View Full Version : Keeping Reptiles
Does anyone here keep reptiles? I recently virtually moved out of my house and the person I live with is Area Manager for a chain of reptile stores and ting. At the flat we have:
36 eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos) subspecies eublepharis macularius macularius of varying genetic mutations, from your normal guys to yellow type ones and stuff. We had a few babies too, but we gave a couple away as presents, sold a few more and one died, the other we killed.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Egambl007/geckos/Eublepharis_macularius_NORM.jpg
We also have two lygodactylus williamsi (Williams Electric Blue Gecko). We have both a male and a female, the female recently laid eggs so we have covered a few (the rest will probably be eaten before or after hatching) and we reckon the female could be gravid again, which is exciting!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Lygodactylus-williamsi.jpg
We have five gekko gekko (Tokay Geckos) but they are bitey *******s and I don't like them very much.
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Travel/Malaysia/Wildlife/TokayGecko08.jpg
We also have two epicrates cencheria of the subspecies epicrates cencheria cencheria (Brazilian Rainbow Boa) - these are the ones Leah dislikes on cam. I really like the snake, they look good as they have this iridescence about them (hence the name). We have a male and a female, and want to breed them.
http://www.reptilesweb.com/images/stories/Snake/brazilian-rainbow-boa.jpg
I'm hopefully going to be getting a new snake soon, I want to get a morelia spilota cheynei (Jungle Carpet Python) because they look good and I like pythons.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Juncarpet1.jpg/800px-Juncarpet1.jpg
There are also countless reptiles at the shop. Any of which we could take home if we wish, sometimes we do :P. So yeah, does anyone else keep reptiles?
WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU AFTER MORE OF THOSE BEASTS? IS THIS A MIDLIFE CRISIS OR SOMETHING? ;l
Black_Apalachi
21-01-2010, 11:42 PM
THIRTY SIX??????? WOT?????? and why did you kill one lol, or was that a joke? :P
Omg that's insane but it sounds like they're all very well looked after. How much can you get per reptile you sell (which one is the most valuable)?
THIRTY SIX??????? WOT?????? and why did you kill one lol, or was that a joke? :P
Omg that's insane but it sounds like they're all very well looked after. How much can you get per reptile you sell (which one is the most valuable)?
Yeah thirty six :P. I only showed you a couple... we did kill one, but only because it was having severe neurological problems (convulsions and stuff), wasn't feeding well and to top it all off was hypocalcemic. Swift brick to the head and she was out of her misery.
It depends which one. One of the mutations of the Leopard Geckos we have would have cost us £3000 and we could sell it for somewhere between £2000 - £2500. The lygodactylus williamsi were bought for £400 because they were extremely rare at the time but would now only go for about £40 I reckon.
At the shop the most expensive reptile is the Alligator, or some of the venomous snakes like the cobras... as they are obviously the hardest to import etc.
garion loves his snakes ;)
no i aint got any but i want a lizard :( nice collection tho!
Stryderman
21-01-2010, 11:54 PM
I like turtles / tortoises / terrapins used to have 2 tortoises.
Is that blue gecko the one which lights up under uv lights?
Some pictures of the different mutations of Leopard Geckos:
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v63/170/46/193105745/n193105745_32443061_7497.jpg
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v63/170/46/193105745/n193105745_32443062_8315.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v63/170/46/193105745/n193105745_32443064_9614.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v72/170/46/193105745/n193105745_32443193_5625.jpg
They are the actual geckos, rather than pictures found on the internet. I have pictures taken by Chris (my flatmate and resident reptile expert) of reptiles at the shop, too, if any of you are interested.
Edit: @ Xuzii - the lygodactylus or the gekko gekko? Neither do, though, as far as I am aware.
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 12:01 AM
Aww that must have been horrible :(. 3 grand though?! Wow, and I didn't even think venomous animals would be allowed in this country at all!
Is that like a proper alligator as well? Do they have to do some sort of checks before they sell those kind of things to people?
Aww that must have been horrible :(. 3 grand though?! Wow, and I didn't even think venomous animals would be allowed in this country at all!
Is that like a proper alligator as well? Do they have to do some sort of checks before they sell those kind of things to people?
It didn't bother me too much, the lesbian flatmate nearly cried when she heard the thud, though :P. You need a licence to keep dangerous animals. I am pretty sure there aren't many people that hold it. It's a Chinese Alligator. Not for sale to any normal customer, obv.
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 12:19 AM
I'm too lazy to ever be responsible for anything like a reptile, must be quite expensive to keep too?!
