Herp Megathread 3: No one will come to my house

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > Herp Megathread 3: No one will come to my house

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Leperflesh posted:

Suggest adding fire-bellied toads (bombina spp., especially orientalis) to the beginner frogs list; they're cheap, hardy, easy to set up, active, somewhat charismatic (compared to other frogs, anyway), and they have a nice call.

I have two who are at least 10 years old, they just eat crickets and hang out and occasionally go 'arp arp arp.'

Even though they're nearly all wc I agree. Bombinas are very hardy and charming little turds

# ¿ Jan 18, 2015 09:34

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 03:30

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

some pics

Both Whitewater albino and Mexican rosy boas

Cave dwelling ratsnake. he's v friendly.

my favorite bugs. Archispirostreptus gigas

Narceus americanus

Damon diadema

Mastigoproctus giganteus

Gromphadorhina portentosa

Elliptorhina javanica

# ¿ Jan 18, 2015 10:36

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

I dunno, I tried to use a f/t kinked one I got from a breeder as a feeder and no one wanted it. I think they might be too pokey.

Ive seen monitors eat them. Monitors will eat anything though.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 05:04

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

supermikhail posted:

This thread is raw. I thought I was okay with herps (?)... and I think I still am, but primates are frankly starting to give me the creeps.

Anyway, I'm not an owner or an aspiring owner, but I have some questions, relevant to the following:

I'm listening to an audiobook by a biologist who has spent a lot of time studying crocodilian behavior. He mentioned at one point that some crocodilians are kept as pets without problems, and this was both surprising and expected to me, because I'd been thinking about intelligence and pets, and while I've heard many a time that crocodilians are untameable, savage beasts, at the same time I know that they are social and hierarchical, which should be a good foundation for domestication.

So, I'm confused. Any help, thoughts, (un)educated opinions?

Also, the same author expressed an opinion that it's not helpful to include crocodilians into the field of herpetology, because herpetologists aren't used to dealing with social animals. And now it turns out that herpetophiles aren't that fond of them either. So I have to ask, are they, in fact, herps?

I see no reason why they wouldn't be? they're not the only social reptiles. Right off the bat I can think of garter snakes, montpellier snakes, and a few skink species that have some degree of social behavior. Montpillier snakes even have a form of hierarchy which even has lower members offering prey to higher ranked members.

I have a friend that used to breed West African dwarf crocodiles, American alligators, and Morlett's crocodiles. He said they could be surprisingly smart. Some would recognize the feeding bucket and come calmly while others would charge him and go batshit when they saw it.

German documentary showing social behavior of montpillier snakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-JBNqnybB4

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 12:13

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

supermikhail posted:

Oooh. You didn't intend it as such, but thank you for that excellent piece of language practice. (So clearly spoken!)

Okay. Well, the guy is actually not a herpetologist, he said he didn't want to specialize too narrowly, so he became an ethologist. He probably missed those.

Anyway, why is the OP so dismissive of crocodilians, then?

They are for only the most advanced and wealthy keepers. I've been keeping herps for 20 years and I couldnt properly care for even a west African dwarf. At only 4 - 5 feet, they'd still need a shitload of room to keep them happy. Not to mention cleaning crocodile poo poo out of a large pool of water and feeding the drat things.

If I win the lottery, I'll get some, otherwise I'll stick with more easy to maintain species.

Forgot to mention psammophis species. I briefly kept P. sibilans and mossambicus and saw mutual rubbing behavior in pairs (they annoint themselves with a clear substance from their jaws that supposedly helps minimized water loss). My friend is more familiar with them though as I was merely keeping his snakes for a few weeks while he was moving.

Big Centipede fucked around with this message at 12:48 on Jan 27, 2015

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 12:43

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

supermikhail posted:

Oh. Apologies. I think I misinterpreted the intent of that list in the OP.

No problem. The list was really supposed to just highlight some of the worst choices for beginners in the herp keeping hobby.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 13:34

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Stealthgerbil posted:

I received an adult bearded dragon and I am in need of a habitat for it. However the problem is that I only have a regular car and I can't fit a large tank in it I wanted to get one that was at least 24 inches deep so my bearded dragon can turn around without touching his tail. Any suggestions? I really just need like a 2 foot by 2 foot by 4 foot box with a plexiglass front and a lid. I could probably make that with a trip to the hardware store. I also can't find any site that sells decent box cages that I could assemble. So far I have tried asking people on craigslist if they would deliver the cage but no luck. I just need like a 55+ gallon one.

