Pretty much as the title says. What’s one reptile species that after your experience keeping them, you will never own again, and why? For me personally, it’s either ball pythons or crested geckos, both for very different reasons. I had a ball python until very recently, now he’s with a friend of mine. I definitely got a ball python in the first place because I felt like that’s what I had to get as my first snake. I’m just really not a bp guy. It’s an awful thing to say because it’s a living creature, but I honestly felt bored by my ball python. I mean it’s definitely the most popular snake for a reason, I just never fully found the appeal for myself, and it’s not a species I need to own again. For the other one, crested geckos, I feel like I may have just had a bad experience. I got my crested gecko in 2021, and he died for some reason that I still don’t know in early 2023. The entire time I had him, he was basically a loaded gun in a glass cage and the door handle was the trigger. Any time I opened his enclosure, he would immediately try to jump out or bite me or start bouncing off every wall and pooping. He was like this from when I got him until he passed. I tried every trick to tame him down, but I could never do it. He was the most skittish, defensive, bitey, and flighty reptile I have ever met. It may be different with other crested geckos, but that’s just not a risk I want to take.
For a bit of a lighter note, what are some reptiles you’ve had that you want more of? I for sure need more carpet pythons, I cannot get enough of mine. I need more subspecies, I need a bredli, I need a female, I need all of it. Carpet pythons are 100% THE snake for me.
Same as Dean. Iguanas are definitely a never again. I loved keeping one as a kid, but it was definitely not the best care. Especially because this was before the Internet. I was at least knowledgeable enough to ID her case of MBD and ask my mom for a vet visit.
Green anoles are a close second after seeing one drown almost immediately after being introduced into a large enclosure with a 4 inch deep water side for fire belly toads. It was a fancy ‘blue’ that I spent my allowance on too. It was a ‘bad time’ for little me
Loved the idea, not the practice lol. Got one as a gift from my mother when I was around 10-ish, basically very similar to those who’ve brought up iguanas.
Before hand the only experience I had was with Bearded Dragons and BPs and didn’t really understand how to navigate the internet at the time to find out how to keep them. All I knew is that they needed decent humidity and a decent amount of space, mom helped me take care of it the best we could but it eventually ended up with someone else. Got a few bites from it and decided it just wasn’t for me… But considering how young and naïve I was I might give them a second chance in the future.
I think you may have just had a bad experience with that little one… but they can be iffy. I used to breed them and keep one as pet-only now, the one I have now is very chill for the most part if not just a bit excitable. When I used to breed them a large majority of them were really chill, my first breeding female was just like yours at first but as she aged she really mellowed out. Some of them just need time, I think because of how high-strung yours was he just couldn’t handle the stress
Tokays. After losing at least a unit of blood and traumatizing an entire kindergarten class, I have more than learned my lesson. Friggin’ piranhas with legs.
My first reptile was a red-eared slider. I was a little girl and wasnt taught how to take care of him properly. I also have no idea what happened to him, but now i know keeping any turtle is lots of work
I rescued mine and they were a delight, but they are nearly impossible to give proper care unless you have massive complex set-ups, and the vast majority are still wild-caught
My last one was just rehomed to a woman with a herd (pinch? clatter?) in a massive 500 gallon bioactive tank with multiple fountains, enrichment areas, running wheels, different biomes, and a mini swimming pool. That’s really the only way you can ‘properly’ keep them and I just won’t do it again knowing I can’t do that
Yeah, makes me wonder how he was raised and socialized by the breeder. I bought him as an adult from a nearby breeder, she probably didn’t handle or socialize him much growing up, or who knows what else for him to be so scared of everything. I thought she was a reputable breeder, but looking back she might’ve been a bit neglectful. Don’t want to full on spread accusations though without firm evidence, fully could’ve just been a personality thing that he had from birth and there wasn’t anything that could be done about it. Wish the breeder had disclosed that to me beforehand though, I wasn’t told anything about his personality. I had just heard before that crested geckos were chill and assumed he’d be the same and stupidly didn’t think to ask about it.
Just a lady in my local hermit crab facebook group who happened to live one county over from me, unlikely but given the size of her set-up, its possible she has a podcast! But I think just a lovely central Ohio keeper
I don’t think I have a reptile species I’ve kept and never want to keep again. Closest thing might be bearded dragons, just because their husbandry and diet are a good deal more complicated than my current reptiles…but I certainly haven’t sworn off beardies forever. I probably won’t go out and purchase one, but if a rescue in need of a soft place to land ever found me, I’d gladly have a beardie again.
Really the only pet I’ll never keep again are rats. Not because I don’t like them. Quite the opposite in fact, I love rats. But I hate their miniscule lifespan. My heart just can’t handle handle having a beloved pet die every 1-3 years.
That really is the heartbreaking part.
I had an opossum we found as a tiny anemic baby. We ended up keeping him indoors because he had a contagious parasite that there’s no known cure for ATM. Besnoitiosis.
You would think an opossum would live a decent amount of time… But even in captivity most don’t make it far past 3. We only had our little guy for a year before we said goodbye because of the impact on the infection in his everyday life.
I’d still rescue one in a heartbeat. But the short lifespan is a downer.
Rats are so good too … But I think I’m just going to enjoy raising them as feeders instead of keeping them as pets. Mice too.
Very not into keeping mammals other than dogs and cats, but that’s the biggest reason while you’ll never see me keeping chameleons. I do actually really want a parson’s chameleon, but something like that is so far in the future for me that it’s not even really worth thinking about right now.
Unfortunately I’ve grown really close with my first female breeder Rat, she’s retired almost 3 but still alive and kicking with no issues related to being a senior surprisingly. Such a sweet sweet girl, my niece named her Tinkerbell and I just call her Bell. She’s a good granny to new and young breeder females and stays in a large colony enclosure with them… I dread the day she passes
I had 2 blue rats. 2 girls same litter. They were around 2 years old when they started developing the infamous rat tumors/cysts. They passed within a few months of each other and I was devastated.
Have y’all that have had pet rats in the past/breed them as feeders now developed an allergy to them? I work in a rat lab and over the last 5 years I have developed the most insane allergy to rat dander - but it’s not something I hear people breeding/keeping them mention
I’m allergic to some of the bedding. When working with a big box pet store I would get itchy or get nose bleeds if unmasked while changing out the small animal enclosures.
I know someone who only keeps female rats because she’s allergic to the urine and males up… Snail trail more often than not.
It’s something pretty common with dubia roaches to become allergic to them and to seafood though. I worry about it since I have some mild asthma.
I’ve also had a cat go through the other way. She was super allergic to human dander. And wool.
Poor thing was always breaking out in hives
I was always slightly allergic to them, going back to when I got my first 2 girls when I was 7 years old. Whenever their nails would scratch my skin, the scratches would swell up into puffy red welts. But it never seemed to worsen with exposure. It was the same years later when I had them as an adult.
The slightest, tiniest scratches I get from mine leave me in itchy hives unfortunately but its not terrible. If it does get too much to bear taking a benadryl helps me, I also have to wear a mask while doing bedding changes/cleaning because of the dander but even if I wasn’t allergic I’d probably still wear a mask just for hygienic purposes and to keep dust out of my lungs
