Trying to decide

Aww so apparently a reptile store in my city had a few Uromastyx geyri subadult males but their all sold out now. Only would have cost $180. I think Im gonna inquire as to if their getting anymore (I hope their stock is captive bred). Otherwise I need to figure out the CITES stuff since these uros are a appendix 2 species under Cites.

I saw that show…Interesting but after 15-20min It does make you think how far will one go to create tv entertainment. (Stress of the animals)! A topic for another day! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Ive watched a few episodes now. Its kinda fun to watch various animals teach dumb humans a painful lesson. I sometimes sit back and watch trained grizzly bears outperform humans on Man vs Bear. I hope an U. geyri lizard can join my dog and I and watch humans be stupid on shows like that soon maybe.

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Sweet! I got an email back from a local reptile store. They say their sold out of U geyri right now but they might be getting more in by maybe late spring or so. They said if any come sooner they’ll contact me. I already have found a exotic vet (who oddly enough seems closer to home than my regular vet I take my dog Angel to). Now I just need to get the enclosure/setup supplies, the lizard itself and figure out where to put the setup in the house.

Be careful, the vast majority of geyri sold in stores are WC and have not been treated for parasites. You might want to talk to your vet about it ahead of time.

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Yep before I buy it Im gonna ask if its CB or WC since I dont really want a WC individual. I guess Ill take a lil trip to this exotic vet I found since my current vet is only good for my dog and discuss it with someone there. The email said likely late spring anyway so theres that. Otherwise Tinley would be my best bet but that will make me jump through several hoops not counting the CITES stuff Ill need to deal with. I mean unless I can get the US issued CITES stuff done before Tinley since it can take 2 months to process I might be screwed. I dont think I can safely get the lizard home in December. Winter is far too cold for that here.

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It’s very smart of you to stick with CBB for your first reptile. That’s one big mistake avoided. WC Uromastyx are not that hard to establish in captivity compared to many other genera, but it’s still a headache and expense that is best to avoid until you are more confident in your keeping skills.

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Its not just my inexperience but also I’d feel bad knowing this lil creature once had full freedom in the wild and is now stuck in an enclosure dealing with a 2 legged idiot like me. If its someone who was born in captivity and has never tasted the realm of the wild then Id feel more comfortable keeping it. I just hope the one I can get from the store potentially is CB. I hope this works because I have no idea how I can get to Tinley in October. Id have to jump through so many hoops with both governments (need my passport to even enter the USA+ the whole CITES thing to bring the Uro home). Also I dunno how I can even travel to Tinley as I dont drive or can likely afford a flight there. What do I do? Fly to Chicago and go from there?

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Love your motivation on not choosing for CB. I feel the same. If you are a big breeder and you have to bring in new blood to prevent inbreeding, new genes or morphs or are trying to preserve a lokality I understand but not just for my own fun as a beginner. I worry about how many animals died to get one living one here, emptying nature for my fun ect. Now I know they are under cites so there are regulations but still. Did you try to Google breeders in Canada? Maybe you can contact them now and already arrange something with them for when the new babies come. I did the same with our blue tongue skink because the amount of breeders are really small. I had to wait for almost 9 months before the new ones got born and got an email when the first clutch was born. Reserved one the same day and picked him up as soon as he was ready to leave the nest. The breeder had about 61 babies between 2 juli to early September and by the end of september all were sold. So maybe there is also a uromastyx breeder like that in Canada.

Must reptile hatchlings are born between June and september so it might be easier to find one at that time, but you can maybe already try to find out who breeds them and contact them.

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Yes. See if you can find someone here or in another community to drive you to Tinley to save on the drive down to Tinley. “Convention Culture” can surprise you: there might even be someone up in Canada making the same trip that you can meet closer to your city. :woman_shrugging:

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Yes this store that I emailed about the Uromastyx is in my city actually. I had a look around their store once before. I hope I can get a cute CB Uro from them as it would only be a lil journey on public transit there and back. The email I received did say likely late spring and that it can be unpredictable but if they get some in they’ll notify me. Im keeping an eye on the website in case they forget. But I have to admit a lot of Uro listings Ive seen overall have the yellow morph priced cheaper than the red one. I wonder why since Uro geyri only has the two morphs as far as Im aware.