Initial set up and care for reptiles can be quite straining. They're expensive to buy in some instances, and the vivarium, heat lamps, heat mats etc can work out a lot too. Nevertheless, once you've got them all set up they require a lot less attention than cats or dogs. They do need a specialist diet though. One of the Burmese Pythons at the shop feeds on Rabbits, and obviously that's not the easiest thing to get hold of and ting.
id LOVE a reptile when im older, the gekko gekko one looks awesome! (thats the orange and white one yeh? blue one looks cool too)
omg rabbits, ill remember not to have one of those around if i get a snake.. :P
id LOVE a reptile when im older, the gekko gekko one looks awesome! (thats the orange and white one yeh? blue one looks cool too)
omg rabbits, ill remember not to have one of those around if i get a snake.. :P
Yeah the gekko gekko is the orange and light blue one :p. They're known as the pit bull of the gecko world. They do look cool, but they bite and don't let go! The lygodactylus again, is cool to look at and they are cool geckos but they are very, very fast and very small, so you don't see them too much and you can't really handle them. Cool to have though.
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 12:31 AM
Are the rabbits fed live?
Hope one of dem gekkos is called Gex :8
i like snakes too! i dont know though, i like to handle them cus they feel really nice as well, but i dont think i could handle feeding them mice and stuff! :P
btw i lol'd when you said 'I recently virtually moved out of my house' i was like, hes moved into habbo :'(
Are the rabbits fed live?
Hope one of dem gekkos is called Gex :8
We don't feed the normal snakes live animals, generally because it's more hassle and there are instances where the mice / rats / rabbits can put up a bit of a fight and stop cause them damage. Obviously in the wild this is inevitable because that's how life is, but in captivity we aim to reduce that risk for obvious reasons - they're pets, essentially.
The King Cobras, however, are fed live snakes. The male in particular is the least tame and therefore it's very hard to feed him dead rats because he doesn't like it :(. So he gets fed a live snake as this is the most similar to how he would feed in the wild. I have to say, it's a weird experience watching a snake eat another snake, though.
i like snakes too! i dont know though, i like to handle them cus they feel really nice as well, but i dont think i could handle feeding them mice and stuff! :P
btw i lol'd when you said 'I recently virtually moved out of my house' i was like, hes moved into habbo :'(
Lol they do feel nice, contrary to what people think. I like the boas because they wrap themselves around you and have a strong grip and it's oddly cool. Feeding them isn't too bad, it's quite fun to tantalise them for a while and watch them strike.
omg i want you to get the croccs lol :D
omg i want you to get the croccs lol :D
Lol could never keep our Ali G at the flat :(. I'll try take some pics of him when I go to the shop tomorrow though innit.
Lol they do feel nice, contrary to what people think. I like the boas because they wrap themselves around you and have a strong grip and it's oddly cool. Feeding them isn't too bad, it's quite fun to tantalise them for a while and watch them strike.
I know! my friend had one and i didnt want to hold or touch it but when i did, its kinda like silk from what i remember. Its really quite a strange feeling because you build up all this tension and for it to feel weird and it doesnt :P
His snake was quite thin and orange, if that helps to identifying it lol. it did wrap its self around your arm too! was well scary one time, he just randomly put it on my neck and it went around it and im so used to like films with snakes in choking people that i just disliked it!!
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 12:46 AM
Omg I'd love to see a rabbit or mouse own a cobra!!!! :D Gotta be live cos they're not scavengers init. I like how they feel as well. I've only held this kid's snakes from my old street, I think they were corn snakes? (They were orange and not huge).
And I once had a pic taken of me holding this HYOWGEEEE albino thing. I dunno what it was but it was apparently the same weight as me at the time... I was like 'OK can you take it off me now please' lol :P
I know! my friend had one and i didnt want to hold or touch it but when i did, its kinda like silk from what i remember. Its really quite a strange feeling because you build up all this tension and for it to feel weird and it doesnt :P
His snake was quite thin and orange, if that helps to identifying it lol. it did wrap its self around your arm too! was well scary one time, he just randomly put it on my neck and it went around it and im so used to like films with snakes in choking people that i just disliked it!!
Yeah they tend to be very smooth and one could argue silky. Most people expect a slimy feel because they have a shine, but it's not at all.
As per your friend it sounds like elaphe guttata (corn snake). Was it patterned orange? Or was it literally orange all over? I say a corn snake because they are one of the most commonly kept snake in the UK and depending on the colour morph (there are LOADS) they often have an orange / red appearance.
Omg I'd love to see a rabbit or mouse own a cobra!!!! :D Gotta be live cos they're not scavengers init. I like how they feel as well. I've only held this kid's snakes from my old street, I think they were corn snakes? (They were orange and not huge).
