I don't know how many people have pet reptiles here but personally, I love them. Currently, I have five bearded dragons, a ball python, and a California Kingsnake. I love them to bits too.

Here are a few pictures of my babies:
Edward:

Bettie Page:

Ryou:

Ryou taking a soak:


I don't have good pictures of my other babies. =(


Does anyone else have pet reptiles/amphibians or any cute/interesting stories about them? Post pictures of your pets if you have them too! I would love to see them! :)

My mom wants a Mali Uromastyx. She's been doing research on care, and loves the fact that they're vegetatians (she really can't stand insects). Since you know a lot about reptiles and reptile care, I was wondering if you had any suggestion about how to care for one.

The only problem with the Uros is that they need it really really hot. Malis are great beginner reptiles though since they're pretty forgiving as far as husbandry mistakes go and they're pretty laid back. Only problem is that they get cold easy so you can't have them out for extended periods like you can with something like a bearded dragon. They need their basking temps up near 120F and it's kind of hard to get it that high in the winter. I have a hard time keeping my dragon's temps up in the winter and I keep them around 110F.

Pretty much for Mali care, basking temps around 120F, "cool" area around 90F, Humidity around 20%, diet of things like mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens as a staple, fruits such as blackberries and apples are a treat. Finch food or millet as a grain in the diet.

You have to becareful about what types of UVlighting. A lot of websites do not mention that there are many many bad and harmful lights on the market. I use MegaRay Mercury vapor bulbs for UV and a main basking light. Never had a problem and there is no bad research on them. T-Rex makes a mercury vapor bulb that's supposed to have a high quality UV output as well that did well in testing. I use a normal house bulb if I need to boost temps in the winter.

As far as tube lighting goes, reptiSUN 10.0 bulbs are good for beardies and Uros. Do not ever use ReptiGLO 10.0 bulbs though, I almost lost a dragon due to those bulbs and as soon as I took the bulb off him he got better. I later found out there was UVC produced by them which is really harmful. Coil bulbs cause eye problems due to the quartz crystals in them so I avoid them too.

*nods* ok. Thanks Mystic! I'll tell my mom ^.^

No problem. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me. ^^

I have a Caldonian Crested Gecko named Bahamut.

I really love Cresties, their "eyelash" crests are so cute.

When we bought Baha, he looked completely normal, but about 4 months into raising him it turned out he has a spinal deformity. He's completley healthy otherwise, and can still hunt very well. Turns out, captive-bred Cresties are prone to spinal deformities.

Don't have any pictures at the moment, though, sorry.

Cresties are awesome! One of my favorite lizards by far. I love the feeling of their skin and their little hands and of course the eyelashes. I had one at the store I used to work at that loved me. He would sit on my shoulder and just watch everything. He would also try too jump from my hand onto whoever I was showing him too to say hello. He was so curious and friendly.

Oh...this thread brings back memories. I used to have two Red Eared Slider Turtles. We had got them when this french guy was selling them at a stand in the mall. One which was a perfect turtle was named Charlie. Another one was fat and really deformed was Bradly. God, do I miss them both. When they got to the point where we had to change their tank twice a day, my mom couldn't handle it anymore. So we let them go in my grandparent's creek.

Then again, that was about four years ago now. But I miss them. :(

I think having a turtle would be cool.

I don't have one, but I've always wanted a snake, ever since I was little.

Unfortunately, my mother is terrified of snakes. They're my favorite animal though so I just go and play with the Garters in my yard - I caught two yesterday. I hope to some day get a Ball Python when I'm on my own. My cousin has one that I named Princesa (princess in Spanish) and she is the sweetest thing in the whole world. She'll spend the entire day wrapped around my neck and flat out refuses to let anyone else handle her but she's more than happy to go with me. I have a habit of taking her for walks around town when I go visit :lol:

I have a close friend with 2 leopard geckos (I think, can't remember all that well) and a wild whip tail lizard of some sort (don't ask... she catches wild animals and brings them home all the time :lol:).

Personally I've never had any, as I like things to be furry, but they are kinda cute.

I get people coming up to me all the time and asking if my dragons are real when I take them somewhere with me. It always makes me laugh. I noticed people are more interested in the dragons then fearful of them. I love when kids come to me and ask about them. They always get so excited over being about to pet and hold them.

I've thought about getting a bearded dragon, because I've heard that they're decent beginner reptiles. I've done a bit of research, but I've never owned a reptile before. Any ways to tell a healthy beardie with an even temperament from one who may not be healthy or friendly??

