are reptiles hard to take care of?

5 Responses to are reptiles hard to take care of?

1. Still Tippin says:

   March 31, 2010 at 11:04 pm

   There are no “easy” pets to care for [except maybe fish]

   But all reptiles need a certain amount of care & clening. Wheather it be a snake, gecko, bearded dragon, or amphibians; they all require time & money.

   A better way to put it would be; “Which reptile is least hardest to care for”

   There are pros & cons of each. I would tell you to choose between a Leopard Gecko & a Bearded dragon.

   With geckos, you will need less equptment for them to thrive & be healthy. A tank minumum of 20 gal. A heat pad, 2 hide boxes, peat moss, and maybe some foliage.

   They are, however, naucturnal. So if you’re looking for a pet to hold & interact with daily, the Gecko is not for you.

   A bearded dragon on the onther hand, they are great pets who enjoy human attention.

   They require a lot more than a gecko. Basking Lamp & bulb, UVB light & fixture [which are very costly] a tank minimum of 40gal for a juvi-adult. Basking rock/branch. Calcium powders & mineral supplements [as do the geckos].

   There are so many necessary things you need to keep a happy, healthy Bearded dragon.

   It can be very costly, but if money isnt an issue for you, I would reccomend a BD. It will add up quickly up front.

   They make wonderful pets & are very rewarding.

   Best of Luck with ur decision.
2. vellen99 says:

   March 31, 2010 at 11:06 pm

   Corn Snake or Leopard Gecko.

   Corn Snakes eat pinkies. Which are frozen pre-killed baby mice you store in your freezer. When you need to feed them you take out a warm cup of water and srop the frozen pinkie in the water to let it thaw about 5 minutes or until it’s frozen. substrate can be aspen(Don’t feed them on aspen though) bed-a-beast, newspaper, repti-carpet and paper towels. Paper towels are best for baby. They need a hide box in the middle of the tank. They also need a 10 gallon tank for a young corn snake, since they are scared of big places, after their older(Longer than 2-3 feet) You need to upgrade to a 20 gallon tank. For heat you need a cool side and a warm side, that’s a heatmatt on one side of the tank(You put the heatmat under and /outside/ the tank NOT under the tank and inside of it!) and nothing on one side of the tank. They also need a big water dish(Big enough so they can roll up and soak in the dish if they want to) put the water dish on the cool side. The cool side should be 70 – 80 and the warm side should be 80- 95. That is the ground temp! NOT the air. The air should be normal room temp. You feed them once a week with pinkies, as they get bigger you move up to fuzzies(mice with air) hoppers(They can get 7 feet long, but they stay very thin.) It’s rare if they bite. they like humans. plus they don’t have teeth. the worst a Corn Snake bite is going to be is a pinch. But if they’re angry they should just do a headbut if they’re annoyed. Also they may attack when you go to pick them up but only if you just got them not to long ago or you’ve been feeding them in the tank. You don’t want to feed them in they’re tank. They get confused and strike anyway thinking you have food when you go and pick them up. You want to buy a rubbermaid tub and have it as the ‘feeding box’. So you put the snake in there when it’s feeding and the put’em back in the tank. He/she will soon realize that’s the feeding box. When you put the Corn Snake back, make sure you close the tank well. They are escape artists. You will see them try to get out the tank alot. If they do get out of the tank, It’s easy to get them back.

   . Push towels under the doors so he doesn’t leave the room where the cage is. He is most likely still in the same room, they don’t get too far. anyway if you are going to be in the room for awhile but a pinkie mouse laying on a napkin on the floor, then take a toothpick and hit a hole through the pinkies head. This will get the smell around and the snake should come out to eat.

   2. It’s alittle messy but I heard it works, do the same thing with the towels then pick up all the items on the floor. Then buy some baby powder and shake it all over your floor. that way when he comes out you’ll see where he/she went and get the snake.

   3. This way is really hard if you have a messy room. Anyway you do the same thing with the towels at the doors. them look through EVERYTHING on the floor. t-shirts, cups, old soda cans, pants, maybe some old toys, under the bed/couch, ect. I did this when my Corn Snake got loose in my messy room. I found him sqeezing himself in some rubber puppet.
   More info on Corn Snakes:

   http://www.reptilecare.com/CornSnakeCaresheet.htm

   The second easy Reptile is a Leopard Gecko. I’d explain abouth them but my hands are tired so I’ll just give you the link.

   http://www.leopardgecko.com/emcare.html

   Good-luck
3. obama sucks says:

   March 31, 2010 at 11:50 pm

   you sound like a pet rock kind of person…
4. Isaiah K says:

   April 1, 2010 at 12:19 am

   There not hard to take care of, you just need an understanding of lighting, diet, heating, etc.

   Reptiles range from Easy to Expert.

   The hardest part of owning any reptile is paying for it and its supplies.

   Here are generally cheaper reptiles that are good for beginners.

   Leopard Gecko (you can hold it, even though it’s nocturnal)
   Corn Snake
   King Snake
   Ball Python

   Most other beginner reptiles that run at higher costs include:

   Bearded Dragon
   Blue Tongue Skink (this one’s pretty expensive)
   Uromastyx (requires a more complex understanding of lighting, but there are plenty of articles explaining it on the internet)
   Savannah Monitor (this one requires a lot of handling, a big diet, and a large enclosure, but most beginners I’ve seen have done well with it.)

   After you get over the initial cost, all you have to do is pay for food, which is probably won’t go over $15 a month.

   Do your research after you make your decision.
5. Bryan says:

   April 1, 2010 at 12:47 am

   well im not going to tell you a huge drawn out explananation unlike everyone else, ill try and keep this simple. geckos, lizards, or dragons are time consuming, commonly because they are fed crickets twice or once a day. Snakes are probably the easiest and hardest. Corn snake or ball python being the best for a beginner. Corn snakes are thin, active, and max out at “usually” 4-6 feet. Ball pythons are thick, less active, and max out at usuaully 3-5 feet. They both eat once a week live or frozen prey bought at local pet shops. Hope i helped, and good luck!

   Oh if you want even cheaper pets, go for a tarantula or a scorpion. I own and breed both, they require 2 crickets a week and other than that, nothing. Cages are small and cheap. Good Luck!