Why do you love reptiles? :)

[LindsayMayer]

I am new to the reptile world, and I have only just begun my journey with my little Leopard Gecko, though I have always been an admirer of reptiles (and animals of all kinds, really!). It is amazing to me the diversity, variety and character of many of the different species all of you own, and the fact that some of you have quite a collection on your hands!

One thing is for sure, I know that when I have my own place I will definitely express some interest in owning one or two others! I've been bitten by the reptile love-bug I'm even considering talking to the people at my soon-to-be college and asking them if I am allowed to have a 10-gallon tank in my room (Their rules state "fully aquatic pets", but I wonder if I can't get through some red tape and talk to the professors in the Ecology department.... hahah!)

How did you all get into reptiles, and why do you keep them? Feel free to post pictures, if you wish!

 

[Ghettz]

I've always loved reptiles,
And got into them more and more when my cousin started to breed chameleons!! I was fascinated by them , and so last year I finally got myself a nosey be panther chameleon he's called Zuggie here's a pic

he has his own room it's a jungle in there with all his plants as vines!!! Then I got myself a Madagascan Giant Day Gecko he's called Ghettz here's a pic of him

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[LindsayMayer]

Wow, the Chameleon is gorgeous. They must be fun to watch in real life, I think they're so funny and cute when I see them on animal planet I love their little feet! Hahah. And your day gecko is beautiful! I'm falling in love with the day geckos, too, the more I'm on this site, haha

 

[Ghettz]

Thankyou!! He has such a personality! He loves the shower and climbing on your head !! Lol he never wanted to be in his cage always scratching to get out so we moved and he got his own room with his own shower but and everything I spend more on him then myself lol!! Spoilt boy! And Ghettz's is eating out my hand so he's getting there and he even jumped on me the other day scared the hell outta me lol but managed to get him back in thank god lol!


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[LindsayMayer]

Hahah, I'm the same way! I love buying things for my animals and spoiling them when I can That is so awesome that he has such a large space to roam; how do you manage that, with temperature/humidity requirements and all that?

 

[Ghettz]

It's addictive!! He has 2 basking spots and a top of the range UVB light all fitted to his free range so he basks and moves down to get cooler, the temps in that room are perfect it's literally like going into a jungle and he has around 7 live plants in there Witch maintain humidity and we've lined the floor with Lino so it's waterproof and spray down his plants couple times a day , and he has a separate cage in the bathroom were he showers everyday for a good half an hour, he drinks in the shower too I have to stand there and make the sprayer drip so he can lick it lol he likes to drink that way lol


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[LindsayMayer]

Hahah! Aww that's so cute. He's a regular ol' member of the family Love it!

 

[thorrshamri]

I was born and raised in the French countryside, in a very small village. That said, I will be evil with anyone calling me a slob :lol::evil:

There are not a lot of native species there, mainly the common European grass snake (Natrix natrix), the common European adder Vipera berus, legless lizards, the viviparous and the green European lizard (Lacerta vivipara, Podarcis muralis), which I was all able to see many times. There were also a pond near there with toad tadpoles (Bufo bufo) and tree frog tadpoles (Hyla arborea, quite similar to the SE US Hyla cinerea but living in cooler climates) in Spring, as well as newts (Lissotriton helveticus) and salamander larvae (Salamandra salamandra). My family would buy me books about native species then the first guide published in French about reptile keeping. I had to wait to be away from my parent's place and to earn my living, as my mum in particular is completely afraid of frogs, snakes and lizards :lol:

Below: pic of a female Lissotriton helveticus

I guess many of us here have similar chidlhood stories which make them now reptile lovers.

 

[silverhaze269]

I can't really remember a time when I didn't like herps...maybe it's because as a child growing up I used to watch science-y type TV shows (Beakman's World, the Magic Schoolbus, Bill Nye, Krat's Creatures, etc), but when all of my friends were afraid of snakes, lizards, and frogs, all I wanted to do is pick one up and keep it as a pet, lol!

I think the biggest reason I like reptiles is because they're really interesting, and they look cool! Also, the ones I've had have been fairly easy to take care of. I probably won't have any more anole's though...keeping crickets was a pain in the butt! Setting up an enclosure for them is also kinda fun, I think, especially when you have naturalistic set-ups with live plants. So for me, there are many reasons why I love reptiles :biggrin: