Trying to decide

Thanks. Ive definitely done my homework on several different species. I think the uv and heat requirements for the Uromastyx could be a pain but at the same time I feel like I wont be able to find rodents whenever I happen to need them on a regular enough basis. And Im having trouble finding a good choice of corn snake morphs. The expo here is so ball python focused there are barely any decent selection for corns and finding an Uromastyx is even harder. As Im not interested in geckos pythons or boas as a pet and I cant have venomous my starter options are kinda limited. I guess my best chance is Tinley park in October in the US but Im unsure if I can even go there. I definitely want to get an Uromastyx geyri or a pair of them. I wish I could come to Europe for the Hamm show. Ive always wanted to visit Germany anyway.

The things you mentioned are indeed important things to consider. On the other hand, it seems that once you own a reptile suddenly all the things you need suddenly seem to be sold everywhere around. At least that was the case for me. I was worried crazy about
finding insects and live rats in case off…in the beginning and now I don’t even know how
I could ever be a worry because they are everywhere, but maybe I’m just spoiled, living in the middle of a total over populated country. But it good you checked these things before you buy.

One benefit with corns is, the are really not picky eaters so maybe you can just buy frozen rats or mice in larger amounts at once for a longer time like several months. In most places you can also buy them online. I don’t know the level of UV and heat a uromatyx need but I don’t think it’s more than a bearded dragon and for them it is not too difficult. Especially with the combi HID lights which give UV and heat. I think it’s best to wonder were you are most passionate about, because in the end, you most likely will still end up with that one down the line anyway. Ball python’s orientated expo’s can still be good, even if it is only to make contact with people who keep reptiles. They often have also other reptiles at home and can give you tips and tricks or have contact with reptile lovers who keep and breed other repetles.

Good luck looking for your first reptile. I hope you get the chance to go to Tinley .

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Uro geyri are similar to beardies except they need a basking spot slightly hotter. I just like the idea of being able to hit the local 24hr grocery store for greens for the lizard whenever I need to. Its funny because I didnt even know Uros existed before 2013 when a former xbox friend of mine had them as pets. There really isnt anyone around me selling quality rodents though. I just need to find someone selling the Uros captive bred as so far most Ive found sell wild caught or dont ship to where I live. That and I need to figure out where to put the enclosure in the house as my dog pretty much has access everywhere and given her hunting drive she would probably go after the Uro if she sees it (lol assuming shes not too busy trying to figure out what the heck this weird animal is). She doesnt go in my bedroom much but I cant keep a reptile in there…(I love keeping my bedroom super cold and sometimes below freezing since I love cold conditions and dislike warm ones). I already know where to get the housing supplies for the Uro too. And your right about the expo. I got to meet Dav Kaufman last time I went. I really hope I can get to attend Tinley. And I wish I could go to Hamm too.

Uros are great and there are plenty at Tinley. You can also find Rankins (Pogona henrylawsoni) which are also pretty great. They’re smaller than P. Vitticeps with all three being pretty easy to care for. You’ll need bugs for pogona, though.

Beardies take to handling a little better. Might be something to keep in mind. Uros aren’t bad about it but some don’t really tolerate too much interaction.

Have you brought a reptile through the border before? As far as I can tell there aren’t any restrictions.

Maybe some day I’ll hit up a Canadian expo. US border patrol, though :thinking: :thinking: They’ll probably ask me to turn it on, eat it, and give them the password to its Facebook page. :thinking: :thinking:

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Ya Ive considered Pogona species but the corns and uros beat them out in the interest dept. Ive never bought a reptile anywhere before and have never owned any herp before. There was a beardie at an expo once that took a huge liking to me for some reason. It gave me the impression it wanted me to be its human companion. But again the uro beat it thanks to its diet being more veggie focused. Of course there are a few other lizards that interest me (mostly agamids of some sort and the jewelled lacerta) but I think to start a U geyri would be a nice size. Snake wise aside from small colubrids like corns and the like Im interested in the Drymarchon genus (cribos) and the false water cobra. I also like green iggys but probably wont get one of those.