Yes, you want to make sure they can hold their bodies up and that they're kept under proper UV lighing. You also want to look at clear eyes/nose/mouth and make sure there is no discharge and that the jaw is not crooked or injured. Make sure that they are being fed properly. They should be a good weight and have a bit of a tummy on them. Any kind of shaking or toes curled in when they walk is a big red flag for vitamin problems.

I would NOT buy from a pet store especially PetSmart or Petco. Their lighting is crappy and their vendor really does not care about the reptiles. I used to work for them and the amount of unhealthy reptiles they get in is crazy.

I have a few breeders I can recommended that have awesome beardies if you are looking for high quality dragons or a certain morph. As for the UV lighting, see my post about the UV lighting with the Mali post. There are A LOT of bad bulbs out there.

I rescued all my beardies. A lot of people find they are a lot more work than they want to deal with. I would try going through a rescue.

Edit: I forgot to add temperament in there. Beardies are pretty laid back. I only had temperament problems with my oldest dragon but that was because he was never picked up or held before I got him. Now he lays in bed with me and sleeps with me at night. He is the biggest cuddle bug. I would start off with an adult dragon since babies can be pretty expensive to feed. Dragons all have their own personalities so it depends as far as personalities go.

Hmm... Okay. I'll check out Petfinder and see what rescue groups are in the area, unless you know of any good ones in Michigan, namely Metro Detroit (Ohio's okay as well, as long as it's not too far).

Yes, I do. I actually do rescue work. You can PM me if you like.

Okay. :) I may wait a little while before I look into it any further, though, because I might be going back to school soon, and I want to make sure I have the time and energy for another pet. I don't want to leave any pet home alone all day.

Alright, feel free to let me know if you are interested. I always have a few dragons that need homes.

i'm not that big of a fan of pet reptiles, but i put up with them. my husband has two iguanas, two ball pythons, and a burmese python.

I was fostering an iguana for a little over a year. He was a monster. Such a little brat. He ended up being adopted by someone who has iguanas most their lives and is doing great from what I am told. I don't think I would ever get another one because he was so much work.

I have just moved into a new house, and it has a pond. The owners have never fed the goldfish, and they have learnt to fend for themselves through misquito lavae, but every generation comes out smaller (their tiny now). The pond is natural water, average temperature (if this helps).
What I was wondering is, my pond isn't too big, and I was hoping to get a turtle. Here are some guiding questions that I'd like to be answered:

Will the goldfish fight with the turtle(s) (like a sort of territory issue thing?)?

What kind of turtle should I get? I mean, I do have some rocks in the pond that provide some land to rest on (since as far as I know turtles don't always stay in the water), but I'm scared that the turtle will figure a way out of the pond.. are there any turtles that LIVE in the water, don't come out (for breeding or anything) and are available to buy?

Considering the fact that they may need land, can they take heat? I live in a hot environment.

Will the turtle have to be fed (especially if taken from a pet shop)? Or will they be able to fend for themselves as well?

What do turtles eat if they can't fend for themselves?

Any help is great, thanks.

Turtles actually will eat the goldfish. They fall prey a lot of times to raccoons/cats/dogs/coyotes/etc. No turtle will live 100% in the water. They all need somewhere to come out. I've known people that kept them in ponds with those fences you use to keep rabbits out of the garden and a net over it so the turtle has some land to roam on and predators can't get to them. Red ear sliders/yellow ear sliders are hardy and do pretty well. You can also go with a map turtle or a cooter of some kind. Just keep in mind that most turtles get about a foot so they get pretty big and will eat fish that are bigger than they are.

As long as they have access to the water they should be okay outside. Natural sunlight gives the UV light they need to survive so they wouldn't need heat or anything as long as temps don't fall below 70ish for day temps. Night temps I would not let them get below 65F.

Diet depends on what kind of turtle you get. Sliders/cooters/maps will eat both plant and animal material. They would require a high quality turtle pellet, fish, krill/shrimp, and dark leafy greens like collared greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and basically anything that's dark green.

Things like snappers tend to eat more meat based diet and will mainly eat fish and shrimp/krill and things like that. An adult snapper would probably wipe the fish out eventually though.

I wouldn't leave them to fend for themselves since it is possible they can starve especially if they are captive bread and raised.

You also have to keep in mind wildlife that is native to where you live. Some species of turtles are considered an invasive species and compete for resources that native wildlife needs to survive. If they get loose then that can become an issue.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

I had two monitor lizards, one escaped and the other one died. I also had two snakes that also died during the summer.

Are there any vegetarian turtles?