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#2250472 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Reptile show questions I am going to my first reptile show soon and I have four questions: 1. What is a lizard that is small enough to live in a ten gallon but is pretty easy to care for? 2. Do they sell them at most reptile shows? 3. Are most lizards at reptile shows healthy? 4. How do you tell if a lizard is healthy?
01/10/12  10:24am
#2250479 KrazyKelli View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2250472  Reptile show questions Leopard gecko. Just get leopard gecko. They’re all captive bred, are always at reptile shows, hardy, and live around 16 to 20 years if properly taken care of. Can also live in a 10 gallon all their life, though moving up to a 20 long is recommended for adults. However... You should do research. Owning a reptile isn’t ’what can I get for this tank?’, it’s ’what tank should I get for this reptile?’, it’s researching the reptile ahead of time, getting the tank set up a week ahead of time, making sure the temps and humidity are correct, making sure your husbandry is spot on, getting the right live insects to feed it, having the proper calcium supplements, then worrying about getting the gecko. It’s the same when you get ready to own a cat or dog. You make sure you have room in your house for it, you buy items for it, you have a vet in the area that can look at it, you double-check to insure you can actually take care of it for the long-term, etc, long before actually bringing the thing home. This isn’t like owning a hamster or fish, where you throw together something quickly, and expect a jolly good three years of entertainment. Besides all that, 1. Leopard gecko. Most other lizards species, even the small ones, need a 20 gallon or more. 2. Yes 3. It depends entirely on the breeder. Some breeders care for what they breed, others just breed for stock and don’t care how they take care of them; They just want the things out the door as quick as they can to breed more. Other breeders, which you wont have to deal with if you get a leo, don’t even breed - they get their lizards wild-caught in batches and sell the ones that don’t die off in the shipment. You’ll commonly see the latter sell lizards for real cheap prices (10 dollars or under), and try to sell off stupidly large lizards like monitors, or even giant snakes, for cheap. 4. Look for the most robust leo of the group. Ask to hold the leo. Look at the eyes to see if they are clear. Look at the nose and mouth to see if there’s any bubbling or discharge. Look at the body at a whole. Is it malnourished? Is the tail pencil thin or regrown? Are any toes missing? Are there any visible wounds? Is there shed built up on the body somewhere? Look at the vent. Is there crap or build up around the vent? Optionally, and this can be done in your hand or in the container, hold up the leo. Turn the leo side to side. Does its eyes/head follow you? That’s a good indicator of attentiveness. Though, once again, it’s optional. Not all leos do it, but even if they don’t it’s not a sign they’re a bad lizard. Now ask the breeder some questions. Does he put his leo on calcisand or anything other than a solid substrate? If he says yes to calcisand, do not buy from him. Calcisand or similar loose stuff can be ingested by the lizard and is known to cause impaction - something you do not want to deal with. Ask him how he houses his lizards. If he mentions things like ’heat rocks’, do not buy from him. If he mentions things like a rack system or heat tape, this is okay and standard breeder stuff. Ask him what calcium supplements he uses. If he doesn’t, unless the leo you are getting is a week old (and just starting to have eaten), don’t buy from him; if he does, ask for the brand. Ask him what type of food he feeds the lizard. This will tell you what to get them. Some leos like one food more than another (usually crickets or mealworms). If he feeds something ridiculously healthy and pricey like silkworms or small roaches, then it’s good... But you don’t have to feed them like-wise.
01/10/12  12:19pm
#2250485 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 2250479  Reptile show questions Thanks for all help but I already have a leo. I can care for something a little harder than a leo I think.... do most reptile shows have emerald swifts? I try and research allot before getting lizards, that is why I am asking before I go. I have two extra 10 gallon tanks on hand.
01/10/12  12:51pm
#2250495 KrazyKelli View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2250485  Reptile show questions If you have a leo, then you should know that you get the tank for the lizard and not the lizard for the tank. Like I said, there’s nothing outside of leo that you can fit comfortably in a 10 gallon tank, except maybe a pictus... Which are basically just small leos in comparison. (Not the same species, but they look a lot alike). Emerald swift, while small, need a 20 to 30 gallon tank to thrive. Most other geckos, while small, require a 20 gallon or more to thrive. Now if you have to fill a 10 gallon tank, I’m sure there are species of frog, or types of bugs that will fit in it fine. Spiders, scorpion, etc. Hermit crabs and stuff. Different species of Fish.
01/10/12  03:21pm
#2250498 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 2250495  Reptile show questions I have a bearded dragon also but in the past I have had a skink and fence lizards. Are anoles somewhat easy to care for? I was just trying to use what I have and not spend a bunch of money on a big tank. Thanks for the help.
01/10/12  04:00pm
#2250536 Old rex View Profile	Message To: Lizard girl 4   In reference to Message Id: 2250498  Reptile show questions Ankles if career for properly can live up to 10 years but they are usually poorly bred and all that. I’m not saying they will be at the shows but they require hummidity I believe and that’s usually pretty difficult to properly achieve. But get on the anole forum here
01/10/12  09:10pm
#2250573 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Old rex   In reference to Message Id: 2250536  Reptile show questions We live where it’s really dry so we would have to mist them allot. I tried an anole earlier this year from Pet-co and it was sick and died :( The humidity in the anole tank at Pet-co was like only 15%!
01/11/12  09:07am
#2250583 Rokdog View Profile	Message To: Old rex   In reference to Message Id: 2250536  Reptile show questions I don’t like the "ankles" they sell at most shows much preferring the "cankles" if you can find them......
01/11/12  10:24am
#2250641 Old rex View Profile	Message To: Rokdog   In reference to Message Id: 2250583  Reptile show questions Haha yeah sorry bout that! XD I was on my phone and it has auto corect so anoles turns tl ankles
01/11/12  05:34pm
#2250651 Lizard girl 4 View Profile	Message To: Old rex   In reference to Message Id: 2250641  Reptile show questions Oh! I hate auto correct
01/11/12  07:21pm

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