What started it all for you with reptiles?

commanderkang · Member Joined: Jan 12, 2007 Posts: 19

I'm curios how your reptile hobby/passion started?

For me I've always really liked reptiles but never took the steps to own one. About two years ago I met a gal that I'm now good friends with who has all sorts of animals but allot of reptiles. She managed to get me further interested in them, so I began looking for a reptile that was easy to care for and very friendly. I ended up buying a bearded dragon from a local pet smart and it pretty much went down hill from there

.

I picked up a male rescue bearded dragon back in July and then started working at the MARS shelter on Sundays, which has only furthered my passion for the hobby. The the M.A.R.Show rolled around in September and I ended up with my Tegu Thunder. I think my next pet is going to have a blood python but not for some time.

chelvis · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:37 am Post subject:

I first got into reptile when i was really young, i wanted a puppy but my parents both said it was alot of work so we agreed on a turtle (ya like turtles don't require much work at all). The turtles were cool but by the time i was 8 i wanted a lizard of some kind. By this time i had a dog and chinchilla and had gone through a few hamsters (they all kept dieing and the bite alot so i didnt want another hamster). My local reptile shop got in some Central American Banded geckos and i bought a pair with my alouance i had saved. That was it i ended up breeding them in a few months i was able to sell back the new babies and that only allowed me to branch out more. For the first few years i stuck with geckos, then i got a few other small lizard speices. It wasn't untill i moved out that i got my tegu Bosco. Now i have three lizards My tegu Bosc, my ancient plated liazrd Budwiser (his around 20 years old!!) and the newest addition my fire skink Tabascco. Right now i'm at the lowest I've ever been which is nice with school and work. At one point i had over 75 animals living in my house, literally my house was a Zoo.

Swtbrat · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:22 am Post subject:

I had lots of turtles and salamanders and stuff like that when I was younger and had no clue how to care for properly.

My first reptile was a Bearded Dragon from a reptile show about 11 years ago and now I am just out of control.

Brat!
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Tegu's are like potato chips,you can't have just one!
I now have 4.

Johelian · Retired Mod Joined: Nov 22, 2004 Posts: 848

When I was younger I always had stacks of pets, and was always drawn to more unusual animals like rats and quail etc. I really wanted a lizard or a turtle when I was around 11 or so, but the fear of salmonella scared my mum and reptiles were the one thing I was denied. I did however have quite a few frogs and toads that I found in the back garden! I always ended up letting them go in the end though - either that or they would just escape back into the garden.

I pretty much put the idea on hold until about 4 years ago when I went to a shop to look at fish with my boyfriend. All of the little 2-month old beardies were up against the glass peering out (Ive never liked newborn baby beardies much), and at that moment I decided I had to have one. I ordered the viv a week or so later, and when it was finally complete I bought my first reptile; little Ages the beardie

Ages has since been rehomed with a friend of mine who loves her to pieces, but I still have a houseful - currently 7 monkey tails and the Teg, plus a boa arriving next weekend with all going to plan. Id still like another tegu, but its going to have to wait until we move now I think!
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www.freewebs.com/johelian
www.freewebs.com/joslittleworld
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1.0.0 Argentine Tegu T.merianae
3.4.0 Monkey Tailed Skink C.zebrata
1.0.0 Crawl Cay Boa B.c.imperator
0.1.0 Royal Python P.regius

TallBaldNTatt2ed · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:08 am Post subject:

My mother has always been terrified of reptiles, so she kinda made me that way. She was also not a big fan of pets of any kind. Reptiles always interested me, but I never could overcome my phobia...well, one night while at a party and under heavy "medication" I held someone's fat tailed gecko and I was hooked. My wife bought my first leo about 6 years ago, and since we've added another leo, 2 beardies, 2 ball pythons, 2 corn snakes, and a uromastyx, and of course Booger my argentine. I'm glad that I've come to realize that reptiles aren't the monsters most people make them out to be, although some definitely have better personalities than others.

All_American · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:28 pm Post subject:

When I was a kid living in Anaheim before disney had all the land around it, there were lots of fields with ponds and ditches filled with toads, horny toads, field mice, gophers and snakes. I would be out there catching them and trying to keep them, with not much success on the animals behalf I must say. I never kept reptiles of any kind until about 7 yrs back, when I got my first rescue and snake, A in poor shape bci boa. Which I got back to health in no time with the aid of the internet and help from many other hobbiests and lots of reading the boa manual was lots of help too. The hardest thing for me was the overwelming products that work/dont work that I had to go thru and find out the hard way ($$$$).

