups recommend). She never has tortoise pellets or fruit but does need calcium and vitamins. She has a UV light in her tortoise table and an outdoor enclosure for those rare hot days. She lives on sterilised top soil and loves to dig. The good thing about Horsfields are they don’t need papers and they don’t grow too big. This photo is from today as she’s been with us for a year today!

Tell me about your reptiles
LucheroTena · 25/08/2019 00:04

She’s gorgeous loony. Why is it some need papers?
What size set ups do you have? Could you post a pic? What age do you hibernate from?
Ps sorry for all the questions!

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LoonyLunaLoo · 07/09/2019 12:09

This is her indoor enclosure. It’s fine for now but she’ll need a bigger one soon. Don’t worry that she doesn’t have any food, she’s a greedy pig and she eats it all straight away. It’s not good to give them too much as it makes their shell grow too fast and it can cause pyramiding. She eats weeds from the garden. We had to build her the ramps up to her Lego house as she kept trying to climb it to get closer to her light and flipping herself over 🙈. It’s her favourite place now! She has an outdoor enclosure too but we’ve had awful weather and it needs a sort out!

I think some breeds need papers to make sure they were bred in captivity not stolen from the wild.

Tell me about your reptiles
Someonesayroadtrip · 28/10/2019 23:14

Did you ever get a reptile OP?

LucheroTena · 29/10/2019 13:45

Hi someone, yes I’m getting a pair of tortoises from a breeder I found from the tortoise protection group. I have a coldframe and outside house on order for setup from spring and a table for inside. Very excited!

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Someonesayroadtrip · 09/11/2019 10:30

Exciting, a bought a little tortoise too, he came Thursday so still settling in. It's tiny. So cute though. We wanted something that wasn't going to outlive us, so went for an Indian star tortoise (av life expectancy 30 years).

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