New Pet

camaleonte82

camaleonte82

New Member
OOOkay. no judging :p
We have 5 chameleons, 5 mice (who i hope die soon, i hate the bloody things), 5 birds, a yorkie, a saltwater fish tank, and a Bearded Dragon whom we just bought from a superb breeder and is on the way here as i type.
we plan on getting maybe a sambava male, and a female ambi about sept time... but for now. i need to know what else to get. its PA so some stuff is illegal. and relax. we have the time and resources to care for them all. and most likely the birds, mice and fish tank wont be here that long (we are reptile people lol) ... and so anyways. i really really want a snake. like so bad. but my fiance is begging me for anything else but that. (everytime someone gets a pet the other does too... hence why its my turn bc he got the beardie) so... i really want a hedgehog but thats illegal in PA :-(
my other ideas are
  • African Door Mouse
  • Fennec Fox
  • Pot Bellied Pig
  • Axolotls
  • Frilled Lizard
  • Red Eyed Tree Frog
  • Fire Salamander
  • Russian Tortoise
  • Greek Tortoise
  • Common Snapping Turtle

If anyone has an opinion on any of these or any other suggestions i would be glad to hear them! whatever we get we usually try to rescue. and if we buy it its always a baby so we can tame it. we have so much blank wall space and so many empty enclosures that we need to fill lol.
 
My vote is for Axolotls!! They're are the cutest little things ever! I'm totally in love with mine that I just got (pics soon)!
 
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all of these animals i have 0 experience with. thats why i want it. i want to learn about it and have something new and exciting. not another goldfish like i've had since 8 years old lol
 
Fenic foxes can be a lot to handle and require a lot of your time like a cham does. You don't want a pot bellied pig trust me, not unless you get a micro which are very expensive then come with a slew of health problems. If you have more time than the average person to care for an animal I would say go with like a green iguana or red iguana or even a blue iguana (if you have the money for a fenic fox then I assume you would have the money for a blue iguana. As long as you spend 2 hours a day with them from baby size to around 10 months then you will have a very tame lizard that will love you and hang out with you constantly as well as get along with other pets. Anyway hope this helps and if you need any more specific information on any of your list or of any other animal send me a private message. I manage a exotic reptile shop in Houston called Pets and Reptiles Select. I have information on all of those animals as well as experience with most of them as well. Good luck! :)
 
I prefer a sulcata or red foot tbh but that's just me. If you get any tortoise I would highly recommend making a "turtle farm" (I can tell you more in detail if you would like just message me) and legless lizards are actually a very cool reptile! Not a lot of people know about them either so the fact that you do brings me joy! They are great tempered and just a very unique pet. I never handled the ones out at the shop very much (not because they were aggressive but because we get really busy and I tend to only keep the ones that can stay on me and walk around with them) if you want a snake though a good beginner snake for someone who is experienced with reptiles is a red tail boa. They are great and do get to be about 8-10 feet in captivity. But takes a couple years. If you want a smaller snake that you can handle regularly then there are ball pythons and morphs along with rat snakes, corn snakes and king snakes (a bit snappy)
 
Are we limited to that list? Because, I would say Guinea Pigs (buy 2). They are so much fun. They do take a bit of space, but since you listed "pot bellied pig" as an option so I don't feel bad about the Guinea Pig suggestion.

They are far more vocal than you imagine. They are not escape artists or at all hyperactive.
 
I would say a tortoise would be a good one, I have 13 of them and I can spend all day with them watching them or 15 minutes taking care of them if I a busy. Much easier them the Primates, Kangaroos and the chameleons.
 
charvey said:
Id say a tegu they are very intelligent and closely related to snakes!
Click to expand...

Tegus are good ones too but be prepared to have a lot of room for them too. They need a large custom built enclosure. But I would highly recommend an Argentine black and white tegu!
 
Thank you for the nudge! I second the comment about the tortoises, you can spend pretty much as much or as little time on them as you want.

I've had my Russian tortoises for 2 years, the one thing I would say as an absolute is ONLY GET ONE. Mine fight constantly so are separated, which adds complications. They were okay when they were little and shared a tortoise table, but not sure if it's tortoise puberty or being given more space to roam, but the dominant one gets very aggressive and bitey to the other one.

The first year we had them they lived indoors in the tortoise table in the lounge during the winter and if the weather was manky outside, and they had an outdoor run with a hide while the weather was nicer. I used to bring them in every night, but that was more to do with the area we lived in than their needs. Now they live on a balcony off our bedroom (a huge balcony) which is divided in half with trays of weeds, pots of plants and shelters.

