How did you get into reptiles? What is your favourite reptile, and why?

[kawasakirider]

As the title says guys, what is your favourite reptile, and why is it your favourite? Also how did you guys get into keeping reptiles?

I've always been fascinated with anything out of the ordinary, I love sharks and crocodiles, and I've always been fascinated with snakes. My GF suggested we get one not that long ago, after seeing jackass 3, so we jumped online and had one the next day

My favourite reptiles are snakes, in particular jungles, nice darwins, and albino darwins.

I love the jungles because of their colouring, and how they are arboreal, I love the regular darwins because I saw the pic of N.A.T.O's that Colin bred, and it was gorgeous, and anything albino/leucistic is amazing.

Snakes are followed closely by beardies, I think they look awesome, and they tolerate more handling than other lizards (from what I've heard), in particular any sort of gecko, that I'd also like in the future.

My story of how I got into the hobby isn't interesting, but I'm sure others here have great stories. People talking about how they kept elapids that they caught as kids really fascinate me, it would be great to hear everyone's story

 

[welchy94]

my favourite reptile would have to be snakes but crocs and all the others are just behind!!
i love snakes coz they are different to all other animals!! they are just so unique and easy to care for!
i have liked aniamals all me life but really got into snakes when my uncle had a few and i went and held them and after that did volunteer work at walkabout wildlife park and fell in love with them more when they first got theres!! not that interesting haha love to here some others!1

 

[kawasakirider]

Thanks

I forgot about crocs, they'd be my favourite, except snakes are because they are able to be kept

I had similar experiences handling snakes at zoo's and things (never known anyone with a snake of their own), and it just fuelled the fire more.

 

[CrystalMoon]

I have always loved reptiles, I was told of the time when 5 I found some snake eggs. I was told to throw them away, I apparently hid them in my Mother's
high heels(covered toe) I caught many lizards and spiders(red backs were a favourite)as I was growing up. I had my first snakes in my early 30's, I was in the bush
and didnt know I had to have a licence. I let them go when I found out(in the same area). I love Coastal's and Bredli's, for there size and markings. I dearly want to become an experienced Herper and finally have my hearts desire GTP's I love their Heads their colour and that tail LOL I would really like to get into elapids, I am becoming more and more drawn to them. I do love monitors, but have to wonder if I should just concentrate on my snakes for now(being I only have 1, shhh and 1 on the way)
Kind regards
Crystal

 

[Dan40D]

Always loved snakes and other reptiles, anything nature related really, birds, trees, scenery , we are just blessed to live in the most amazing part of the world. Wasn't until recently that i was allowed to get a snake after many years of nagging, now my wife is obsessed as well and we are talking about getting some more. As far as my favorite reptiles go, i love the Antaresia genus, not sure why really, their just my thing i guess.

 

[kawasakirider]

I have always loved reptiles, I was told of the time when 5 I found some snake eggs. I was told to throw them away, I apparently hid them in my Mother's
high heels(covered toe) I caught many lizards and spiders(red backs were a favourite)as I was growing up. I had my first snakes in my early 30's, I was in the bush
and didnt know I had to have a licence. I let them go when I found out(in the same area). I love Coastal's and Bredli's, for there size and markings. I dearly want to become an experienced Herper and finally have my hearts desire GTP's I love their Heads their colour and that tail LOL I would really like to get into elapids, I am becoming more and more drawn to them. I do love monitors, but have to wonder if I should just concentrate on my snakes for now(being I only have 1, shhh and 1 on the way)
Kind regards
Crystal

So you caught the wild snakes yourself? How were you keeping them Crystal? Did they have proper heating set ups? I like elapids, too. I'd love an RBB, they look evil (in a good way), but I don't know if the risk would be worth it for me, even if I ever gained the experience needed. Not so much the risk, but I'd be up at night double checking I'd locked everything, lol.

Cheers, Dan

 

[GSXR_Boy]

My neighbour killed this little Heath Monitor ( it is venomous as it has a forked tongue ) when i was 6 and that sparked an on and off interest in rep's up until now. There is also a pic' of the first blue tongue i caught a few months after that. ( 1982)

Excuse the pic' there was no such thing as a digital camera then so these pic's were scanned into the comp'.

 

[jack]

makes me tuff. gunna breed some and be ritch. probly a passing fad.

 

[CrystalMoon]

So you caught the wild snakes yourself? How were you keeping them Crystal? Did they have proper heating set ups? I like elapids, too. I'd love an RBB, they look evil (in a good way), but I don't know if the risk would be worth it for me, even if I ever gained the experience needed. Not so much the risk, but I'd be up at night double checking I'd locked everything, lol.

Cheers, Dan

I caught a Childreni and a Coastal they were only juveniles at the time and I converted fish tanks for them, I had a normal 100 watt light bulb caged set near a rock up one end and a hide at the other, with news paper as substrate. Primitive but I had one for 2 years and the other for 12-18 months I had my own mice so that was food sorted. they were very healthy snakes hmmm I must've done something right I look back now and think I was very lucky, as they shed well and fed when I presented food to them(yeahhh they were live, I didnt know better)every so often they escaped in my room, but so did the sugar gliders LOL all I can say is I was in the bush and didnt know I wasnt supposed to keep these things. Very unprofessional but it worked back then? I love the NSW red bellies, they seem more red then the ones further north, I wonder if it is cause of the climate?

