Anybody have reptiles for pets? (No, I don't mean Republicans.)

[Ladyhawk]

I have fourteen snakes and still can't figure out how I got so many. I just wanted to compare notes with anyone who has reptiles.

[Dookus]

1. I've had snakes in the past

a Burmese python and a Ball python. Now my only reptile is a young African Sulcata Tortoise named Rosebud.

she just got herself jammed under my back deck - I hadda dig her out. She doesn't quite know her clearance yet.

[Ladyhawk]

2. She might realize her clearance.

She probably went under there to watch you dig. :)

[Dookus]

3. heheh

nope... she got herself good and stuck. Went under the high part and tried to get out under the low part. She was stuck - couldn't push her or pull her.

[Ladyhawk]

9. How big did your Burmese get? (nt)

[Dookus]

13. Not terribly big...

maybe 6 feet. Succumbed to pneumonia one really cold winter in upstate NY.

I'd only go for Ball Pythons now - they're the best.

[Ladyhawk]

18. Yeah, they're quite attractive and stay small.

[Dookus]

23. yup

they stay small (usually no more than 3-4 feet), and have great personalities. Totally non-aggressive and love to be held.

[Ladyhawk]

27. I'm sticking with small colubrids.

I don't want anything that gets big enough to eat my parrot. Snakes function on the eat-or-be-eaten level: "If it's bigger than me, I'm afraid it will eat me. If I'm bigger than it, I will eat it." I have no illusions. If Aragorn were big enough, he'd be more than happy to swallow me down. :)

[carols]

4. I had snakes once- they escaped the night I went into labor with the twins

We found them, but my mother wouldn't watch the other kids while I went to the hospital until we found them. So there I was crawling around on the floor looking for them when I was about 2 hours from delivering. We finally found them perched in a sunny window (talk about looking in all the wrong places!)

There were just two of them (a California Albino King and a corn snake), but my kids were small then so the snakes did not get handled enough and I finally gave them to a friend who was a multiple-reptile owner. I've always been fascinated though and would consider having one or two again, or maybe some lizards.

Carol

[Ladyhawk]

6. Kings and corns are cool.

(Ladyhawk...specializing in alliterative titles...)

I have three species of kingsnakes and eight corn snakes. The breakdown:

1.1 Arizona Mt. kingsnakes (Aragorn and Arwen)
1.1 Louisiana milksnakes (Bayou and Bijou)
1.1 St. Helena Mt. kingsnakes (still nameless)
1.2 Okeetee corn snakes (Kernel, Cobb and Selu)
1.2 albino Okeetee corn snakes (Ringo, Starr and Luna)
1.0 crimson corn snake (Lestat)
0.1 hypomelanistic corn snake (Akasha)

I could use some names for my pair of kings. I was thinking either something silly like Fluffy and Cuddles or something LOTR like Legolas (legless...get it?) and Galadriel.

[carols]

10. Elvis (the King of rock 'n' roll) and B.B. (King)

One's a female though, I take it. Maybe (King) Arthur and Gwenevere?
Carol

[Ladyhawk]

19. Arthur and Gwenevere. I like those names.

Consider them considered. :)

[Ladyhawk]

8. Remind me not to look for escaped snakes if I'm ever in labor.

:)

[carols]

11. LOL - if you could have seen the look on my mom's face...

You would have looked for the snakes, too!
Carol

[Ladyhawk]

21. LOL...she was THAT scared? :)

My mother doesn't like snakes, but she helped me look for my escaped albino Okeetee male once. She found him, too, curled up with computer parts in a box. Of course she wouldn't touch him, but I was so relieved to have him back. He was very small (12 inches) and I was afraid I'd seen the last of him. Most of the corns are over 15 inches now, so it's harder for them to squeeze out.

[carols]

28. Your mom's a trooper! Mine couldn't get past the "that isn't a dog" phase

She just sort of sat on the sofa and kept saying, "Did you find them yet?"
Corn snakes are the real escape artists...the albino just kind of followed him into a life of crime. Glad you found your baby when he escape - 12 inches is so tiny. He must have been really cute. Got pictures? I'd love to see them!
Carol

[Ladyhawk]

33. I don't have any pics of my corn snakes at that size, but I do...

...have a pic of my yearling Louisiana milksnake, Bijou:



When I bought her, she was a year old and only nine inches long! Louisiana milksnakes are only five inches long when they hatch.