Jeweled Lacerta are fun. They’re a little crazy when small but have pretty big personalities. Some people compare them to tiny tegus but I’m not sold on that. You will definitely need lots of bugs and lots of different types of bugs.

You generally don’t see too many Falsies (H. Gigas) at Tinley because they are permit restricted in Illinois due to medically significant venom. But they make appearances sometimes.

I don’t remember the last drymarchon I’ve seen there :thinking: . They aren’t exactly small, though. :slight_smile:

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Ya current bylaw Im trying to change here in Toronto forbids all venomous regardless of how mild. I cant even legally own a Tarantula right now. Is the falsy water cobra’s venom really medically significant? I thought it was really mild. I would love to have either that or a Drymarchon someday. I dunno why but theres something about those snakes that I really like for some reason. Aside from them I guess for the most part anyway Ill stick to small colubrids like corns etc. My current situation wouldnt work well for a larger herp otherwise Id probably try looking for a jewelled lacerta or chinese mountain dragon or something like that. I also gotta consider my dog and how she may react. Something like the jewelled lacerta might trigger her prey drive. I mean shes taken down bunnies gone after raccoon opposum skunk…shes tried to get at guinea pigs I babysat once. I feel like Id have better luck showing her a U geyri and her realizing its a family member and shes to be the big furry sister. I just hope I get a U geyri that will like handling and chilling out like a beardie.

Also the current bylaw says lizards can be up to 2 M (6’8" approx) in length full grown while snakes can be 3 M (10 ft). I know with Drymarchon Im pushing my luck with that.

It’s … not pleasant. You will bleed a lot (anticoagulant) and can also develop some hemorrhaging and bruising. Personally, the mechanical bite from a false water cobra is more intimidating than the venom. They have big strong jaws, aren’t that easy to unhook, and those rear fangs hurt.

Some people on the internet have claimed their bites cause significant necrosis but I have never actually seen or heard of such a thing.

Plains Hognose are probably the place to start with RFV. They’re really easy to unhook before significant envenomations.

Fun fact: you don’t build a tolerance to fwc venom. The opposite happens: keepers of Falsies (and even hognose) can develop hypersensitivity. The worst envenomations happen to keepers. :scream:

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Aww hognose are mildly venomous too. Damn I guess I really need to get my petition going if even cute lil piggy sneks are venomous. Of course compared to the show I was watching on tv earlier where they got bit by a retic on purpose I doubt a falsy is as bad. The bite wounds from the retic were nasty :confounded:. (Shows called Kings of Pain btw). Ive even heard beardies are mildly venomous according to some sources.

Maybe you allready checked into them , but if you really want an animal for wich you just need to hit the local grocery shop, consider a blue tongue skink. They are simply great animals. Their head really looks like that of a mini raptor, they get very tame and everything you need for them you get in the local supermarket and petshop. They need heat but with a good ceramic heater it’s easy to get this. Uv is beneficial but they can do without if you feed calcium with d3 regularly. When they are young they eat premium catfood (the almost pure meat version) mixed with different veggies, a little fruit, and sometimes some extra treads like canned snails ( mine doesn’t like them but most like it) sometimes a piece of egg or some other leftover things. They are scavengers so eat different things in nature. I also regularly mix some blue buffet through their food. About once a month I mix different veggie’s through different types cat food and put it in an ice cube holder and freeze them. Everytime I feed, I simply defrost one cube and mix some extra veggies or fruit and some calcium through it and feed it. One load pre mixed frozen food last me one month. This was the tip of the breeder. When they get older the catfood can be replaced by premium dogfood. I really don’t know an easier reptile to care for and they are so cute with their thick body and tiny legs. The northerns and meraukes can get big but for example Tanimbars ( tiliqua scincoides chimaerea)stay smaller.


This is our Merauke Skittles some months back. He is now about 8 months old.

Just an other animal to consider based on the things you mentioned.

