Lizard question! ITS LONG!

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Ok, here to start....? Well first off i would love to start to breed leopard geckos, wanted to ever since i was in middle school. Now heres my question, i know i have to feed them crickets but it gets veryveryvery cold here i live and they may die, so is there any other food i could feed the gecko besides crickets? I have a big backyard( a mile of woods) and i get tons of field crikets, i was wondering if i could feed him field crickets? Ok, heres my other option, if i cant have a criket eating lizard i may go with a iguana. Now are they very expensive to keep? I know they eat vegies and fruits, what do i need for them? My 3rd option was a snake, i would have to talk my mom into it though LOL. Is there any snake that can live in a 20gal long? I would really love to have a reptile again, i had a bearded dragon before........bit me all the time!!! Dont want that beastie again.

celacanthr · Sep 15, 2005

you could go to a lfs and buy crickets.

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
you could go to a lfs and buy crickets.

right, but how do i stop them from dieing?One of my problems of keeping my bearded dragon was that the crickets would just keep dieing! making a big hole in my wallet. I will talk to my mom about a ball python tonight(she is freaked out about snakes!) and i hope it will work this time, i got a good excuse

celacanthr · Sep 15, 2005

couldnt you keep the crickets in side? like in a tank with a heating pad under it with a TIGHT lid over it?

carshark · Sep 15, 2005

well i used to feed my arowana (fish) some crickets here and there for a treat...to keep them alive i had a tupperware with holes poked in it, and daily i used to put in a slice of apple, drenched in vitamins, then i would keep a small light that put out heat, to keep em alive, it worked wonders, and i was able to get a multitude of vitamins crammed in their little bodies for my arowana to consume.. but the advantage to having a reptile is that the crickets dont get wet so you can dust them with proper vitamins and it will hold.. thats my suggestion. Iguana arent hard to maintain, the downside is I dont think your mom wil lbe too keen on letting him run throughout the house when he gets older... you could cage him, but they get very big, and its kinda like the rule for fish on tank size......a ball python would eventually grow out of the 20 gal as well......even getting a max of 5 feet he'd still out gorw it...

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
couldnt you keep the crickets in side? like in a tank with a heating pad under it with a TIGHT lid over it?
Inside!? I tried it and it didn't go so well....

yes, i know a 20gal is small for a ball python but its good for at least a year, then when christmas comes around (man i love christmas

) I would be getting him a bigger tank. I may go with a iguana if my mom says no with the snake (my plans allways work!) Now how fast do iguanas grow and what do i need for them(lighting and stuff)

carshark · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Cartman101
Inside!? I tried it and it didn't go so well....

yes, i know a 20gal is small for a ball python but its good for at least a year, then when christmas comes around (man i love christmas

) I would be getting him a bigger tank. I may go with a iguana if my mom says no with the snake (my plans allways work!) Now how fast do iguanas grow and what do i need for them(lighting and stuff)

well the climate you live in you will most certainly need a big heat rock as well as a good heat light, not baking him but enough that it feels like the sun at 6 in the evening...also water, and crickets dusted with vitamins, other than that, they are pretty basic...but again unless you plan on having a 300 gallon tank with nothing but reptiles in there....he will have to roam your house when he gets older....What I want to do is set up a terrarium, with poison dart frogs, chameleons(sp?) anoles, and a couple geckos, with a drain off to small amazon fish, with mist makers, plants/trees, etc.. unfortunately unless i own a pet store, that cant happen....Girlfriend hates hates hates amphibians, snakes etc....
edit:i forgot to mention iguanas grow pretty fast, i dont know that you would be that rewarded for keeping one, they really arent terribly exciting, and almost become a nuisance when they get older.....

celacanthr · Sep 15, 2005

oh well that was my 2 cents

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

i want a snake more! Man my mom better say yes, or else!(she definitly wond like the "or else")

carshark · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Cartman101
i want a snake more! Man my mom better say yes, or else!(she definitly wond like the "or else")
just like eels, very smart and love to escape.....

tome · Sep 15, 2005

now, you gotta let us know what she says! Good Luck

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by carshark
just like eels, very smart and love to escape.....
Has my eels ever escaped?