Beej is about 13 inches now, I think. She grew fast!

______________________


My older male, Bayou, is around 24 inches now.

[carols]

39. OMG - she was so cute when she was little!

And Bayou is very handsome. Do you breed them as well?
Carol

[Ladyhawk]

41. I'm hoping that is on the horizon.

That's why I have both sexes of each kind.

I am afraid to brumate them, however. (Brumation = hibernation for reptiles.) It doesn't get really cold here (didn't snow once this year), but I have to let them feel the cold for a few months or they won't breed. I'm trying to come up with an insulated "brumation box" I can put out on my deck. I think the heat from the building will keep the box from getting too cold. I also have a thermometer with a probe that can monitor temperature. It's just that I'm afraid to risk the health of the snakes.

When I do it, I will have to monitor them closely.

Bijou is still cute, although she's a lot more robust than she was in that picture. I love Louisiana milksnakes. They are really cute when they're tiny. They are a bit difficult to get started because of their small size, but I liked them so much, I added them to my collection.

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Lizards rule my house

4' Iguana who sits on my bed all day and glares at me, a beautiful green basilisk, and two al-qaeda geckoes (leopards from pakistan/afghanistan) :-)

[Ladyhawk]

7. Be sure not to let them onto airplanes.

;)

I really like big, docile iguanas. Basilisks are cool, too.

[mwdem]

14. I was attacked by my iguana about 4 weeks ago..

My son got him 6 years ago from biology class. He was free-roaming, had his spot in our sunroom. I basically took care of him, read all the books, everything online, etc. Last month, I was feeding him, while he sat on top of his favorite chair. After he was fed, I stooped down about 4 feet from the chair to pick up a piece of tomatoe that got away, and he scrambled down the arm, and when I looked up, he literally flew into my face, biting me from my middle lower lip to my chin, almost totally opening up my face. I grabbed a kitchen towel, told my son, who saw the whole thing, to take me to the hospital, and had over 13 stitches on my face. I still have horrific scars, and will forever. Needless to say, the next morning, we found someone who took in critters like that, and could find him a home. I still have nightmares.

[bicentennial_baby]

15. Iguana bites are serious business

With 100+ multi-faceted teeth, they really pack a wallop. Did you pull him off or did he disengage? Pulling them will tear the flesh, creating a worse wound. A good way to get them to release is to pour a lil' vodka down their throat, which seems to make them wanna run away asap. I will admit though, if I had my Raphael stuck to my face, I'd probably rip him off quite quickly!

Did you get a broad-spectrum antibiotic? Iguanas can have both gram positive and gram negative bacteria in their mouths.

I'm really to sorry to hear about your incident. Thank you for not throwing the iggy out into the wild, as so many people do.

Good luck with the healing! :hi:

[mwdem]

16. Thanks, the healing's going to take some time..

I had to leave for Vegas on a business trip three days later, so I was a mess. I had all the shots & antibiotics, and I'll have the scars for awhile. I feel bad for Sid (Vicious), but he was getting more & more aggressive. He was even in heat over my kitty, Jessie, a Norweigian forest cat, who had no clue that her friend wanted to do the nasty with her. Sid's with bikers now, and that may not be too bad. I think he's with someone who can handle him & let him know who's boss.

[Ladyhawk]

17. Ouch!

One nice thing about snakes is they don't have strong jaws. Lizards do, as you figured out in a most unpleasant way. Ouch! I think I'll stick to the smaller beardies if I ever get a lizard.

Are iguana teeth serrated? Snake teeth are curved and have a small barb on them. I discovered this when I was bitten as a teenager and several of the snake's teeth came off in my thumb. I got most of them out by myself, but had to go to a doctor to have the rest removed. She let me look at the snake teeth under a microscope and sure enough, each one had a small barb. The teeth were from a five-foot gopher snake.

