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 #1823187


Leah_Lizard
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 Help! need a lizard!

i’m looking for a lizard. my hermie recently passed so my 10 gallon tank is empty. i want a lizard that can live happily in it for it’s whole life. i also want one that could live in the climate of sw fl. suggest any herp or invert. i’ll see if my mom hates them later
08/07/08  06:34pm

 #1823212


Squee
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   Message To: Leah_Lizard   In reference to Message Id: 1823187


 Help! need a lizard!

you dont NEED a lizard and with that kind of thinking honestly i dont think you should GET a lizard.. but thats just me...



08/07/08  06:51pm

 #1823362


Leah_Lizard
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   Message To: Squee   In reference to Message Id: 1823212


 Help! need a lizard!

well duh i don’t need one i want one my hermit crab recently passed and i have an empty tank and i don’t think it’s much of your business whether i should get one or not! I’m almost 13 i think i can take care of a lizard like a leo or something, i would sure hope so.
08/07/08  08:52pm

 #1823452


Squee
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   Message To: Leah_Lizard   In reference to Message Id: 1823362


 Help! need a lizard!

hey im just saying... what it seems to me you are implying in your title and first post is the exact reason why i do what i do and have as many reptiles as i do.. parents getting them for their kids, their kids getting bored with them months/years later and wanting to get rid of them because the parents dont want to care for the animal.

i know there are responsible kids out there that actually will care for them the length of their life but people saying they "NEED" a lizard or other animal in my opinion tend to get bored with the animal after a while because they live so long if properly cared for, then they get neglected pushed onto the parents and then possibly an even worse home because the parents dont wanna deal with it and want to get rid of it
08/07/08  10:01pm

 #1823542


Leah_Lizard
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   Message To: Squee   In reference to Message Id: 1823452


 Help! need a lizard!

listen, i know my parents won’t take care of it unlike most kids i’m a freak who can watch lizards do nohing and be totally amused for hours. i’ve done more research on every type of lizard I’ve even considered considering. you don’t need to treat me like a kid most people probably don’t even know i’m 12. the only reason my parent’s would buy it is because i can get one for my birthday. and if they don’t get me one then all i want is money so i can buy one myself. by need a lizard i meant i need help deciding which kind to get. i don’t ever ask my parent’s for pets and i know what its like to get a pet that is to hard to take of and have to give it away. i gave my cockatiel to my sister’s friend because he needed too much attention and i didn’t have the time to give it to him he’s much happier now if you were wondering
08/07/08  11:26pm

 #1823568


KrazyKelli
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   Message To: Leah_Lizard   In reference to Message Id: 1823542


 Help! need a lizard!

This lizard you get could live upwards of 20 years. Which means that by the time it dies, you could theoretically be 32 years old. What will happen if your college you eventually go to doesn’t accept reptiles? What will happen when you have to get a job and find a place to live - also possibly at an apartment or complex that wont allow reptiles - and wont have time to care for it? What if none of your friends or relatives want you dumping a reptile on them?

Then you have to factor in expenses. Cockateils and reptiles are very hard to take care of on two sides of the spectrum. Birds need constant attention while reptiles will stress out and get sick from having too much of it. Reptiles also need precise temp/humidity requirements that need to be monitored at all times. (Will you be prepared if there’s a power outtage and you can’t heat up the tank under conventional methods?) Reptiles are very expensive to set up for and keep alive. Will you have the inflow of money necessary to pay for a possible new tank, temp/humidity measuring device, accessories, supplements, and live food in order to keep the lizard alive if you’re told to? As you’re that young, you can’t legally have a steady job. Where will you acquire the money if the lizard has to go to the vet? How are you going to take it there if you don’t have a car and your parents don’t care about it? We get many threads yearly of people your age who have a lizard that stops eating for possible months or gets ridiculously thin due to a disease/parasite and they whine that their parents wont take them to a vet that could be up to two hours away from their house, nor the hundred+ dollars to fix the problem. You would also have to go to the same vet annual for health checks, which adds up.