So, since that one boa it has all went up hill from there with the reptiles, they keep me busy and out of trouble to say the least minus the finacial part

This is my short story and Im sticking with it.....

Mr. Ed
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1.1.0 Snow boas
1.0.0 albino boa
10.8.0Hypo boa
0.1.0 DH sunglow
0.1.17 BCI
0.0.1 Anery corn
0.0.1 Motley sunglow corn

1.0.0 BW tegu
0.1.0 Blue Tegu
8.10.1 beardies
sandfire, snow, rankins, german giants

2.1.0 dogs
0.2.0 cats

greentriple · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 9:58 am Post subject:

Like most of you, as a kid I had a fascination with pets. My sisters had hamsters, birds and we had 2 cats. I wanted something that was mine and the girls would not touch, so at a local riverbed I captured 2 frogs and put them in a big Tupperware container in my room. They were cool, except they sang all night long and my mother didn't want them in the house anymore. I let them go after about a week, but continued my hunt. I collected several local lizards, a king snake and 3 or 4 racers. My mother was getting tired of me destroying her Tupperware, so she bought me my first to terrariums. It was great. This went on for several years, I lose a herp. and find another.

On a warm summer day in 1985 I was in my local pet store when I saw a Ball Python for sale, I was hooked after 10 minutes of handling. I took him home - Aahz was his name. Before the end of the summer I had 3 more balls a Burmese and a boa. I stopped collecting wild reps. and focused on the large snakes. They were awesome. All was well until my sister and I had a "conflict" and her 3 hamsters "disappeared". That was it for the reps. until university.

Once away at school I picked up some firebelly toads (not really toads) a couple of geckos (can't remember what type) and another king snake. I discovered one of the guys in my dorm had a Savannah Monitor and I found myself fascinated by its size and tamed personality. However, I was not into how it killed, yes I know I had snakes, but that was different, and at the time frozen was not very popular or at least I did not know it was an option. So I searched for a big lizard that would not tear prey apart. Alas, I found Harriett, a green iguana.

Once I had her all the rest of the reps started to fall away. I kept her for 11 years, unfortunately my ex-wifed didn't want her around and I was forced to give her up for adoption, she died 2 years later, that was 7 or so years ago.

I've always been more of the rep. as a pet, not as a means of making money nor have I been able to flood myself with many animals. Now I have "El Che", y B&W Argentine, along with my 7 month old son our two cats and my lovely bride I think I'm good. Although, I have a fascination with Mangrove Monitors.

Wow, that was long winded!!!

Cowher · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:23 pm Post subject:

I grew up on a non working farm and there was tons of land for a nutty lil kid like myself to run around on. I guess it all started with my first pets. not reptiles mind you, it was a daddy long legs and a night crawler I named them hansel and gretel lol. Two days later i found them dried up and crispy in the tomato sauce jar that they lived in. I was so sad and wanted something else so I found a few Redback Salamanders and they lived for a few months and I loved them (by the way I was 3 or 4 at this time). A bunch of dogs later I get married and my wife and I go to Tulum Mexico, and on the way from the Cancun airport we stop at a animal rescue petting zoo. We found a huge red tegu in there and we absolutely loved him.! After we got back I found that the new reptile shop in town had a argentine B+W tegu so he was mine!!! by the way here is a pic of the red that started it all

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Arg. B+W Tegu 1.0.0

You lock the door and throw away the key. There's someone in my head but its not me.

greentriple · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject:

What a great Pic. that would have hooked me as well.

ApriliaRufo · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject:

I must admit this is a very interesting topic. Haha. My younger brother got a beardie from one of his stoner friends' psycho jesus mom, who said that lizards were the devil and was quoting all this bible crap. She came to our house to give it to my little bro because he said he would take it. I almost peed laughing at this lady, especially considerring her son smoked more weed in a day than Cheech and Chong did in 15 years. But anyway, I hated it. And I realized that I hated it because it was boring. No one really touched him, and he was kinda lazy and that didn't interest me.

I moved out of my parents house and bought the obligatory lepoard gecko expecting something cooler. I handled him all the time and tried to make friends but he had DGAS syndrome (Don't Give A Shit) and I wanted something to be friends with, not to be a decoration. So he died and the vet said it was MBD, he only lasted a week. I found out that the douchebag who sold him to me, kept him in a friggin' mayo jar with a lamp shade shining regular light bulb light on him. I was too late with giving him the proper care.