Go to Home Depot and rent a truck for like $19

# ¿ Jan 29, 2015 06:52

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Wow, 63 posts in the herp thread. Wonder what they're talking about. Oh.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2015 22:59

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

Sorry to hear about your hoggie

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PICK KINGSNAKES?!?! They pooed on me

Okay so first, this is a desert kingsnake

Hypomelanistic Florida king

Hypomelanistic Cali king

Abberant Cali king

Desert phase Cali king

And I don't really do geckos except for my colony of house geckos, so here is the one I was able to get a picture of. They're very shy and even faster.

Aaaaand in case any of you were thinking, wow Silver Nitrate has a tame green anaconda, its so pretty I should get one. THIS is what I have to deal with three times a week and he's just a baby.

That conda is going to be real fun when its turds are the size of a 2 liter Dr Pepper.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2015 04:53

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

I found eggs in the house gecko cage while I was moving them to a nicer enclosure. I hope I didn't gently caress anything up too bad, but I'm sure they will make more eggs for me and maybe lay them somewhere that I can take them out and incubate them.
Eggs

New cage, still need to add some more climbing stuff.

you could probably just hatch the house gecko eggs in the enclosure.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2015 04:17

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Or you know, it got stuck between the log and the glass?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 01:36

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Leperflesh posted:

Sure, that's also possible, but we already know that this is a recent acquisition and he may also be underweight. Without more information, it's worth pointing out that rolling is a symptom of disease among bearded dragons, because an owner might not know that. We do not have to be hyperbolic like Fluffy, of course, but we can at least help a herp owner be better-informed.

Fair enough. I was just going by the tone of the post. Ive seen the writhing and barrel rolling caused by infection and it isnt something I'd describe as "goofy".

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 01:43

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Think another FB meltdown is brewing.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 02:58

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

Facebook is fine?

That sounds more like a flip than a barrel roll so yeah he's probably just being an idiot. Like, hopefully anyhow.

Was referring to you. You seem to be weirdly acerbic to minor things lately.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 03:18

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

Talk to silver nitrate imo

What about?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 03:26

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

Let's take this outside, lagomorph

Is this going to be a cyberfight? Neat.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 04:03

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

I breed hybrids and release them. I feed live. I house snakes together. I feed in the cage. I use hot rocks. I house my animals on calci sand

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 04:12

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Nobody ever comes over

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 04:30

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

supermikhail posted:

Any recommendations about what I could read, or better watch, about interactions of pet reptiles with their owners? I'm still interested in how domestic they can be, so, you know, I'd appreciate both the "I don't give any fucks whether you exist" and the "woo, yes, belly rubs" (if this exists) perspectives. Or perhaps even only watch, because the selectivity and distortions of books can be very heavy. (While in videos there's at least something beyond the words.)

you're not going to see anything close to affection in any snakes, although, I have heard keepers I know aren't idiots say that some monitors, tegus, and tortoises genuinely seem to seek out their keeper's attention. This is almost certainly due to some kind of feeding conditioning, but it's probably as close as youre going to see to affection.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 12:12

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

Serious post, my googlefu has failed me. Does anyone know how long flat tailed house gecko eggs take to hatch? My local reptile store said most geckos that walk on glass take 60-75 days but does anyone know for real? Also, why the gently caress are they so drat noisey??

that sounds about reasonable I'd think.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 12:12

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Foou Manchu posted:

Hey, so I got my first snake in the last thread, a little over two years ago. I just now got my 6th snake (a cutey hypo Honduran that poops seemingly more than he eats) now none of my friends come over, and I'm starting to be compared to a crazy cat lady. All in all I'm a pretty happy dude. Just thought I'd let you all know.

congrats you loving weirdo.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 12:12

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Ireland Sucks posted:

I'm sure it doesn't prove affection and they are just trying to get out of the enclosure but this video has always been encouraging about getting some sort of dog like affection from Tegus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEbPZvhE_o

I've seen that video. Personally, I think it's simple conditioning to associate their keeper with food, but who knows?