I have to be honest I don’t know to much about their morphs but the only ones I saw where the yellow ones so I can only assume there are more of them available. But sometimes it doesn’t make that much sense, at least to me. I think it’s up to you to decide which one you like most and if it is the most expensive, if you can and want to pay the difference. Bare in mind that the can get really old. I read they can get up to 35 years so it might be worth to go for the nicest one if they are both available, even if that one is more expensive. But you yourself can be the best judge in that.

If you can get it in your city that would for sure be the best. In fact, it would be great. No hustle with paperworks, no risk of problems at customs, it reduces the cost of the trip to Tinley and for the animal it will be a lot less stressful to only be carried through town than al the way from the US. So if I was you I would have a “membership” on their website and as soon as you see them online contact them straight and reserve one.

I get the idea that an uromastyx your most desired animal so just go for that one. If you get infected with the “reptile virus” then you can still look for an other animal like a cornsnake later on. And about Tinley, it can still be great to go there, I would even love to go there. But expo’s can already be great to just visit to see some reptile " eye candy" and just for the experience but then you can go there maybe this year but if it doesn’t work you csn also go next year and you don’t have the pressure of having to find your animal and all the worries of bringing it home safe. Simply enjoy the atmosphere and the beautiful animals.

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I totally agree Linda. Sometimes I dont understand why keeping reptiles is even referred to as a hobby. I dont see it as very different as having a dog cat or any other animal. Just like having a dog or cat its about companionship and the appreciation for the creature. I kinda view having a reptile or bird in a similar manner as with mammalian pets. More like enjoying companionship of another lifeform and less about collecting the creature as if its some sorta material object to collect. I dont know why its a hobby if its a reptile or tarantula or something yet its merely a pet if its a dog cat or something like that. I think regardless of the type of animal its meant to be enjoyed for what it is as a living creature. Technically Ive had the virus for unique animals since I was a kid interested in science and especially biology.

To me my reptiles are indeed almost on the same level as our dogs. I do see them as my pets and like them for the companionship. But I also see them as a hobby. I truly love my dogs but I don’t care at all about their genes, don’t want to breed them, am not going to dogshows or dog expo’s. I’m not on a dog forum, don’t watch video’s about care or morphs or anything like that, and have no desire to have more dogs than the two I have. So my dogs are only companions but to me not a hobby as such. That would be different if, for example, I would go for dog beauty shows, or agility or something or an other activity which make me dive in deeper then just enjoying their company. But I don’t have the desire to do that with dogs.

What makes reptiles also a hobby I everything that comes along with keeping reptiles. The plan to breed, the whole diving in the genes and what they do and how they interact, visiting expo’s, talking to breeders, the interaction with other reptile owners. Planning what snake to get and wanting to know everything there is to know about them ect. So they are mainly pet’s but not just pet’s. They represent so much more to me than that. So yes, they are truly also my hobby. So calling it a hobby is not a bad thing…it is just to also show the love for all the things that come along with keeping them. So I hope you understand now why we call it a hobby

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Yes I do see why they call it a hobby now Linda. Thank you for showing me why they call it a hobby.

It’s more than a hobby for me, it’s my whole darn life lol

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So apparently I might have found a place in Toronto where I can buy rodents. They appear to sell them in singles, 6pkg or 12pkg under their reptile feeder section of their site. So maybe I can put Corn Snake back on the table for consideration. Although the Uromastyx has captured my interest more the snake might be more compatible depending on how my life circumstances go. Im not sure what to do now…

A corn snake will be the easier first reptile and be more forgiving of mistakes. You also never really have to worry about WC individuals. I would think there would be places you could order from online to get more feeders than that. I will check around for you.

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Here is one website. Not sure how good it is because it is hard to navigate on my phone.
https://www.thewormlady.ca I recommend just searching around online for a place to buy rodents in bulk.

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@ashleyraeanne thank you so much for the help. I feel like I’d still enjoy the Uromastyx more but maybe I can get one of each. A Corn snake and an Uromastyx. I think I could have room for both.