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Ideas for a new pet!

Hello everyone,

I am thinking of getting a new pet (reptile or insect of sorts) but can't decide on one.
Any ideas? Also, due to living circumstances, I would only be able to interact with the pet one week out of two (which a couple days during the off-week to feed and pass by).

thanks ahead,
Deckard.
 
I love my iguanas... fairly easy to care for, and great pets! The only problem with iguanas are you need a fairly large area to keep them as they can grow quite large. I have a female now who is just over 4 feet.

As far as the care... just keep the enclosure clean, trim the toenails occasionally, and make sure to get all the dead skin off when they shed and they're pretty happy. Give them fresh veggies with no chemicals on them, store bought iguana food, a UV lamp, and a heat rock and that's all they really need. Very interesting animals!
 
Thanks for the quick reply :)

Do iguanas need frequent human interaction/enjoy human interaction? How big do their homes need to be in order for a full-grown iguana to be comfortable?
 
I interact with mine daily... i have a friend who doesn;t pay his any attention other than regular care, and they both do fine. His does seem to be a bit more tempermental.

They are usually ok in about a 30-50 gallon terrarium for a few years. As they outgrow the terrarium, I move mine into an enclosure I made from chicken wire that is a cylinder with a diameter of 5 feet and is about 6.5 feet tall. I have the large female and a small male in the enclosure. It fits nicely into a corner and doesn't take up all that much room really. They do need to be let out a few days a week so that they can stretch their legs and move around some.

I have seen some very mean iguanas, but that's usually attributed to poor treatment from their owners. I don't believe they enjoy interaction the way a cat or dog would, but the more you interact with them, the friendlier they are (or the more they tolerate you). Once they get big, they can be a handful if they don't like you too much :) I don't think they form a relationship with their owner as much as they just get accustomed to being handled and tolerate it better.

There's nothing cooler than having some guests over and have a 4 foot lizard stroll into the room unexpected though :)
 
Iguanas sound very interesting...
Anyone else have any ideas?
 
I have a baby corn snake. Corn snakes are pretty easy to take care of. They only eat about once a week. I feed mine small frozen mice, which I let thaw out for a while first. Mine doesn't mind being held, but it's the picking up he doesn't really like. They grow to about four feet long. Babies need a tank of at least 10 gallons, and when they grow up need a bigger tank. Cleaning up after them is pretty easy too if you have the right kind of bedding material.
 
A bearded dragon is good too, but very expensive : O you need lights, crickets, but they're fun. you can have them on yer sholder :I
hope this helps
 
I heard Leopard Geckos are easy to care for. Some of the members on here have them, if they come on here they would be able to give you some good info.
 
Leopard geckos are a good reptile if you dont have a lot of time and are one of the easiest reptiles to care for in my opinion. There is also a wealth of information on keeping them available both in traditional print sources and online, though online information can be a bit sketchy at times. I have had my gecko for 6 years and the necessary things take maybe 20min a week if you total them. Feeding them once a week and changing their water every few days is the only things you have to do regularly. Cleaning out the cage is very easy as they pick an area to use as their latrine speeding up the whole process. They dont require UV light just an under tank heater or a heat lamp as they are naturally nocturnal (though mine has become semi-diurnal often coming out during the day, especially if I am present in the room). A 10gal aquarium is adequate for a single adult gecko though a larger enclosure is needed if you want to keep groups of females, as males fight.

They become very tolerant of handling as they age though they are a bit jump when they are young. Mine loves to get out and explore the room. The nice thing is they seem to remain good natured about it even if you dont take them out for a month or two as has happened when I had other people watching my gecko while I was out of the country.

Thats the quick run through on them. If you have more questions you can PM me or post here and I imagine the others here who keep them can try to answer your questions.
 
  • #10
Leopard geckos are good, but if you're looking for something a little more exotic, you can also look into crested geckos. Very cool, and very easy. As far as inverts, it depends on what you like...common standbys work, like Rosehair Tarantulas and Emperor Scorpions. Both tolerate handling, are easy to keep, and their venoms are not considered dangerous (barring allergic reactions). If you'd like to avoid the venom, you can look at giant millipedes (if you can find them nowadays, since the USDA got strict about them) and vinegaroons (again, if you can find them...they're rather seasonal in availability).

Tons of other possibilities...do you have any particular likes/dislikes? There are a lot of suitable snakes, as well.
 
  • #11
Corns or most any king snake are a good bet though I would avoid grey banded kings as they are temperamental feeders. If you can take something a little larger ball pythons and woma pythons make good pets. Big noodles, mellow disposition. Minimum space needed for them is something along the lines of a 41Q tub or a 55G tank. They'll eat small-medium rats as adults but can easily be worked onto freeze/thawed food (all of my snakes are on F/T.)

Another possibility would be Kenyan sand boas. I have never kept them but they have a big following in herp circles and are supposed to be uber easy. Just give a simple cage and enough substrate to burrow through.



Things I would avoid would be the mega snakes (Burms, Retics, BCI/BCC), highly active types (Morelia genus) and arboreal snakes.
 
  • #12
I had a burmese python before the iguanas.... not too difficult to maintain, but extremely large. Mine was 11 feet... they are known to get twice this long! I ended up donating mine to a local reptile zoo because I ran out of space to house it properly.