Owning a reptile is far more responsibility than owning a dog or cat. You have to be prepared for any unexpected consequences and have to have the knowledge that once you get this reptile, you agree that it’s your job to keep it happy and healthy until death from old age. If you know you can’t keep up this promise or know you wont be able to take care of it in the long future, years from now, then you should also agree that it isn’t time yet for you to get it. If you really want it even then, then dream and wait until you’re in a more stable environment where you can successfully cater to the needs of the animal for the duration that it’s alive.

Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I held off on getting a reptile until I was years out of college. I wanted one as a kid, too. I dreamed of the lizard roaming my desk as I played with my toys around it. That I would build lego structures for it to crawl in. That I could play with it while bored. Then I realized that that wasn’t the reason for owning a wild creature, that it would be way above my head. So I didn’t get it then. Now, of course, I have money to take care of them, a stable place to live, and I treat them like reptiles should honestly be treated. I have years ahead of me in which to take care of them, and I have a backup plan for if something should happen to me - of who would take care of them then.



08/07/08  11:58pm

 #1823658


MissSkyTheGecko
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   Message To: KrazyKelli   In reference to Message Id: 1823568


 Help! need a lizard!

I don’t like the way it sounds like you want one to fill the tank...but since no one on here can stop you, I suggest something full grown, and a new tank.
However I’d like to point out, that I’m 16. I got my geckos when I was 12, and I have to admit they’re a lot more work than you’d think.
I like to think of myself as a respected member on this forum. That being said, I take very good care of my geckos, and even with the best care my family has had to spend over $2000 on them in vet bills alone. One individual has cost just a little over $700. There’s almost no home remedies for whatever accidents happen...and trust me...accidents do like to happen.
No one is really trying to bash you on this and make you feel you have to defend yourself. I think part of it we don’t like the thought of our own geckos in the care of someone who doesn’t fully understand the costs and responsibilities.
So please, take time to really think it over. You’ve got your whole life to get a new animal. Patience is key.
08/08/08  02:43am

 #1824291


Squee
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   Message To: MissSkyTheGecko   In reference to Message Id: 1823658


 Help! need a lizard!

Quote:

by need a lizard i meant i need help deciding which kind to get

if thats what you meant then why didnt you say that in the first place.. it would have saved you from all these issues i an others bring up.

and i agree with kelli on how are you going to keep up with paying for food and everything... for all my animals i spend almost $70 a week for crickets and mealies alone... not to mention some times more goes into feeding if i have special need gecko or animal that wont eat anything but silkworms or something else i can only get on the internet. and now thats probably going up due to the fact i just picked up a neglected beardie whos decently under weight, unwanted fire belly toad and leo and possibly 2 more leos sometime this coming week.


and again i agree what are you going to do when you need a vet visit and you cant go because your parents dont care and wont take you? im 20 and i dont drive(yes i know im weird i just dont like driving) anyways.. luckily my mom and other family cares right along with me and is willing to drive me and my animals.. or just my animals.. to the vet to get whatever is needed checked out and treated. if its just them taking my animals they will pay for it but i have to pay them back afterwords.. which adds up to alot.

when one of my beardies was ill a year or 2 ago i spent probably a good $2500-$3000 on meds exrays blood work and multiple other things only to loose him in the end because it was cancer that nothing could be done about.

heck when i had an injured baby beardie 3 years ago i spent a good $500 on vet visits to multiple vets getting oral and topical antibiotics, and check ups to get the vets opinion on how his leg was healing since it was fractured.



08/08/08  05:24pm

 #1824472


Leah_Lizard
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   Message To: Squee   In reference to Message Id: 1824291


 Help! need a lizard!

if you had read the whole post instead of assuming i would be like any other kid and get bored with it none of this would have happened. anyway my mom says she doesn’t want cages in teh house anymore and i’m not going to bake an anole on the patio. i am moving to the invert forums.
08/08/08  08:48pm


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