I'm sorry about the nightmares and hope you heal quickly. I don't blame you for getting rid of the iguana. Wild animals are unpredictable. I still have to remind myself that my 17-year-old Amazon parrot is a wild animal. He loves me very much, but under the right circumstances he is capable of inflicting serious damage. When other people are around, he gets so possessive he sometimes bites me, even though he'd rather be biting the intruder. It's been a long time since this has happened, but I keep reminding myself that a parrot in public does NOT belong on my shoulder. He needs to stay on my hand where I can better control him.

[mwdem]

20. Their teeth are serrated, and I still have nightmares..

but I still feel badly about our lizard. He was pretty spoiled, and every day I chopped his veggies just right for him. He was free roaming, and had his own schedule, but after what happened, we could not possibly keep him.

[Ladyhawk]

26. Completely understandable.

I'm just sorry that you'll have to deal with the repercussions for such a long time.

I knew a lady whose cockatoo (in breeding mode) nearly tore off her lower lip. She had whole aviaries full of parrots and didn't get rid of them. She admitted it was her fault for trying to kiss such a hormonal parrot, but it was still a very, very painful experience. She still has some scarring, but it isn't very noticeable.

[mwdem]

30. Hey, I'll heal,

I'll now just try to stay away from adopting animals that can't be domesticated. Iguanas are beautiful reptiles, and I really miss my boy, but I just couldn't handle his aggresiveness. When he started taking off after my cat, it was too much! I hope he's happy wherever he ends up.

[bicentennial_baby]

22. Iguana teeth pics

Yes, serrated and multi-faceted. Not something you want in your flesh, that's for sure!

[mwdem]

25. Oh, yeah, I will be scarred for awhile...

talk about biting the hand than feeds you!

[bicentennial_baby]

29. Mine bit the vet once

He stuck his finger up Raphael's bum, and Raph latched onto his arm with incredible speed. Amazing thing was, the vet did'nt even flinch! He has a free-roamer at home, and I assume he's had his share of iguana maulings!

[mwdem]

31. My whole family has scars from that kind of thing...

when he went for my face, and opened my lip to my chin, it was enough.

[Ladyhawk]

32. Those look amazingly like the teeth of great white sharks!

Wow! No wonder it did so much damage!

I knew goannas (monitors) had serrated teeth, but I didn't know iguanas did. Since they eat a mostly vegetarian diet, I don't understand the need for such chompers, unless it's for defense.

[mwdem]

34. Never, and I mean never get lower than them,

or get in their faces. My chin area is scarred beyond belief, and the emt's at the emergency room were all hanging around to see my face! Of course, this was in Overland Park, Kansas, and nobody has seen anything like that! I was a freak!!

[Ladyhawk]

35. Again: ouch!

I will remember your sage words of advice.

[mwdem]

37. Hon, stick to snakes

trust me. And they are beautiful!

[JohnLocke]

12. Kick (nt).

[southpaw]

24. Does my girlfriend's lizard tattoo count as a pet?

He is big and beautiful, on the small of her back. His name is Jose.

I love Jose.

I have a corn snake (real, not a tattoo) I call him 'snake-age' (think Pauly Shore) but I don't really think of it as his name, just a way of referring to him that is a bit more fun than simply calling him 'snake'

[Ladyhawk]

36. Jose might count if you're really stoned.

;)

Is "snake-age" any special color of corn snake, or is he a "normal"?

[radwriter0555]

38. I have a 30 lb african desert tortoise eating me out of house and

home...

he's HUGE. his name is BOOMER.

he comes when he's called and follows me around.

[Ladyhawk]

40. Does he have delusions of being a Galapagos tortoise?

Or maybe aspirations to reach the same size?

[mwdem]

42. Whoa! got pics?

eom

[Ladyhawk]

43. kick (nt)

[mwdem]

44. Kick.

c'omon show us some pics!

[Ladyhawk]

45. There are a few above.

My Arizona Mt. kingsnake and my Louisiana milks.

[RebelOne]

46. I had two boa constrictors once.

Had to get rid of them when they started getting too big to eat rats. There was no way I was going to feed them rabbits.