Reptile Lover’s Thread!!

[Quailobsessed]

I would recommend a beardie. I've owned beardies for about eight years, not as long as @FortCluck (that's so cool by the way), but I've learned stuff along the way. Also, random info, Sam (my beardie) is going to be six soon.

For feeding, it is depends on how old they are. If they're a baby, they definitely need to be fed daily with mostly live food (Soldier worms, crickets...but not mealworms, they're not good for babies). Adults (like Sam) can be fed every other day and with more veggies and greens (they still get live food, just not as much).

For water, you need to spray them with water as they don't usually drink but still put a water dish in there, they may lie in it when they're too hot, or in the case of Sam, they may actually drink out of it (he's so cute when he drinks).

For substrate, I honestly haven't found one that doesn't have an argument against it. It's really up to you, do your research and make an informed decision based on that.
I personally use both medium rocks and sand. It is a personal opinion because I know my beardie and have made the decision based on what I know about him and what he's most likely/least likely to eat. Just don't expect to find a type of substrate that everyone agrees on and if you do, please let me know so I can use it too.

Hope this info helps, @FortCluck covered everything quite well, I just wanted to expand and add my personal experience.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Thank you so much!

 

[CSAchook]

Hope all you reptile lovers are having a happy holiday season!

 

[HuffleClaw]

Hope all you reptile lovers are having a happy holiday season!
View attachment 1988244

Holy!!! That’s so cute!!!

 

[CSAchook]

Holy!!! That’s so cute!!!

Why thank you! She was not a fan of the hat but I bought her some hornworms as a treat so I think I can buy her forgiveness that way.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Just left the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL. It was AWESOME.

I think you guys would like it. Soooooo many reptiles lol

They, of course, had alligators, TONS of them, but they have every species of crocodilian there so tons of other animals too. Plus all sorts of cool birds and primates like lemurs, tamarins, marmosets, etc. and hornbills and parrots and all sorts of other cool birds, and of course tons of other cool reptiles. So many cool snakes. I didn’t get many pictures of those though but they had a couple HUGE reticulated pythons, some Komodo dragons, a HUGE pit viper, HUGE king cobra, etc. and other cool pythons and boas and various other cool snakes. And they had a couple Galapagos tortoises. those things are HUGE. They had some huge river turtles too. And of course some of the alligators and crocodiles were massive lol they have a MASSIVE saltwater crocodile. And tons of baby animals too. Baby Galapagos tortoises and tons of baby crocodiles and alligators.

I took waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too many pictures as usual though so not sure I’ll be able to narrow it down enough to share any

 

[FortCluck]

I'm actually buying one of those kits and using it for my next lizard. I'm getting a new one for my birthday.

I would recommend a beardie. I've owned beardies for about eight years, not as long as @FortCluck (that's so cool by the way), but I've learned stuff along the way. Also, random info, Sam (my beardie) is going to be six soon.

For feeding, it is depends on how old they are. If they're a baby, they definitely need to be fed daily with mostly live food (Soldier worms, crickets...but not mealworms, they're not good for babies). Adults (like Sam) can be fed every other day and with more veggies and greens (they still get live food, just not as much).

For water, you need to spray them with water as they don't usually drink but still put a water dish in there, they may lie in it when they're too hot, or in the case of Sam, they may actually drink out of it (he's so cute when he drinks).

For substrate, I honestly haven't found one that doesn't have an argument against it. It's really up to you, do your research and make an informed decision based on that.
I personally use both medium rocks and sand. It is a personal opinion because I know my beardie and have made the decision based on what I know about him and what he's most likely/least likely to eat. Just don't expect to find a type of substrate that everyone agrees on and if you do, please let me know so I can use it too.

Hope this info helps, @FortCluck covered everything quite well, I just wanted to expand and add my personal experience.

I've never put any water in my bearded dragon's tanks because they never go near it at all... Maybe I just own weird ones

This substrate is the only one I found that has never had any negativity on it https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-eco-e...JjEj_u1wYlQ2PlkRibulRFXwpWCQkqsQaAsnWEALw_wcB

I've been using that substrate for all the years that I've owned bearded dragons. I stopped using sand because of the impaction that it can cause with younger beardies, but I've never actually heard of it happening to anyone that I know.

I do not feed any live insects. I feed freeze dried and it keeps the tank cleaner because you don't have insects going to the bathroom in your tank if the bearded dragon doesn't eat them all. I feed freeze dried soldier worms.

I feed my bearded dragons vegetables every single day and every other day I feed them soldier worms. My bearded dragon is 2 years old I think, but when I had a baby bearded dragon I fed the soldier worms every day with veggies every other day.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hope all you reptile lovers are having a happy holiday season!
View attachment 1988244

Awww adorable

 

[Quailobsessed]

I'm actually buying one of those kits and using it for my next lizard. I'm getting a new one for my birthday.

I've never put any water in my bearded dragon's tanks because they never go near it at all... Maybe I just own weird ones

This substrate is the only one I found that has never had any negativity on it https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-eco-earth-loose-coconut/dp/123772?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0ZHwBRCRARIsAK0Tr-rVntWfx5PVr5bo6HBiZDkJjEj_u1wYlQ2PlkRibulRFXwpWCQkqsQaAsnWEALw_wcB

I've been using that substrate for all the years that I've owned bearded dragons. I stopped using sand because of the impaction that it can cause with younger beardies, but I've never actually heard of it happening to anyone that I know.

I do not feed any live insects. I feed freeze dried and it keeps the tank cleaner because you don't have insects going to the bathroom in your tank if the bearded dragon doesn't eat them all. I feed freeze dried soldier worms.

I feed my bearded dragons vegetables every single day and every other day I feed them soldier worms. My bearded dragon is 2 years old I think, but when I had a baby bearded dragon I fed the soldier worms every day with veggies every other day.

I put water in because he drinks it. Maybe I have the weird lizards

I did a LOT of research recently when I was trying to find a good substrate to use and found positives and negatives on literally every substrate in existence. Some arguments were poorer than others but eventually I settled for desert sand as I used sand in the past and never had a problem and where he eats, I have medium sized pebbles to further avoid chance of impaction. Again, that is a personal choice, every beardie is different and some are more likely to eat sand than others.

I tong feed crickets to Sam, he's too lazy to chase them and it avoids having them living in his enclosure making a mess.

What veggies do you feed?

I really appreciate hearing other people's advice and experiences on owning reptiles. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FortCluck]

I put water in because he drinks it. Maybe I have the weird lizards

I did a LOT of research recently when I was trying to find a good substrate to use and found positives and negatives on literally every substrate in existence. Some arguments were poorer than others but eventually I settled for desert sand as I used sand in the past and never had a problem and where he eats, I have medium sized pebbles to further avoid chance of impaction. Again, that is a personal choice, every beardie is different and some are more likely to eat sand than others.

I tong feed crickets to Sam, he's too lazy to chase them and it avoids having them living in his enclosure making a mess.

What veggies do you feed?

I really appreciate hearing other people's advice and experiences on owning reptiles. Thanks for sharing.

I do leafy greens, peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli florets, and some others that I can't think of right now.