I've kept a wide variety of reptiles and have never personally witnessed what I'd interpret as affection or intelligence. The closest I've seen is with rufous beaked snakes (Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus). They have an odd, almost birdlike attitude. They would perch in my hands and crane their heads around just watching everything in the room. Very cool snakes.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 12:41

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

Uh oh is there a BC meltdown brewing

Im gonna need you to strap on your contextual thinking helmet and try again to decide if my remark was sincere or in jest.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2015 23:55

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

Did you just invite me to work a strapon on you because hey baby c'mere

E: Snakes! Hey! Snakes are great! I love my snakes.

Sorry, im not into fat wiccans covered in dog jizz.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 03:20

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

HungryMedusa posted:

I have carpets, been keeping them for 10 years. This year I am trying my first official pairing of jungle carpets, featuring this girl:

They are not difficult to keep. Babies can be nippy, but it is up to the individual snakes. I keep my adults in 3' x 2' x 18" pvc cages or so depending on size. They get a heat pad on rheostat and sometimes a space heater if ambient temps get too cool. They are pretty good eaters and not difficult to handle once past a nippy phase, unless you get a murder snake, I guess?

Some carpets will refuse rats and prefer mice, but that is more of an annoyance than an actual problem in my opinion. I have two Palmerston locale jungles who are on mice right now and I am not too worried about trying to switch them. Here is one of them:

All in all, they make impressive animals who are easy to care for and don't get overwhelmingly large. I have kept different subspecies, like IJs and one coastal/IJ jaguar morph. I didn't see too much difference in their overall personalities. They all get hungry at night. They all go through an ontogenic color change. The IJs were cool because some times they had a really subtle purple tint to them at night.

The morph stuff is really beginning to get going with carpets, but I am not into that as much as just clean yellow and black jungles.

Here is the IJ/Coastal jaguar I owned:

I sold her when I got pregnant. She was kind of unpredictable and 8' by age 3, so I decided not to hold on to her.

I am not sure I would call carpets a beginner snake, but with enough research a lot of different snakes can be beginner snakes.

If you are serious about them, I recommend The Complete Carpet Python by Julander and Mutton. It is a great book.What

Carpets are great snakes. Most I've been around have been very chill adults. I wouldnt really consider them a beginner snake either, but they are certainly within the grasp of a well prepared beginner.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2015 21:51

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

The two we did educational poo poo with at the zoo were pretty good. The one on display would literally strike at every single white person who walked past.

Good snake.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2015 02:30

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Binary Logic posted:

Just got a PVC cage for my little ball python, flexwatt attached and running now to check temps and set thermostat probe. 93F setting gets around 88 inside the cage.. Wondering about substrate - paper towels for my convenience, or coco husk to keep the humidity level up.

I prefer coco for humidity and aesthetics. Paper is a good substrate though, but I only used it when I had 30 snakes.

I mostly use sani chips now.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2015 01:27

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Tathrie posted:

Southern CT in my basement. Unfortunately, there's 2 feet of really heavy snow outside and everything's going to freeze again tonight/tomorrow so the usual snake/spider/bug tactic of taking it out by the garage isn't an option for a month or two. It was much warmer than usual today (39 degrees) is that enough to wake one up? It was making a bee-line for the space heater but I only noticed it because it knocked over a soda can a foot away from my feet. There was a brief panic attack, I don't think it was scared by the scream. Only one this time, last snake I was much louder. It was also about a foot away from me. I am much better behaved around snakes when I have some warning. The basement is mid 50 to low 60 degrees, he's upstairs now which is a bit warmer but the heat's low for the night. I can set up my brother's old aquarium with some newspaper and a bowl of water in the morning when I have backup. Won't attempt to feed it yet (was worried it would be hungry after hibernation/brumation?). Any further advice would be helpful! This is an unexpected problem!

Do what Silver Nitrate said. The temps in your basement should be low enough to continue brumating without harming it. Don't even attempt to feed it.

Post a pic if you can though.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2015 08:33

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

buffeh posted:

Very shaky maths but if she'd been losing 4.5g a week since we got her (can't be sure as first weigh in wasn't until 6 weeks after taking her home) that would put her starting weight at around 735g meaning she would have lost around 7.5% of her body weight since then.

Fluffy Bunnies: She's around 4.5ft I believe, I need to try and get a slightly more accurate measurement though!

I've set her an ultimatum anyway, if she's not eating just after the start of Official UK Springtime (tm) (March 20th) then I'll get her looked at, for peace of mind if anything.

