Pets - Reptiles

[JHarris1385]

I know I have mentioned this before but I own an aquatic map turtle and have had a bearded dragon as well as various other reptiles in the past. I know some of you own some yourself (nfp's awesome matamata), but with all the new members I would like to know who else has what...

AND the main reason for this post!!!!!

Does anyone have any advice or tips with tortoise care? I am pretty sure this is my next adventure and I want to make it perfect. I have been considering this for years, since it is a lifelong commitment and probably something i will have to will to someone.

[wekilled]

I have had a female beardy (bearded dragon) for about a year now and she's the most personable reptile I have ever owned. I let her roam the house and throw her in the bottom of the shower every so often. She craves attention like a dog and falls asleep on me watching TV.



As far as turtles, haven't owned one in quite awhile. I just remember that the cage needs to be kept clean (I use pieces of natural slate flooring from Home Depot on the bottom of my dragons cage) which is better than sand or other products.

[JHarris1385]

Ever fed your beardie phoenix worms? http://www.phoenixworm.com/servlet/StoreFront Looks like the site is not as organized as it once was. But they are said to be the best for them. I know mine loved them.

[MeowMix]

Aw...what a pretty beardy you have wekilled! This thread makes me miss my scaley kids; I used to share my home with veiled chameleons...among many other things. Started with my first when I was 15yrs old. They're higher maintenance than most herps, though totally worth it. They've all gotten old and died by now...and JT, my rescue cham with missing toenails ended up falling and sustaining a spinal injury. Had to put him down. I even designed his cage to be fall friendly -- must have hit the spinal cord just right. I'll have another herp one of these days, though I'm not quite over the fear of contracting salmonella from reptiles...again. That was NOT a fun time. At least I know my southern leopard frog is clean -- haven't contracted anything from her in the past 6 years anyway, lol.

JHarris -- what species of tortoise are you looking at getting? Something small like a greek or russian? Or a huge one that you can't even lift, like a sulcata or something?

-MeowMix

[Triathlete]

I have a red ear slider. Got him about the size of a silver dollar now he is about 8 inches long. He is very active and has a great personallity.

[Ldub]

I have a red ear slider. Got him about the size of a silver dollar now he is about 8 inches long. He is very active and has a great personallity.

...uhhhh...yeah...me too...

OMFG...

Not reptiles...but I have chinch bugs...& manganese

[JHarris1385]

@ Sunfire - I first wanted ONLY a Sulcata but then...reality sat in and I don't think I am ready just yet for one that can get that big. So I believe the Mediterranean species are my best bet for these first couple/few years... #1 Marginated, Greek, Russian, Hermann...etc. #1 by Marginated because it really like their shell color. Do you have any?

@Tri - I remember you posting that before. Between moving and an apartment that did NOT allow aquariums I let 3 of my RES go. One was about the size of yours and the others a couple inches smaller. I made sure they were hunters and could survive.


...Growing up I used to "save" lots of box turtles from the highways. After almost every rain you could find one out in the country areas where I grew up.

[MeowMix]

@ Sunfire - I first wanted ONLY a Sulcata but then...reality sat in and I don't think I am ready just yet for one that can get that big. So I believe the Mediterranean species are my best bet for these first couple/few years... #1 Marginated, Greek, Russian, Hermann...etc. #1 by Marginated because it really like their shell color. Do you have any?

I haven't owned any tortoises, though have cared for many in my time -- I used to work at Petsmart, and I was one of about two of us in the entire petcare department who actually cared about the animals. We had a lot of russians and greeks come through, though we didn't carry anything large like a sulcata. Dr. Carr over at Banfield had a 50yr old sulcata who was a petty cool guy. Have you ever looked at indian/sri lankan star tortoises? The pattern on their carapace is super cool looking, and they also stay small.

-MeowMix

[Exclamation]

I own a bearded dragon, hes about 10 inches long now. Great personality but he is EXTREMELY picky with his food. I had a 40 gallon reptile tank for him to live in but it seemed too small for him so I built an atrium type addition for him. I can post pics if others would like to do the same.

[wekilled]

Karma pretty much likes her dry pellet and bug mix from the petstore, live crickets, and occasionally whatever she sees me eat. She even grabbed a bit of a Vietnamese spring roll out of my hand one time.



She's gotten pretty big (and fat) and likes to be social, asking to be let out of her cage so she can roam the house and sit on the back of the couch -- or pal around with my wife's dogs.

[MeowMix]

Karma pretty much likes her dry pellet and bug mix from the petstore, live crickets, and occasionally whatever she sees me eat. She even grabbed a bit of a Vietnamese spring roll out of my hand one time.



She's gotten pretty big (and fat) and likes to be social, asking to be let out of her cage so she can roam the house and sit on the back of the couch -- or pal around with my wife's dogs.

Lol! Sounds like Karma has a wonderful family who loves her very much You make sure to give her regular salads as well, right? Romaine, green leaf, etc is great for beardies. Just stay away from broccoli, cabbage, and spinach -- they contain oxalates, which are calcium binding. Beardies are great fun; they're like ectothermic, scaley dogs...you just can't beat their awesome personalities. I hear you on the spring roll thing...my parrots also eat whatever I eat in addition to their regular diet. My yellow-sided green cheek conure goes nuts for strawberries! She also grabbed a nip of my beer once when I wasn't looking, and now she'll fly across the room chasing my glass of Blue Moon, lol! You can see Josie bird in my avatar.

...what breed of dog is the cute little black guy with Karma? A Shih Tzu or Lhasa Apso? Or a mix of?

-MeowMix

[JHarris1385]

Hey Tri, do you have picture of your set up? I let mine go when he got about that size.

What food do you use?

Do you have issues with keeping the water clear? That was my biggest battle.

[Triathlete]

Hey Tri, do you have picture of your set up? I let mine go when he got about that size.

What food do you use?

Do you have issues with keeping the water clear? That was my biggest battle.

No good pics but basically I have a 20 gal. long aquarium (for now until he out grows it), natural gravel and rocks, a floating "dock" for sunning, a screen type cover, a regular aquarium light, a sun lamp, 2 filters...a zoo med 318 in tank and a zoo med 501 canister filter. As far as food my red ear is not to picky. I give him pellet food, shrimp, and occasionally fresh veggies. After doing some reading on the subject of keeping the water clear that a key "ingredient" is to change out the charcoal often. The dirty water is caused by the build up of ammonia which the charcoal absorbs...I still need to do a water change out every 2-3 weeks though...it's just the nature of the beast.

[wekilled]

@ SunfireKat: Thats "Pookie," my wife's little Yorkie-Poo mix. (that whole sentence is about as undignified as you can get)

I don't mind a small dog as a "sidekick" dog for a cool large canine, but just owing a little dog by itself is like owning Robin without having Batman around.

She just got another, so now I have two Robins in the house with still no Batman. Weak.

[MeowMix]

@ SunfireKat: Thats "Pookie," my wife's little Yorkie-Poo mix. (that whole sentence is about as undignified as you can get)

I don't mind a small dog as a "sidekick" dog for a cool large canine, but just owing a little dog by itself is like owning Robin without having Batman around.

She just got another, so now I have two Robins in the house with still no Batman. Weak.

The yorkie half explains the length in the coat...there are so many designer dogs now, I can't keep up anymore. Since when was it okay to charge thousands of dollars for a half breed is what I wonder. The concept of a "designer dog" confounds me.

Lol...nice analogy there. Just randomly bring home a german shepard one day; you could name it Bruce Wayne. I'll bet the wife would just love that, haha.

-MeowMix