And I once had a pic taken of me holding this HYOWGEEEE albino thing. I dunno what it was but it was apparently the same weight as me at the time... I was like 'OK can you take it off me now please' lol :P
Again I'd say it does sound like elaphe guttata.
The albino snake you held is most probably an albino python molurus bivittatus - commonly known as a Burmese Python. They can grow to around 12ft, sometimes more. The one we have in the shop is 11ft. They are one of my favourite snakes in terms of appearance. We have baby ones of those too :D. That's one of the snakes we feed rabbits lol.
Should look like this:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Albino_burmese_pythons.jpg/750px-Albino_burmese_pythons.jpg
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 12:59 AM
That was probably it :D
thats it! a corn snake! woo. i can sleep tonight now :) x
thats it! a corn snake! woo. i can sleep tonight now :) x
Some of them look good but they bore me. It's generally corn snakes we feed to the Cobra :$
Some pictures of reptiles from the shop:
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs162.snc3/18972_1289699035358_1016685941_30939462_7303815_n. jpg
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs162.snc3/18972_1289699075359_1016685941_30939463_984760_n.j pg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs182.snc3/18972_1289699115360_1016685941_30939464_472794_n.j pg
This is one of the ophiophagus hannah (King Cobras) at the shop in the venomous room (which has restricted public access, but you can go and see if you arrange it - for those of you who live in Bristol!). Probably one of my favourite snakes of all time, they look incredibly impressive, I love them. Never handled one myself though, Chris does though.
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs028.snc3/11567_1277914780759_1016685941_30901927_8046987_n. jpg
This is aeluroscalabotes felinus - cat gecko. I think it looks cool, don't know much about them though!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs084.snc1/4583_1162654659328_1016685941_30512924_2092918_n.j pg
This is pogona bitticeps or Bearded Dragon. These are commonly kept as pets. There are loads of baby ones at the shop at the moment. Super, super cute :D.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v333/79/8/1016685941/n1016685941_30134737_8968.jpg
This is physignathus cocincinus (Chinese Water Dragon). Just think it's a well cool looking lizard and again, are regularly kept as pets.
Those are just a few of the pictures there are a hundred or so on his Facebook, but those are the only ones I can easily identify. It is only my new hobby after all... but yeah, those are a few of the things kept at the shop!
Lol could never keep our Ali G at the flat :(. I'll try take some pics of him when I go to the shop tomorrow though innit.
why are you so obsessed with reptiles atm LOL omg cobras what the hell garion are you trying to give me nightmares????
why are you so obsessed with reptiles atm LOL omg cobras what the hell garion are you trying to give me nightmares????
I dunno Leah my lovely! I wasn't that interested in them until I met Chris and seeing as he manages reptile shops and there are lots of reptiles here I've got well into them. They are my new hobby
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 02:52 PM
kwl beenz. pic of you on alligator's back tbh :lol:
kwl beenz. pic of you on alligator's back tbh :lol:
Lol he's not that big :P
Black_Apalachi
22-01-2010, 04:06 PM
k then pic of him on your back :D:D
I was gonna get a lizard or somet but then i thought nah there boring so i got a cat
I dunno Leah my lovely! I wasn't that interested in them until I met Chris and seeing as he manages reptile shops and there are lots of reptiles here I've got well into them. They are my new hobby
Please get into football
I was gonna get a lizard or somet but then i thought nah there boring so i got a cat
They are not boring, they're fun!!
k then pic of him on your back :D:D
I'm going to the shop tomorrow so I'll try get a pic. Not with him on me though, that's scary :P.
Please get into football
I like football.
Black_Apalachi
24-01-2010, 01:47 AM
Lmao cool, look forward to it :D
AgnesIO
24-01-2010, 04:18 PM
I actually get quite scared just looking at some of them xD
I understand why you love them, as I like some of them - just ****, keeping them in my house lol. I would be scared to wakwe up seeing it next to me or summin :D
Immenseman
24-01-2010, 04:45 PM
my step brothers used to have lizards, i dont want any, the skin is too rough
Lizards are okay, it's the snakes i'm worried about. When he doesn't come online he's clearly been eaten or killed by one.
Immenseman
24-01-2010, 05:04 PM
lmao, i could never have a pet snake, too scary
Ardemax
25-01-2010, 07:23 PM
no i cant stand them they freak me out lol
Black_Apalachi
25-01-2010, 08:29 PM
I would love them but for the work. I also don't know enough about them and if there's one thing I hate with a passion, it's people who keep pets when they don't know enough about them to look after them properly.