 

[Morfias]

I remember being 5 and begging my mum for one, don't really remember why, she told me when I got older I could have one so I pestered her throughout the years to no avail but it seems it was my fate/destiny.. I fell in love with the "dark mark" in Harry potter and had it tattooed in my forearm then found out I wasn't a sagittarius but actually Ophiuchus (the 13th sign and also the snake handler)

 

[kawasakirider]

I caught a Childreni and a Coastal they were only juveniles at the time and I converted fish tanks for them, I had a normal 100 watt light bulb caged set near a rock up one end and a hide at the other, with news paper as substrate. Primitive but I had one for 2 years and the other for 12-18 months I had my own mice so that was food sorted. they were very healthy snakes hmmm I must've done something right I look back now and think I was very lucky, as they shed well and fed when I presented food to them(yeahhh they were live, I didnt know better)every so often they escaped in my room, but so did the sugar gliders LOL all I can say is I was in the bush and didnt know I wasnt supposed to keep these things. Very unprofessional but it worked back then? I love the NSW red bellies, they seem more red then the ones further north, I wonder if it is cause of the climate?

I'm not judging, lol. I was just curious how you kept them if you had no knowledge, good job

I remember being 5 and begging my mum for one, don't really remember why, she told me when I got older I could have one so I pestered her throughout the years to no avail but it seems it was my fate/destiny.. I fell in love with the "dark mark" in Harry potter and had it tattooed in my forearm then found out I wasn't a sagittarius but actually Ophiuchus (the 13th sign and also the snake handler)

What does the Dark Mark have to do with Sagitarius? I love Harry Potter, I've read the books countless times. My first snake was named Nagini, and the one I have now is named snappy because when I first got her, she was a bit bitey. She's calmed down lots, so a name change is in order. She'll either be Salazar, or Nagini, like the first

 

[CrystalMoon]

I'm not judging, lol. I was just curious how you kept them if you had no knowledge, good job

LOL I didnt take it as you being judgemental, it's all good

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

ive always been facinated by reptiles since my earliest memories,y parents recognized very early and let me have a Eastern bearded dragon at age 5 and a bluetongue lizard a few months later. They both lived in same enclosure on our back verandah.
i would find snakes the most facinating though and pretty much my whole child hood i never saw anything but elapids,first we found a bandy bandy when i was about 6 and dad picked it up with BBQ tongs and moved it into the bush as us kids where annoying it.
I would come across the Red bellied black snake the most growing up but also eastern browns.I found other species but there the ones i have most vivid memories of.
As an adult my intrest was turned up a few notches when i kept coming across herps on my travels in Australia and over seas,and a chance encounter with an eastern brown had me so drawn to it i immediatly joined the Australian Herpetological society and continued on to begin studying and working with animals with a focus that always came back to Eastern browns,blacks and tigers as the most interesting species to me.
I now am involved with snakes everyday of my life in my work and still tangle with the same species i have seen most of my life, and a learning experiance that was set in motion as a child continues and everyday i learn something new about Herps.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

I have had reptiles since i was 4.
I got into them because i liked them and my cousin kept them.....
Every animal i keep is my favourite but Jacky Dragons win it for me....

 

[kawasakirider]

ive always been facinated by reptiles since my earliest memories,y parents recognized very early and let me have a Eastern bearded dragon at age 5 and a bluetongue lizard a few months later they both lived in same enclosure.
i would find snakes the mos facinating and pretty much my whole child hood i never saw anything but elapids,first we found a bandy bandy when i was about 6 and dad picked it up with BBQ tongs and moved it into the bush as us kids where annoying.
I would come across the Red bellied black snake the most growing up but also eastern browns.I found other species but there the ones i have most vivid memories of.
As an adult my intrest was turned up a few notches when i kept coming across herps on my travels in Australia and over seas,and a chance encounter with an eastern brown had me so drawn to it i immediatly joined the Australian Herpetological society and continued on to begin studying and working with animals with a focus that always came back to Eastern browns,blacks and tigers as the most interseting species to me.
I now am involved with snakes everyday of my life in my work and still tangle with the same species i have seen most of my life, and a learning experiance that was set in motion as a child continues and everyday i learn something new about Herps.

What did you learn today? I think it's awesome that you found a way to work with snakes and still remain passionate, what do you do?

 

[abnrmal91]

makes me tuff. gunna breed some and be ritch. probly a passing fad.

Thats the spirit lol

 

[Morfias]

I'm not judging, lol. I was just curious how you kept them if you had no knowledge, good job



What does the Dark Mark have to do with Sagitarius? I love Harry Potter, I've read the books countless times. My first snake was named Nagini, and the one I have now is named snappy because when I first got her, she was a bit bitey. She's calmed down lots, so a name change is in order. She'll either be Salazar, or Nagini, like the first

Doesn't have anything to do with it I was saying that's first I got the tat of the dark mark then years later found out about the star sign... I was gana name my first nagini also but nagini is a female mine is a male so it wasn't right, but how gorgeous is nagini in the movie :-D

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

I have had reptiles since i was 4.
I got into them because i liked them and my cousin kept them.....
Every animal i keep is my favourite but Jacky Dragons win it for me....

you need to change your user name to jackymadness

 

[kawasakirider]

Doesn't have anything to do with it I was saying that's first I got the tat of the dark mark then years later found out about the star sign... I was gana name my first nagini also but nagini is a female mine is a male so it wasn't right, but how gorgeous is nagini in the movie :-D

I guess you're right, the names should be sex appropriate. The other one I have, "lumpy" will probably be called Salazar soon, and Snappy will be dubbed Nagini.

The snake in the movie is alright... I don't really like it though, just because it's a horcrux. It nearly kills Harry, it's kinda funny how Neville gets rid of it, and Neville could have been the person the prophecy spoke of Great writing.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Haha i should Cant be bothered, all my emails etc are snakemadness, it will confuse me all up