Anyone ever own a pet lizard/reptile?

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I really, really can't understand why anyone would want any kind of reptile as a pet. The things I want out of a pet a reptile can't offer me.

I agree with this. You can have a pet snake for years, and there'll never be a point where the only reason it won't eat you is because you won't fit in its mouth.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I really, really can't understand why anyone would want any kind of reptile as a pet. The things I want out of a pet a reptile can't offer me.

There is a sexual joke in there somewhere.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I really, really can't understand why anyone would want any kind of reptile as a pet. The things I want out of a pet a reptile can't offer me.

Some of the larger snakes really like to hug people. That's kind of nice.

[MagicHef]

I had a turtle growing up.

It ran away.

[Fish]

I own 2 Beardies. Kiss my ass Phobia...

They're surprisingly fun pets. I'd recommend a Bearded Dragon over a gecko any day of the week. Geckos are skittish and not as docile as most people claim. Beardies are probably the most docile lizard you can get. I let mine run around the house quite often. They even interact with my cats. They're very easy to handle, and it's a piece of cake to take care of them. I feed mine a mix of veggies and fruit, and crickets and mealworms. Sometimes in the summer, I'll even dig up some earthworms or catch some June bugs. They go nuts over June bugs.

Here's my 2:



Also, I would throw in the blue tongue skink as a good choice. Especially if you're wanting something cheaper and don't have much experience. They're very docile as well, and you can handle them as much as a Beardie. They make really good pets, but aren't talked about much.

[Fish]

Also note that if you get into Bearded Dragons, there's lots of different colors and varieties. From yellows to bright reds. They're much more expensive than the normal ones you find at local shops. But if you get one and breed it, you can sell the babies for really good money.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Fish

Also note that if you get into Bearded Dragons, there's lots of different colors and varieties. From yellows to bright reds. They're much more expensive than the normal ones you find at local shops. But if you get one and breed it, you can sell the babies for really good money.

You have some very interesting ideas on pets. Didn't you also keep racoons?

[KCFaninSEA]

Originally Posted by Richard_Harrow

Growing up I owned a good amount of reptiles (turtles, iguanas, anoles etc) but that was when I was a kid.

I'm now approaching 30 and looking to get a new pet(s). I've considered getting a dog or cat but thats sorta cliche and kinda wanna get a cool lizard.

I'm thinking either a leopard gecko or a bearded dragon. I've read up on both of them and they seem like they would be pretty easy to take care of. The downside to a bearded dragon is that they get huge and eat a TON. But the upside is that they are friendly/docile creatures that like human interaction.

Leopard Geckos dont eat as much and are also docile/friendly but they are nocturnal and usually only come out at night(spend most of their days hiding/sleeping)

Has anyone here owned a gecko or bearded dragon? Any advice would be great! THanks

We have 2 leopard geckos. We have also had a number of water dragons. Don't be worried about the leopard gecko being nocturnal. They are up and around during the day a lot also. You can hold them and let them run around a bit if you keep an eye on them and keep them warm.

[beach tribe]

I prefer Bears. Bears is where it's at.

http://thechive.com/2013/01/10/man-r...-photos-video/

[Grim]

I caught a savannah monitor near a garbage dumpster of a McDonalds I used to work at years ago. It had a harness on it...looked like somebody liked to keep him tied up outside or something and he escaped.
It was mid-October when I caught him. It was pretty cool outside so the thing was sluggish and slow. I picked it up and saw that it had guts or something hanging out of it's anus. I figured it got ran over by a car or something.
I took it to a vet to see if he could fix it and adopt it out. I told my BIL about it and he was eager to adopt it so I got back in touch with the vet. He had just finished performing surgery on it and said it was doing fine now. Apparently when those big reptiles spend their whole lives in a relatively small space their muscles atrophy to a degree and, when they manage to get out in the world, they push themselves too hard and rupture or herniate something (he claimed it wasn't an uncommon thing to see).
I drove back to the vet to pick it up so I could deliver it to my BIL. When the vet came out with the monitor in a box, the box was shaking VIOLENTLY. You could hear the thing in there scrambling around like mad, just trying to get out.
I took the lizard to my FIL, where my BIL was going to pick it up, and opened the box to take it out. The lizard was sitting in the bottom of the box, just staring at me calmly. I reached down to pick it up and the SOB jumped up, like lightning, and clamped down on my hand. It felt like my hand was snagged by a large pair of HOT pliers. I wouldn't have imagined it hurting as bad as it did. I immediately regretted my decision to try to save this creature's life.
Managed to get it into a cage and it let go of my hand as soon as its feet hit the bottom of the cage. My hand was bleeding pretty bad and the lizard had blood all over its mouth....looked like it had just came back from a fresh kill.
BIL came and got the lizard. Took it home to Arkansas and kept it for many years before it passed away. He told me that it never bit him once.
Since that day I have handled exactly ZERO savannah monitor lizards.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Grim