Yes i know they can escape but dont worry i got it under control. Tome, i will let you know what my mom says, i'm getting all my moms brothers and sisters and HER mom in this little plan!(man am i bad

) but it maybe awhile so just relax

beth · Sep 15, 2005

Don't go with the iguana. They get pretty big and messy. And even grumpier with age.
There are enclosures, I'm sure, that are designed to keep crickets warm, but better yet, find a rep local store that caters to herp hobbyists and then just go buy your prey as needed, rather than raising.
Have you found some of the herp sites? You should look around for a BB, like this one, that caters to herp hobbyists and do some research first.

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

I'm doing research right now. I got all my family members in this plan i'm doing!

I think it will work my mom wont know what hit her :hilarious .

carshark · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Cartman101
Has my eels ever escaped?

Yes i know they can escape but dont worry i got it under control. Tome, i will let you know what my mom says, i'm getting all my moms brothers and sisters and HER mom in this little plan!(man am i bad

) but it maybe awhile so just relax

sheesh i wasnt flaming you and i am relaxed, i was just talking here....like I said you may not be that excited with iguanas, they really arent that fun when you throw in the mess factor and just laying around....

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by carshark
sheesh i wasnt flaming you and i am relaxed, i was just talking here....like I said you may not be that excited with iguanas, they really arent that fun when you throw in the mess factor and just laying around....
I was talking to Tome about being relax

Not you

ssweet1 · Sep 15, 2005

I would go with the leopard geckos just keep around 20 crickets in a plastic box with the cricket food and most of them will live through the week. I have a real nice gecko I am going to sell because my son is more into his guitar and I am not fond of feeding crickets which lately he keeps forgetting. Anyone want a yellow and lavender leopard gecko, cage with nascar decorations and crickets for $100?? Carrie

cartman101 · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by SSweet1
I would go with the leopard geckos just keep around 20 crickets in a plastic box with the cricket food and most of them will live through the week. I have a real nice gecko I am going to sell because my son is more into his guitar and I am not fond of feeding crickets which lately he keeps forgetting. Anyone want a yellow and lavender leopard gecko, cage with nascar decorations and crickets for $100?? Carrie
Lets wait...... I have faith in ma plan :thinking:

dweeble · Sep 15, 2005

Okay, now I cannot completly agree with Carshark or most of the people here, Igunas are really cool, they are by no means messy and my Iguana won't quit moving around, it never sits still. Igaunas don't grow fast, at full size they are from head to tail tip about 5-6 feet long, but it takes them about 8-10 years to get that big. When they are that big they will pretty much need an entire room to themselves and as long as you get your Iguana comfortable with being around humans (ie holding it and playing with it a lot while it is young) then it will not be grumpy it will be fine when it gets older. You can feed Geckos any kind of crickets, mealworms, and when they get bigger they will even eat pinkie mice. A five foot Python will live fine in a 20 gallon tank, snakes do not actually require much room, they stay in a ball for a reason, if you put a little snake in a big tank they will get stressed out. I have 2 Milksnakes that will be about five feet long when full grown and they will be kept in 20 gallon tanks. Also if you do get a snake like a Python you can control the size based on how much you feed them, you can keep the Python at a smaller size just by cutting down the size of the food you give them and they will still be perfectly healthy. Crickets will not last very long regardless of what you do, but the best thing is a container with a screen top and just cut up a potato and drop the chunks in there and they will last about 2-3 weeks. Also under NO circumstances should you EVER use a heat rock, they WILL KILL you reptile, please DO NOT use a heat rock. Any other help you might need feel free to ask because I do happen to work at a reptile store.

cartman101 · Sep 16, 2005

well tonight my mom will be reading about 6 emails that will be convicing her to let me have a snake! She will be getting a headache and wont know whats going on untill i tell her the news

I WILL HAVE ONE!!!

Lizard question! ITS LONG!

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Administrator

Active Member

Active Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member