One simple advice on dogs and reptiles as being the mum of two dogs and different types of reptiles, forget the idea of the dog to consider a reptile as a family member. My dogs have no prey drive at all, but when I wanted to “show” my bearded dragon to our dog he did try to bite it. I think he thought it was a squeaky toy. He was obsessed with the lizard. Sat in front of the terrarium for hours. By now, two years later it is lesser. I can take the animals out without them going crazy, but that’s it. If I want the reptiles crawl or walk on the floor I simply put the dogs in a different room. When I hold a reptile the dogs can come close but always in a distance that the dogs can not get to them. When they are in their enclosure, I close it in a way the dogs can not get to them. The blue tongue skink only moves slowly so he is not that interesting but still, I prefer not to take any risk. They can live in the same house without problem, but simply don’t let them get close to each other.

But of course all the other reptiles are great to but getting insects and rats are by far more difficult to get compared to premium cat and dog food and some veggies

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Thanks for letting me know. I may research them a bit. Thats a pretty lizard. I remember holding one once when I went to my first small expo. Somebody had bought it and was leaving when I was arriving and we crossed paths in the parking lot. I asked what they had bought and they let me hold it. What kind of dogs do you have? Give all your animal companions some Valentine’s day love on my behalf.

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I just came here for the read and now I want a skink… Cheers Linda :roll_eyes::joy:

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I’m crazy about my snakes…but there is something about the skinks that make them so cute… :heart_eyes:

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Thank you…I will give them.

I found some pictures from when we bought our skink. He was tiny but, just three weeks old. They can survive on their own from the day they are born but the breeder kept all of them for 3 weeks to see everything is oke with them.

And her a picture I made from the parents so you can see the adult version.

A friend has Tanimbar skinks. They are a lighter color and stay smaller.

My dogs are simple mixed breed. From one we don’t know the father. There is something terrier in the mix. It’s what we call here in Holland a boerenfox terrier( translated farmer fox terrier) . It is the type they use to have on farms to catch rodents and bite all the visiters in the legs, expecially the mail man :grin:. Only there must be something else in the mix because he can stand next to a rodent and the chance is bigger the rodent bites him in the nose than he biting the rodent . He is 13 years old now but still going strong.


The other one is the daughter of his sister. Her dad is a IJsland dog. She is also almost 11years but they must have strong genes because they still behave like puppies

But this is all off topic so back to reptiles before they have to start a new topic again :smile:.

At least…good luck with choosing a reptile. To me they are all great only some more than others and you’re right, if you can not get the proper food ect it will be difficult to keep them. If you get one, post pictures. So much fun to see the result :grin:

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Oh I’ll definitely post a pic or two. I just hope that I manage to get one this year. A lot of stuff is uncertain right now but I have managed to get some of my stuff I had planned for 2020 started. Getting my 1st reptile is just 1 item on that list. I think most species Ill end up getting over my career in reptile keeping will be mostly found in Agamidae with a few exceptions for lizards and Colubridae for snakes with again a few exceptions possibly here and there. I will definitely research your skink idea. Even if I find something about them that Im not too fond of its nice to feed knowledge to my inner animal lover/biologist. Life is fascinating :blush:. And your dogs are so cute​:heart_eyes::dog:. Too bad your so far away…my 12 year old doggy girl needs some more friends.

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Skinks!

This is an indo but be careful: most indo are still wild caught. Northerns are a bit more friendly. Tanimbars are mixed bag, I think.

I had a tanimbar and a northern years ago but they were rehomed when I moved out of state. :cry:

If you shop for one step #1 is always to check their toes. Indos especially are prone to losing toes because of humidity but all skinks can lose toes and tail tips because of incorrect keeping.

They come equipped with the “skink honk” and people mistake it for hissing. It’s more like a “psst, I’m here, no step on skink” like you would honk a car horn. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Keep in mind that since you live in canada and plan to possibly buy in the US bylaws are not the only thing you.need to worry about, there is the issue of import and C.I.T.I.E.S for certain species.

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Oh crap I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me. Ill definitely look into whether or not one or both of those apply. Somehow I get the feeling Im gonna have the worst luck and both will be an issue.

Well turns out Uromastyx are CITES appendix 2. Which means if I want to buy one at Tinley and bring it home to Canada Ill need to get some export thingy from the USA. Ugh why must I have bad luck.