I caught a savannah monitor near a garbage dumpster of a McDonalds I used to work at years ago. It had a harness on it...looked like somebody liked to keep him tied up outside or something and he escaped.
It was mid-October when I caught him. It was pretty cool outside so the thing was sluggish and slow. I picked it up and saw that it had guts or something hanging out of it's anus. I figured it got ran over by a car or something.
I took it to a vet to see if he could fix it and adopt it out. I told my BIL about it and he was eager to adopt it so I got back in touch with the vet. He had just finished performing surgery on it and said it was doing fine now. Apparently when those big reptiles spend their whole lives in a relatively small space their muscles atrophy to a degree and, when they manage to get out in the world, they push themselves too hard and rupture or herniate something (he claimed it wasn't an uncommon thing to see).
I drove back to the vet to pick it up so I could deliver it to my BIL. When the vet came out with the monitor in a box, the box was shaking VIOLENTLY. You could hear the thing in there scrambling around like mad, just trying to get out.
I took the lizard to my FIL, where my BIL was going to pick it up, and opened the box to take it out. The lizard was sitting in the bottom of the box, just staring at me calmly. I reached down to pick it up and the SOB jumped up, like lightning, and clamped down on my hand. It felt like my hand was snagged by a large pair of HOT pliers. I wouldn't have imagined it hurting as bad as it did. I immediately regretted my decision to try to save this creature's life.
Managed to get it into a cage and it let go of my hand as soon as its feet hit the bottom of the cage. My hand was bleeding pretty bad and the lizard had blood all over its mouth....looked like it had just came back from a fresh kill.
BIL came and got the lizard. Took it home to Arkansas and kept it for many years before it passed away. He told me that it never bit him once.
Since that day I have handled exactly ZERO savannah monitor lizards.

It is called a prolapse and it is actually quite common in the larger lizards. It can happen as a result of an impaction, pushing too hard, or simply not enough exercise. It is usually remedied by putting in slowly dissolving sutures.

[Grim]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

It is called a prolapse and it is actually quite common in the larger lizards. It can happen as a result of an impaction, pushing too hard, or simply not enough exercise. It is usually remedied by putting in slowly dissolving sutures.

The vet went right to work on it.... guess he'd had experience with it. I do recall now that he also used the word 'prolapse'.

I also remember the vet bill was under $50. That surprised me..... seemed cheap for surgery.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Grim

The vet went right to work on it.... guess he'd had experience with it. I do recall now that he also used the word 'prolapse'.

I also remember the vet bill was under $50. That surprised me..... seemed cheap for surgery.

Well it wasn't really a surgery. The vet would have just pushed it back in and put in a few small sutures around the vent and that is it. Probably used a little tiny bit of sedative as well. But the whole thing probably took the vet 5-10 minutes. Props to your for saving it though, despite the fact that it bit you.

[Cannibal]

Wife and I owned a relatively large rat snake for about 6 months.

Obviously it's diet was small mice.

Pretty much every time the snake dumped out, it laid the log in it's own water dish. It was nasty. I believe it only had to eat like every 3 days or so, but it was still gross.

The snake was not a very enjoyable pet.

We also gave ours away.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Cannibal

Wife and I owned a relatively large rat snake for about 6 months.

Obviously it's diet was small mice.

Pretty much every time the snake dumped out, it laid the log in it's own water dish. It was nasty. I believe it only had to eat like every 3 days or so, but it was still gross.

The snake was not a very enjoyable pet.

We also gave ours away.

Doesn't your toilet have water in it too?