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New to herps but seriously looking to own, but what?

Your question in a previous post was about calcium...you must ONLY buy calcium powder made for reptiles,Rep-cal with D3 is what many use.A good way to feed lizards is to put a SMALL pinch[don't coat them so theyr'e white] in a container like a can or oatmeal container and shake the crix vigorously,this lightly coats the bugs and also dazes the bugs so the lizard can snap them up before they disappear under anything.
 
ooooopppppsssss I forgot about that question. Guess I got to focused on that monitor she had in the link. Good catch
 
Im back and im fairly impressed, they have a lot of deals going right now. Which I love. The store felt more human and less strict than other herp stores, I appreciate that because the staff was honest and pretty easy to talk to and barter with. They take trades when it comes to supplies and feeders. Which is also great, I traded in 4 large to jumbo males for 6 small females. They offered equal value trades so really I could have gotten more females but I have enough here and the males were just wasted space. I like to have the females young so when they do have litters they were much less prone to snapping my fingers off.

Im not going to blather on and on about the day but it was really nice and pressure free. I learned the store policy and so on. I met a female Savannah Monitor at 9 months for $85.00. They really could be asking much more for her, she was really an immaculate specimen. Im in limbo land to work forward to her or their Bearded Dragons. All of the in-store bred herps they had were just great. Both pleasing to the eye and all looked very hardy too.
I ended up spending a lot of time asking questions to Mark and watching him show me how to handle, feed, dust and do so many other things. Nothing he said seemed false at all, I agreed with the housing of the herps and the information he passed onto me was equal to many of the reputably great guides and informational websites i've already read.

I obviously haven't decided to buy anything yet, Im still doing more research but at least I know I have a store that I can call if i have questions.
 
Sounds like a positive experience...my statement about pet stores in a previous post was a general observation....it doesn't apply to all but to a great majority.Proper lighting+heat are confusing to people and many bulbs that they sell are not the right kind,also the type of substrate is often harmful.Just a heads up for you.
 
I completely understand what said though and do agree, most of the shops down here know nothing about the pets they sell. Take my local Petco, they stocked two chinchillas and never gave them dust bathes, the babes died because of fur fungus and the staff was puzzled.
 
Yes,and many stores think a reptile"basking bulb" provides uvb.....I had a guy at the last Pittsburgh show tell me that the clerk at the reptile dept.at one store told him that the uvb was only to bring out colors on the dragon and since his dragon was colorful he didn't need it.So his dragon got metabolic bone disease and is partially crippled b/c he listened to her advice.
 
I would suggest going to a reptile show in your area.. you can find a list of reptile shows all over the USA on King snake. www.kingsnake.com

under events. Sence you are not sure what you are really looking for this is a great place to get some hands on learning about all of them and normally you are dealing direct with the person that breed them. or some one that knows an awful lot about the animals they are selling as well as the fact that you are going to be able to get a much better price that at a normal pet shop you will be able to get tons of great info there as well!

good luck!!

Amanda Hess
www.pghreptileshow.com
 
Aww this reminds me of when I first started out with herps.... fond, fond memories. A lot of bitey memories though too, lol..... :rofl:
 
dispite all the bad pet stores you can find some that actualy know what they are talking about I know of 5 in southern cali, one has been around for along time, the other is fairly new but they know herbs bretty well, and I'm actually glad they took over another pet store around the corner from me that was doing really bad, in care of their animals. The others are much smaller but don't do to bad.

So do You know yet what your maybe leaning towards getting?
 
Yes I did forget claws. omy omy.

Im doing all around studying and several different reptiled right now, I dont think it's imperative for me to choose right now, id like to attend the herp show on Nov 14-15th and see what I can find there first.

Ive been looking in KingSnakes, Ball Pythons, Bearded Dragons, Skinks, and Monitors.
What surprises me is how well a snake would fit into my life. I wasnt really considering snakes but I have a soft spot for Pythons and KingSnakes. I guess well see...
 
Personally...bp's are great--not too big, not to small and the morphs available these days are totally awesome!
Something else you need to consider with your reptile purchase: what will you do with it (them--there will be more than one...eventually!) when you go on vacation? Snakes are easier to deal with in that aspect since they are not daily feeders. If you decide on a lizard of some sort, do you know of anyone that would take care of it while you're gone.
Of course, if you don't do the vacation thing, you've got no worries!
 
Ive always managed to find the time to get to them even in the most chaotic of days.
Buddies of mine volunteer to babysit, my house is always filled with animals and I guess the friends I attract like them just as much as me. Great right?
But im home most of the time and work out of the house too.

Its good to think about these things. :D Thanks for reminding me!
 
For a first reptile, I'd recommend either a beardie or a ball python. They're both easy to take care of and very personable. The beardies, of course, take more work, but I can't say enough about how wonderful they are to interact with. Having a beardie snuggle into your pajamas and fall asleep late at night is one of the best feelings in the world. Ball pythons are a bit less interactive, but they still have their own unique personalities...and they're cuddle-able too. I have some who like to hang out in my ponytail, some who prefer hanging around my neck, and others who just won't sit still no matter what. And they're utterly adorable when they hiss.
 
point well made about taking into consideration your life style. thats one thing i can't do is take a long trip. I don't have anyone that could stay and watch my dragons for me if I wanted to go on a long vacation.
 
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