My sister has a ball, and it's an awesome snake. Hers is a little large... 6 feet... the species usually gets no longer than 3-4 feet. It's the only reptile I have been around that actually seems to like being handled as opposed to simply tolerating it... IMO it's one of the best looking pythons unless you can find an albino of some sort. A ball is sometimes expensive, but sometimes pet stores will sell "royal pythons" really cheap, not realizing that they are baby ball pythons...

In any case, if you get a python or boa, remember it's a long term pet... my sister's ball is 22 years old (they can live to be 35+) and my burmese was 18 when I got rid of it...
 
  • #13
I had a burmese python before the iguanas.... not too difficult to maintain, but extremely large.

Yes, I will fully admit that they are easy but it is the size thing that I baulk at for a "beginner", better they have something that'll stay small, less likely to become an issue that way.

Mine was 11 feet... they are known to get twice this long! I ended up donating mine to a local reptile zoo because I ran out of space to house it properly.

I can not tell you how glad I am to hear you took a responsible course of action. Too many twits just loose them... Idiots!!

My sister has a ball, and it's an awesome snake. Hers is a little large... 6 feet... the species usually gets no longer than 3-4 feet.

Must be a female, they can get a little larger. But yeah, 3-4 feet is the norm.

It's the only reptile I have been around that actually seems to like being handled as opposed to simply tolerating it...

They do seem to like it. Womas are the same way.

IMO it's one of the best looking pythons unless you can find an albino of some sort.

Or you can go all out and get an albino ball and have the best of all worlds LOL

PB040007.jpg


A ball is sometimes expensive, but sometimes pet stores will sell "royal pythons" really cheap, not realizing that they are baby ball pythons...

I would avoid petshop balls, they tend to be CH or imports. Try for a CBB from a show, they tend to run $10-30 at those (as opposed to the $80-90 at Petsmart)

In any case, if you get a python or boa, remember it's a long term pet... my sister's ball is 22 years old (they can live to be 35+) and my burmese was 18 when I got rid of it...

Most snakes are "long term" pets, my red rat is 17 years old for example. Balls are definitely on the higher end though, record was 49 years IIRC.
 
  • #14
Another possibility would be Kenyan sand boas. I have never kept them but they have a big following in herp circles and are supposed to be uber easy. Just give a simple cage and enough substrate to burrow through.
They may be easy to care for, but I thought I heard that Sand Boas where pretty mean.

Of coarse I vote for Leopard Geckos:
http://mysite.verizon.net/elgecko1989/gecko_care.html
 
  • #15
They may be easy to care for, but I thought I heard that Sand Boas where pretty mean.

That may be the case, I have never handled them and, as I said, I have never kept them... Easy way to find out would be to talk to a breeder.
 
  • #16
if you go the colubrid route.....kingsnakes and corn snakes and such i recommend AGAINST getting a hatchling.....they are pretty small and easy to injure as well as being escape artists.....a yearling is bigger and easier to handle without fear of hurting it...especially for a first time snake owner.......hatchling corns are like a typical pencil in size only shorter......and only the head and mid point of the body is as wide as the pencil....actually this time of year is ideal for picking up yearlings as the breeders want to kick last years stock out to make room for newborns in the next few months.........
 
  • #17
I will second this. To new reptile owners, I almost always recommend getting an animal that's at least a year or two old. That way, you know they're feeding, they're usually past the 'nippy stage' (assuming they've been handled), and are much more resilient to handling. This same rule can apply for smaller lizards, as well, like leopard geckos.

if you go the colubrid route.....kingsnakes and corn snakes and such i recommend AGAINST getting a hatchling.....they are pretty small and easy to injure as well as being escape artists.....a yearling is bigger and easier to handle without fear of hurting it...especially for a first time snake owner.......hatchling corns are like a typical pencil in size only shorter......and only the head and mid point of the body is as wide as the pencil....actually this time of year is ideal for picking up yearlings as the breeders want to kick last years stock out to make room for newborns in the next few months.........
 
  • #18
wow, all these replies are great!

thanks for all the ideas, but going over talks with parents and rethinking the responsibility of these pets (as well as lack of funds, since i gotta pay for everything myself), as well as parents not feeling that im ready for another pet yet, i have decided to delay getting a pet.

i wouldnt want to have a pet without being able to properly care and maintain, it would just make me (as well as the pet) just feel terrible....

thanks for all the ideas, ill be keeping these in mind when the time for a new pet comes!

deckard.
 
  • #19
i wouldnt want to have a pet without being able to properly care and maintain, it would just make me (as well as the pet) just feel terrible....

That is a very responsible decision and I applaud you for it. Too many people impulse buy pets.
 
  • #20
If you are looking more in the insect / arachnid direction, I would suggest the pink toed tarantula. (avicularia avicularia)

They are easy to take care of, generally good tempered, and dont need much room, however do your research first. But mine have turned out to be great pets.

Corns, kings and balls are good, and sand boas are good, but are a little grumpy when they are small but Ive read that they get better with age. Mine used to snap at me but is getting better.

Anyways, good luck!


EDIT: whoops, sorry dident see your last post there. Props on making a responsible decision, dosent happen enough
 
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