Thanks all

As long as she is drinking regularly, I wouldn't worry just yet.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 12:07

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

HEY VAPER posted:

I just caught one today on a demolition job and decided to make it a captive. Disturbed it in the middle of hunting a gigantic hobo spider and felt bad for ruining its meal, so it earned spoon-fed cricket meals for life courtesy of yours truly. Kind of a weird thing to keep captive, but I've always had the most fun with native species. Also caught a little what-i-think-is-a-tree-frog-or-chorus-frog of some sort the size of my pinkie nail and decided to keep it too. Haven't really for-sure identified them because they're both really stressed out at the moment, but I'm building terrariums tonight and I'll get to it in a couple weeks once they've chilled out and gotten used to their surroundings. Little guy's going to look pretty funny in my 2'x2'x2' cube tank.

(and before anyone gets their panties in a knot over wild caught, yes I have a lot of experience with wc frogs and I've dealt with just about every health issue/behavior issue that comes with the territory, not my first rodeo..)

I've never had an issue with people keeping common species that they've caught. Most of us have done it at some point.

Post pics.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2015 03:43

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fruit flies would work.i used to breed them when I had dart frogs but I found them to be such a hassle I sold my frogs. Onetwentysix can help you get started with setting up a number of breeding colonies.

If I'm being honest, it really wasn't that bad breeding fruit flies, I just didn't enjoy it. My go-to prey for small herps is lateralis roaches. The nymphs are very small and soft, plus roaches are way cooler and more enjoyable to keep.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2015 11:25

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

platedlizard posted:

I put replaced the old top platform in my iguana's cage with a new one that's twice as big and has a comfy bed so now of course he won't use it. It's only been two days so I'm hoping he'll change his mind. Maybe trimming his claws at the same time was a mistake? Idk

He really likes his new swimming pool/toilet & fountain tho. I dug out an aquarium powerhead pump to try to increase his humidity & it seems to work provided it doesn't get clogged with poop.

Anyway hi I have an iguana & plated lizard

Plated lizards are v cool but iguanas have always been rude to me

# ¿ Mar 20, 2015 10:35

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

I would say no because if a feeder bug eats the plant then the gecko eats it, that could be bad.

I sold some snakes, so I bought a lizard:

African fire skink, I'm going to try to make a bioactive setup with live plants and little bugs that eat poop.

I'd get the micro isopods. Larger species will probably get eaten.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2015 03:59

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Quezacotl posted:

Hello reptilian pet lovers!

I've decided I'm going to get a pet reptile; growing up my family has always had dogs, cats, and the occasional bird. However, my current job at a government facility in the middle of the desert means I'm out of the house 12-13 hours a day which is rather poor for your standard pets. Friends have suggested adopting a lizard of some kind, and after some consultation with friends who have had many reptiles and other pets in the past, I think I'm going to get a bearded dragon. Please inform me why this is / isn't a brilliant idea.

Beardies make great pets, and would be a good choice for a beginner. They're a bit more work than say, leopard geckos or crested geckos, but are not difficult.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2015 07:47

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

If it's not rare and illegal, and you're capable of caring for it, then I see no problem with it.

# ¿ May 6, 2015 07:59

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

My friend talked me into getting leopard geckos and holy gently caress are these things cute. I'm thinking about setting up a small dubia colony, can someone point me to a how-to?

Edit: Also I'm getting a 15'x40' snake room in three months and I'm gonna die of happiness

Dubias are super easy. A large bin, heat tape (not 100% necessary), egg crates, and food. That's it. Keep them warm and feed them. I don't use water crystals or anything. Just give them dry dog food, fruits, and vegetables.

# ¿ May 27, 2015 04:40

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Silver Nitrate posted:

How many do I need to start a colony? Like 30?

30 adults would be a good start. It'll take some time for the colony to explode though. The more adults you start with the faster you can start feeding off.

# ¿ May 27, 2015 05:01

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

I've ordered a few times from Perfect Prey and it's all be good quality.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2015 12:20

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

OneTwentySix posted:

Happy World Lizard Day!

Noice.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2015 01:49

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 03:30

Big Centipede: Mar 20, 2009; it tingles

Fluffy Bunnies posted:

You're in the UK right?

Go to poundland. Get fake foliage from poundland. Replace it when it gets moldy or beat up. Fake flowers are totally cool. Just don't let'em in his water.

Poundland is my favorite gay bar.

# ¿ Aug 24, 2015 23:32

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