The reasons you have leopard geckos..

Just curious as to the reason why you have leopard geckos and why you first got them.

You can choose more then one answer in the poll!!!!!

love, pure and simple, coupled with a fascination and a passion....

Why I got them? My then 1 year old son developed allergies to the two cats we owned, I had to give them away but am very much a pet person, so I got a wee fat tail, it all started with him and has taken off ever since..

I will be getting a trio of leos this coming Tuesday. They will be the first leos I have owned. I am getting them because.................... Umm, I really don't know why. Over the past couple weeks I have gotten a few new dragons and I guess to break up the monotony I am diving into a new species.

I dunno.................... I just wanted something new I guess. Plus I am having fun making a rack for them!!!

Plus the breeder came highly recommended.

hmmm well this is going to be lame but its the best Ive got lol

I have one leo that I bought in 1993, now lives with my MIL becuase I got so much into other things. I then missed the leos so so much that I bought a few 3 years ago. Then I sold them and really really missed them and with the birth of the 2nd child I was unable to run to the MIL's to see the leo all the time lol

So I bought more and have kept them ever since.

My only real reason why is because on a good to great day, I can open the bins and laugh at the little smiles of the babies and adults running out to say, hey, what's up, Im sleeping here.

Then on the worst of the worst day, I can open the bins and those same smiling faces make it all OK.

It reminds me that even the worst day is not so bad when you have those smiles running at you!

I bought my leos (1.3) because I was curious about them and because my boys wanted the for pets.

They have been here for about 9 months and they really are cool critters. If they breed it'll be neat to try my hands at raising them, but it isn't anything important to me. They are mostly just cute little pets.

I bought my first pair around 5-6 years ago. They were my first reptile to ever keep and breed. I fell in love with them. My mother makes fun of me sometimes but I remind her that she holds hours-of-conversations with her chihuahuas. My leopard geckos have been the segeway into the other reptiles I have had, and want to have!

I picked about 6 or 7 choices. I like them as pets but they also get people to the table at shows, a lot of the things I sell are for people who want nice things for their pets. So I make money and they get stuff...everyone is happy. Leos are also great pets!

It seems that a lot of people started off with leos as pets and ended up trying thier hand at breeding. I guess you see this with a lot of pets. But there arent too many other pets that are as much fun to work with as leos!!!

alright, alright. I admit it. I got into leos to be friends with all the cool kids on fauna.

This was a tough one...so many answers apply!

I got my first pair around a year ago. I had no intentions of breeding, they were simply great pets. I didn't choose the "I got them as pets, but they are now a member of the family" because if they are my pet they are also automatically a part of my family.

I decided to give breeding a chance for several reasons. I love them to death, and want others to catch the bug. I have a decent understanding of genetics, and it's like a geeky home-run science experiment. I have ideas for new morphs, and improvements on existing ones...and I think with some luck that I can do it. However, I'm not a breeder yet. So time will tell if this pans out.

My future breeders are my pets, and I would have them even if I wasn't planning on breeding.

I agree 100% with Wendy. They can make a good day better, and a bad day not so bad.

I wish I could get some video of Lost feeding. She makes me laugh every night. She's a little overzealous and flips out at feeding time. It's so cute watching her eyes grow as big as saucers, and then watch her strike blindly at the oncoming tongs 15 times before she reopens her eyes to see why she hasn't gotten the worm yet. Last night I made the mistake of coming in with the tongs, seeing something I needed to remove, and then try to get it out with my fingers. Apparently the tongs triggered her appetite, and she thought my thumb was the fattest worm EVER! She bit the entire tip of my thumb, up to the base of the nail, and did her best to swallow. She's still small(ish), so it didn't hurt...I just waited for her to give up. After trying for a minute to eat me, she opened her eyes, saw what she was trying to chew off, and let go. This was only to go after my index finger. She gave that one a good chew, then let go. Finally, she let me do what I needed to without trying to eat me again. As soon as the tongs reappeared she went crazy all over again!

It's crazy silly things like that that make my day.

I find great joy in watching Lost act like a clown every night. Amber aways comes to the front of the tub when I turn on the light to see what's going on. Aurora will do the wall tango nearly every night until I take her out for a quick walk around the house. Smiley beams a huge smile at me every time the tub opens, and doesn't break eye contact until the lid closes. I also take great pride in working with Brimstone - who was very stressed when I first got him, would flee at the sight of anyone walking in the room, and would stop eating for a few days every time he was handled. Now he's growing up to be a beautiful gecko, and has since come out of his shell. He no longer runs from me - he gives "kisses" instead. Every gecko I have is unique in some way, and I love them all for it. That, I guess, is the real reason I have Leos.