I hate to say it, but I need help from those who have experience with pet reptiles.

[Colleen]

Some of you may know that I am not a Pet Person. At all. One of the very last things I want ~ with the notable exception of a root canal ~ is a house pet. Of course, my boys go through phases of wanting pets but given the fact that they have a pretty nice, animal-laden life, I'm not swayed. Well, actually, I've relented a bit because after years of telling them they shouldn't adopt barn cats, I turned a blind eye when they did just that last fall. They brought a so-called "abandoned" kitten into the mud room, coddled it, grew very attached to it...and watched a car run over it a couple of months later. I felt so sorry for them and let them take in a second kitty, which is growing rapidly and of course no longer holds the fascination it did when it was small.

So their attention ~ or my oldest's attention, really ~ has turned to reptiles. He is dying to get a lizard. I have several reasons I'm not fond of the idea, but what it really boils down to is, I don't want it in the house. I initially said "yes" to a lizard because, uninformed as I am, I thought the terrarium (or vivarium, I guess?) could be kept in the mud room, along with the crickets, etc. Then my son informed me it's too cold out there (the mud room isn't heated). I pointed out that it'll have a heat lamp. He said he has to turn the heat lamp off at night to give the lizard darkness, which it needs so it won't "get stressed and die". I pointed out that everyone in Alaska doesn't "get stressed and die" during the summer. He wasn't amused.:rolleyes:

Ya know, I kinda sorta wish I were the kind of mom who didn't mind having a zoo in the house. But I'm just...not. It was bad enough last year when they had some tree frogs in a small terrarium near the computer. These things were so-o-o-o loud at night. And don't even ask me where I found some of the crickets that escaped!:eek: So is there some creature I can suggest to my son that can be kept in the mud room ~ where the temp is pretty much the same as the outdoor temp? (Usually in the 40-60 range). Or can a lizard be kept out there? Or is keeping a lizard in my home going to ultimately be the highlight of my life? Help me out here, folks.

[nancypants]

Just say no to critters that eat bugs. (sorry, couldn't off hand think of a lizard name that rhymed with drugs.) :D

Really. I would just say no. Probably not very helpful eh? :rolleyes:

[GothicGyrl]

Your son would be exactly correct :) If it is too cold out there, then it is. Reptiles need an ambient room temperature of 75* or higher (no higher than 80) during the day and NO LOWER than 65* at night. If it gets colder than that in one room at night, they will freeze to death.
(this is for my turtles, it could be a few degrees higher/lower depending on the rep)

The heat lamp is only on during the day and technically you need two lamps--one that produces UVB rays and the other that produces heat. It's the only proper way to regulate their bodies.

If you aren't prepared to do exactly what it says in this care sheet, you will lose a reptile.
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/

It WILL have to stay in the house. the crickets can go out in the mudroom, but the lizard has to be in the house. And pretty much there is NOT a pet that can be kept out in that cold of a room, not without dieing. Anything you get, if the mud room stays that temperature, has to come inside.

Sorry, it's either it comes inside or you don't get it. To put it in what is essentially the freezer, will kill it. And you know you don't have to feed it crickets, right? There are so many more available foods out there to get, plus they thrive on fresh veggies. :)

[RoughCollie]

We kept our reptiles (and our tarantula) in the living room. I liked showing them off to our guests. :eek: They are dead now (natural causes), but if I had to do it again, I'd keep them in DS's bedroom.

There are lots of reptile resources online which will tell you exactly what to you need to do for the lizard you select to make part of your family. :D There are lots of good lizard care books, too.

They will die if they are not kept in a properly *heated* environment.

Tip: If you buy crickets for it, do not forget to give them to the reps. Somehow those crickets can escape the plastic bag. There is nothing quite like have a houseful of chirping crickets, even if they are supposed to bring good luck.

RC

[Doran]

"They" make ceramic heaters, which are like light bulbs except that they give off heat but no light. This just might bring harmony to your kingdom. :D

Wishing you more patience than luck,
Doran

[Colleen]

Really. I would just say no.

That's my line!

[Colleen]

Reptiles need an ambient room temperature of 75* or higher (no higher than 80) during the day and NO LOWER than 65* at night. If it gets colder than that in one room at night, they will freeze to death.

It's not uncommon that my boys' bedrooms are well below 65 degrees. So it sounds like that right there might be a problem...?

If you aren't prepared to do exactly what it says in this care sheet, you will lose a reptile.
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/

I just hate that reptiles are the "popular" thing with a lot of kids these days because it seems (from the kids we know) that a lot of them start out all gung-ho and in a year or so the animals die. My son is really responsible, and he wouldn't intentionally neglect the creature, but aside from my preferences, I just don't know that we have a good environment for a reptile, kwim?