So I got pissed at the idea of reptiles because although they fascinate me, people are such shitty parents that I was worried about getting a sick guy that I had no chance of saving. I gave up for awhile until I met Jody Hicks of Leaping Lizards (anyone from Sacramento?) and I looked at the reptiles this man had. This guy actually cares about the shit he sells?! I was happy as a pig in shit. I got an iguana from him, and then actually bought a B&W Arg from Constrictors Rocklin, and now I'm addicted.

Reptiles are like heroin, they may start as a fun little adventure, but pretty soon, you want more and more and more. Lol. Now I want a chameleon!

commanderkang · Member Joined: Jan 12, 2007 Posts: 19

Its really neat seeing how every one got into reptiles. In response to ApriliaRufo I'm still amazed at how many people are afraid of them or have no idea how to care for them. I get to see it all the time though when I'm at the reptile shelter. Cowher I love that picture it makes it look like its singing.

DaveDragon · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 10:01 pm Post subject:

I see you started this thread on BeardedDragon.org. It will be interesting to see what they say.
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1.1.16 Blue Tegus, 1.0 Red Tegu, 0.1 B&W Arg. Tegu
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa, 0.1 Dumeril Boa, 1.0 Suriname Boa
1.2 Ball Pythons, 1.0 Coastal Carpet Python
0.1 Cuban Rock Iguana
2.1.3 Bearded Dragons, 1.0 Veiled Chameleon, 0.0.1 Tokay Gecko

teguboy77 · Valued Member Joined: May 17, 2006 Posts: 140 Location: pa

Well when i was like 12 back in 1989 my parents were looking at salt water fish tank setups,well i've always like anoles so my mom being a animal lover got me one,then my father thought they were cool and got a wild caught green iguana a that was a real nightmare,then i got my first iguana a little while after then it died cause i didn't give it the right diet and at age 12 i was not all that sure what i was doing,plus the petstore guy didn't know his but from a hole in the gruong so he died.Then i bought another but this time my regular vet said i should take the new iguana to a herp vet and i was lucky there were two in my are and he got me on the right track and my iguana lived 7 years long.Then i started doing my owne research and started keeping savannah monitors,then bearded dragons,then blackthroat monitors,capewhitethroats,my veryfirst rhino iguana,then my first Argentine blk/wht tegu 8 years ago and then 13 more later no i have my two only my male chacoan from varnyard herps and my male red tegu also from bobby this year.These guys are the best i ever had.Bobby is super honest and has to notch tegus.And thats how it all started for me no being into reptiles 18 years.

laurarfl · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:32 am Post subject:

When I was about 5 or 6, I used to catch toads and snakes and keep them in shoe boxes under my bed. Well, my mom found them and freaked out (she HATES snakes!) it never squelched my passion for animals and I just kept on learning and collecting. I owned my first real reptile, a Savannah Monitor, when I went to the U of Fl. I had him for a couple of years, then when I had to move, I had to get rid of him. Fast forward quite a few years and my kids are in love with Croc Hunter. My 7yo daughter wants a bearded dragon, so we say OK. Then my 5yo daughter wants a corn snake...OK. Now we have about 30 resident animals and that fluctuates during breeding season.
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Laura R (FL)
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
0.2.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
1.0.0 Red Tegu
1.0.0 Green Amevia (yet another teiid)
8 other lizards
1 little gator
13 snakes
4 frogs
some bugs
and a partridge in a pear tree

prcdslnc13 · Member Joined: Feb 16, 2005 Posts: 30

I got started really really young. I was super into dinosaurs and fossils but rocks are kind of boring to a 4 year old after a bit and I figured out I couldnt go to the pet store and by a dinosaur. (although at a petstore I used to work at we had a "t-rex" brand sign and people thought we really sold them, man that was fun)

I caught some newt out at my aunts house when I was about 6 and I was hooked. I came home and my mom bought me some green anoles from the pet store and that was the end. Ive had reptiles since that day. I joined a local herp society and found out about monitors. My mom basically vetoed that decision (i was probably 10 at the time I dont blame her) and when I got my license I went to the pet store and snook my first sav home. we was pretty awesome but like most of them was full of parasites and I lost him. From there on out Ive been in love with the big ones and kept them all the way up until my blue tegu I just got a few weeks ago.