In the UK I was confident picking weeds for them, and only bought stuff as a last resort (I think I bought organic salad for them once) but here it's harder to find areas that aren't likely to have been treated with chemicals or aren't too close to roads. Now I tend to buy leaves for them, as well as giving them various plants we have grown.

They are pretty awesome to watch, and a lot more interactive than people think, they know that I bring food and will run over to me when I appear at the door to see what I'm bringing. When they were free-ranged indoors over the winter (we have hardwood floors) they quickly learned to get under my feet while I was cooking because I usually ended up dropping veggies.

I haven't been brave enough to hibernate them yet, it's awful, I know. The first year we had only just got them, and I wasn't completely sure of their age, and this winter we had just moved across the world, so I wanted to just keep an eye on them. But I think this coming winter I need to hibernate them. There are arguments that hibernation isn't necessary because we can maintain a good temperature for them and give them access to food, which is the usual reason for hibernation, however I believe they have evolved to hibernate, and even though there may not be an environmental need to do so, it's likely to be necessary for some part of their development.

Ours were bought from http://www.thetortoiseshop.com/ in the UK and came with the tortoise table, lamps, substrate (which I quickly learned wasn't suitable) and a comprehensive care pack. They were good, but nothing beats doing heaps of research. Getting rescues is good, I still keep an eye on petfinder.com regularly, as well as Craigslist and any other exotic animal rescue websites I can find.

I'd also like to suggest ball pythons, ours is a rescue and she is incredibly sweet, and you can get gorgeous morphs, and the advantage for you would be assisting you with your mouse problem ;)

My youngest is obsessed with frilled lizards and we've told her that if she does loads of research we are more likely to think she's ready for one. I love the YouTube videos of them eating. My eldest wanted a cornsnake, and did loads of research, then decided she didn't think she was old enough for the responsibility, so has decided she will wait a couple more years until she's 10 before getting one.

I am definitely a hoarder when it comes to reptiles, but I keep myself in check by going through my reptile set-ups in my head, and until I can keep all of them perfect at all times, I'm not getting any more animals! Currently my geckos are in need of being cleaned out thoroughly, one is infested with crickets, one is inhabited by a stinky boy gecko. And all of them like to use their Repashy fruity goo as a finger-painting medium.
 
Thanks for all the replies! i love suggestions on other animals i didnt think of :)
i had a ball python all through high-school named Max, he was FANTASTIC! loved him. but my stupid fiance says snakes are out of the question period, no discussing it or anything. i might as well break up if i want a snake lol.
i've heard so much good things about Guinea Pigs, but i think im allergic to them. my fiance and i are both allergic to cats and ferrets.
 
LOL I have a list too

ATM I have 3 beardies

And my list consists of
An Ambilobe
Red eyed tree frog
Red eyed crocodile skinks(Lovely little reps but very rare in the uk)
Also like the fire bellied skinks
Pygmy Chameleons
Frilled Dragon

The list continues I am always finding lovely looking reptiles that I would love
LOL
 
ever since i was little i have wanted a big Terrarium filled with different species living in harmony... anyone know of stuff that your work? like salamanders with frogs and turtles or anything?
 
I would say go with either the Frilled or the Tortoise, my friend has a couple of Sulcata tortoises and they are pretty awesome, he grew his own special grass for them in their terrariums and everything. They arent that high maintenance and I think they are a lot of fun.
 
I really wanted a snake but the rest of the family was not comfortable (and myself to an extent) with the whole mouse eating thing, so I got a pair of egg eating snakes! They have reduced (or sometimes no) teeth and only eat eggs. One of mine doesn't mind being handled and the other one rubs her scales together to make a false hissing noise (which is the coolest thing to see!) but calms down after I pick her up.
 
pssh said:
I really wanted a snake but the rest of the family was not comfortable (and myself to an extent) with the whole mouse eating thing, so I got a pair of egg eating snakes! They have reduced (or sometimes no) teeth and only eat eggs. One of mine doesn't mind being handled and the other one rubs her scales together to make a false hissing noise (which is the coolest thing to see!) but calms down after I pick her up.
Click to expand...

They are very neat snakes.. takes a lot of handling to tame them down because they are big bluffers! Act all big like they will do.damage but they are softys. If tthey bite you.no harm is done and it makes them realize after a while.that you are not a threat.

Sorry typing on my phone at the doctors hence all the periods lol
 
Mine are babies still do hopefully the female clams down more and the male stays nice and handle-able.
 
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