[Colleen]

Tip: If you buy crickets for it, do not forget to give them to the reps. Somehow those crickets can escape the plastic bag. There is nothing quite like have a houseful of chirping crickets

Um, yes. I know.:cool:

[Colleen]

"They" make ceramic heaters, which are like light bulbs except that they give off heat but no light.

Hmmm....so it's a non-lighted heater...Sounds good ~ but I honestly think it'd still be too cold in the mud room. Reptiles are just not intended to be bred for captivity by a bunch of North American kids, as far as I'm concerned. My poor guys. Some day they'll look back and be thankful they had a mom who held dear all these social/economic/environmental ethics issues. Right? RIGHT?!?!:rolleyes:

[RoughCollie]

Or they'll grow up to be like my little brother's former housemate, aptly nicknamed Snake. Their huge den was filled with huge tanks full of all sorts of reptiles.

No women in sight.

Which is why Snake rather quickly had to find his own cave to live in.






Hmmm....so it's a non-lighted heater...Sounds good ~ but I honestly think it'd still be too cold in the mud room. Reptiles are just not intended to be bred for captivity by a bunch of North American kids, as far as I'm concerned. My poor guys. Some day they'll look back and be thankful they had a mom who held dear all these social/economic/environmental ethics issues. Right? RIGHT?!?!:rolleyes:

[Robin in Tx]

Colleen, I let my dd get a bearded dragon once and I thought the cage stunk horribly. Go into any pet shop where they sell reptiles and you'll know the smell I mean. Also, don't believe what people tell you about them being affectionate. They are not. The beardie NEVER warmed up to us and hissed and even bit my dd a few times when she tried to train it to get used to being handled. And we got it very young, too. I hated it. I had to give it a warm bath and massage it to get it to poop... yes, you must make sure it is pooping... and let me tell you... the hoops you have to jump through to make sure there is a fresh supply of crickets of a certain size is nothing short of ridiculous. You have to either make trips to the pet store a couple of times a week, or maintain/grow an insect colony in conjunction. A very loud insect colony. :)

I am a pet lover. We have a dog and three cats. I have never been without a pet. And even i couldn't stand the beardie... I don't appreciate a pet that hisses at me and threatens to bite me and is a complete pain in the you know what to boot.

I would recommend sticking with a pet that returns affection, or at the very least one that doesn't express hositlity towards the hand that feeds it (a fish perhaps?).

Good luck
Robin

[RoughCollie]

I am ROFL at the picture your words make. You should get some kind of major mothering award for that. I wouldn't do that for a human being, much less a hissing lizard!

My hat's off to you!
RC


I had to give it a warm bath and massage it to get it to poop...

[Liz CA]

Hmmm....so it's a non-lighted heater...Sounds good ~ but I honestly think it'd still be too cold in the mud room. Reptiles are just not intended to be bred for captivity by a bunch of North American kids, as far as I'm concerned. My poor guys. Some day they'll look back and be thankful they had a mom who held dear all these social/economic/environmental ethics issues. Right? RIGHT?!?!:rolleyes:

even if you get something like a Bearded Dragon which needs significantly less heat and special treatment than the Iguana, a mud room in the outside temp range wouldn't work. Your boy would probably be devestated when the lizard dies because of *exposure*.

We faced this dilemma a couple of years ago and unfortunately allowed ds to have an iguana.

I really believe reptiles do not thrive easily in areas that are not naturally hot and humid.

We were able to re-direct ds to a dwarf rabbit. Dwarfs as well as the bigger variety can be kept in an outside cage. When it's snowing and freezing, he/she could move into the mudroom and still be happy with lower temps. They don't like heat anyway. Their average lifespan is 5-7 years. Ours just died of old age.

Hope you find something that will bring joy to everyone - including you.

[Robin in Tx]

And imagine... it is hissing at you all the while! Until, of course, the warm bath and the massage calms it down and voila! The task is accomplished, the reptile is happy, and you get to disinfect your bathroom sink.

Believe me, he didn't last long. Traded him in for a gerbil.

[Pster]

Colleen -just make sure you ck their life expectancy!! My dd wanted a snake - we learned that snakes live up to 20/30 years!!!! I'm NOT keeping one after dd goes to college!! lol

We are looking at pets that now have a shorter life expectancy (some lizards are 12-15 yrs!) - we have looked at Pac Man frogs (they can eat mice) and Hedgehogs (very cute). We are still in the research phase. We might be for a while till we find the right pet. :)

Will you ds consider something else or is his heart set on a lizard?