I actually get quite scared just looking at some of them xD
I understand why you love them, as I like some of them - just ****, keeping them in my house lol. I would be scared to wakwe up seeing it next to me or summin :D
I don't think they're scary! I can't even understand why people have an aversion to them, I think they're well cool. They look good, if you get the right ones. They're harmless too, generally. Obviously you get your more aggressive snakes (particularly wild caught ones, and obviously the venonmous ones) and the gekko gekko species of Gecko are generally quite bloody bitey, but all in all the right reptile, well looked after and treated with respect is not scary at all!
my step brothers used to have lizards, i dont want any, the skin is too rough
Depends what lizard :(. Mostly though, yeah. They tend to look really good though!!
Lizards are okay, it's the snakes i'm worried about. When he doesn't come online he's clearly been eaten or killed by one.
Snakes are better than lizards, in my opinion. A lot of people would disagree. I like the pogona vitticeps though, the baby ones are well cute. Snakes in general aren't really that aggressive, particularly captive ones and the snakes that are common in the pet trade. I'd have to be bit by a venomous snake if I were to be killed, and I am yet to handle them (although when we move out, we're going to get a licence under the DWA and get them, so I'll learn to handle them then) but the snakes I handle regularly aren't venomous and, although some might be aggressive, if handled properly it's fine. Besides if they bite me, it's not too bad!
lmao, i could never have a pet snake, too scary
They're not scary!
no i cant stand them they freak me out lol
Why though!?!
I would love them but for the work. I also don't know enough about them and if there's one thing I hate with a passion, it's people who keep pets when they don't know enough about them to look after them properly.
To be fair I didn't know anything about reptiles until around a month ago, now I'm becoming an expert. Admittedly I do have Chris and access to a reptile shop but nevertheless, it's easy enough to get into! You can teach yourself quite easily, and you could always ask me :p. Plus, the right reptile doesn't require that much work at all. I like to handle my snakes regularly and stuff, but generally all they really need is a decent Vivarium and feeding a couple of times a month (sometimes less). Do it :D!
Black_Apalachi
26-01-2010, 02:52 PM
Haha well thanks for the offer of assistance, I'll keep you in mind should I ever decide to venture into that domain :P.
Jamesy
26-01-2010, 07:39 PM
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Lygodactylus-williamsi.jpg
It looks stunningly pretty :O
It looks stunningly pretty :O
Lygodactylus are remarkably pretty :D. One of my fav species of gecko :).
Richie
30-01-2010, 12:15 AM
i dnt have any but id like a lizard or something but it looks like u need to put allot of effort into it
Not particularly, once you've got the set up it's relatively easy to care for a lizard. Depending on what lizard you get of course.
Black_Apalachi
30-01-2010, 06:23 AM
Garion is tryin to sell us all his friend's little creatures ;)
Richie
30-01-2010, 04:06 PM
Not particularly, once you've got the set up it's relatively easy to care for a lizard. Depending on what lizard you get of course.
I know but wouldn't its tank need to be cleaned on a daily basis?
Narnat,
30-01-2010, 08:27 PM
I'm too lazy to ever be responsible for anything like a reptile, must be quite expensive to keep too?!
Thats what i was thinking, How un-earth can you keep so many doesnt it take you ages to clean them and feed them and stuff like that ?
I know but wouldn't its tank need to be cleaned on a daily basis?
Not daily. You give them new water daily, but it just depends what you are keeping and stuff. It's at your discretion really, when it starts to get dirty. Maybe once a week? Sometimes less.
Thats what i was thinking, How un-earth can you keep so many doesnt it take you ages to clean them and feed them and stuff like that ?
I obviously have to put in a lot more effort. But if you're only keeping one or two, it's not much hassle.
Wig44.
01-02-2010, 07:58 PM
How much does it cost to feed the cobra live snakes? Must be a lot :O
How much does it cost to feed the cobra live snakes? Must be a lot :O
Snakes are bred within the shop and they get elaphe guttata for pretty much pennies so it's not too expensive.
Smits
01-02-2010, 08:07 PM
I really want to get into keeping reptiles as a hobby, but probably can't afford it yet.
I've been looking around at what would be good for beginenrs as well.
I really want to get into keeping reptiles as a hobby, but probably can't afford it yet.
I've been looking around at what would be good for beginenrs as well.
A good beginner lizard would be the eublepharis macularius (leopard gecko) or the pogona vitticeps (bearded dragon). If you were looking at a good beginner snake I'd say elaphe guttata (corn snake). All are cheap to buy and easy to keep :).
Smits
01-02-2010, 08:15 PM
Bearded draggons were what i was looking at, have no idea how expensive they are to keep though so not sure if it'd be practical.
Want to hide these adverts? Register an account for free!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.