[TRILLIUM]

We had frogs and I was so glad when they died. I hated the feeding cricket thing. Crickets smell! We happily own one dog, two cats and have two fish tanks, but I will never buy anything that eats crickets again.

[Tammy]

It can stay outside....

I would never get a 'reptile'....too much trouble....

So...for the non pet person....a cat is the way I would go, LOL!

Tammy

[Robyn]

The beardie NEVER warmed up to us and hissed and even bit my dd a few times when she tried to train it to get used to being handled. And we got it very young, too. I hated it. I had to give it a warm bath and massage it to get it to poop... yes, you must make sure it is pooping... and let me tell you... the hoops you have to jump through to make sure there is a fresh supply of crickets of a certain size is nothing short of ridiculous. You have to either make trips to the pet store a couple of times a week, or maintain/grow an insect colony in conjunction. A very loud insect colony. :)


Wow, we have had such a different experience with our bearded dragon. We only feed her crickets once or twice a week, so we buy them, sprinkle a little calcium powder on them, and dump them right in her tank. They are gone in minutes, no escapees, no chirping. My oldest ds gives her veggies and fresh water every morning. She is sweet and will curl up on dh's shoulder for hours. No poop issues either. Sounds like you just got an ornery lizard. I think any animal will have a distinct personality. I had a cat that hated dh when we first moved in together. She would hiss at him and pee on the carpet when he walked in the door. In fact, she didn't like anyone besides me.

As much as I adore our dragon, I think if you are that turned off by the thought of sharing your home with a reptile, I would advise sticking with a hamster or guinea pig.
Pster is right, lizards will hang around for a long time and it's always mom that gets stuck with the pet once the novelty has worn off.

[Pster]

that's true....we bought some to keep a terrarium we had put together from backyard anoles, toads, tree frogs going....the crickets were dirty little buggers! Ugh - and they got out once and were all over and a couple got stepped on as we tried to round them up again!! Memorable & funny at the time -but bleh!! :D

[Stirsmommy]

We had a small snake. My oldest wanted his reptile badge for scouts. He liked him for all of about 2 days and took care of him for his allotted time and then Dink became "mine". I am not phobic about snakes but I hated going every month to get the feeder fish. I couldn't look at them all the way home. Dink was an amazing escape artist who frequently went on walkabouts. That would freak me out but she would always show up for food. She did not last as long as we thought only about four years but she could have been older when we got her too. She was a small corn snake and loved to be handled. My youngest who was about a year when we got her still wants another one. He was way more in to her and I think probably aided in some of the escapes.
personally I like furry pets. I don't mind indoor pets but I do like them cuddly.
Melissa

[GothicGyrl]

It's not uncommon that my boys' bedrooms are well below 65 degrees. So it sounds like that right there might be a problem...?



I just hate that reptiles are the "popular" thing with a lot of kids these days because it seems (from the kids we know) that a lot of them start out all gung-ho and in a year or so the animals die. My son is really responsible, and he wouldn't intentionally neglect the creature, but aside from my preferences, I just don't know that we have a good environment for a reptile, kwim?
Colleen,

Just tell him from all of us, that it is just too cold there, even with a heat rock he will die and "I simply cannot do that to you" :p Really, yes--even their room is too cold. There is no way even the heartiest reptile would survive the night having the lights turned off.

Even with our turtles, a heat lamp, a day lamp and a temp regulator in the tank, I am constantly adding warm water to their tank to warm it up faster because of everything being off overnight. They do require constant care.

And your second bit, about the latest "fad"-- I get really ticked off at all the misinformation out there, especially those mall kiosks that sell hermits/turtles "You only need this!!" "Oh they are good little pets" grrr.rrrrrr..rrrr...rrr... NO THEY ARE NOT AND YOU DO NOT..... grrrrrrrrr.... even hermit crabs take a LOT of care.

I know the drive to want something is strong, but either get them something that can handle the cold (even with something furry, you are going to have to "warm" it some how) or don't get one and just tell son that it's just way too cold there.

[Antonia]

We have had Lizzy (original, I know) for two years, and she is the best pet we've ever had. She is sweet and sociable; ds holds her and she eats out of his hand. Her tank is in his room, and as long as we replace the sand every few months, there is no smell. She does need to be kept at around 80 degrees, so we use a heat lamp and rock. She eats kale and mealworms, so no crickets needed. Compared to our dog (huge, hyperactive lab who runs away on a daily basis), she is a pleasure!

[Jenny in Atl]

We have Leopard Geckos (2 females and a male) in a 20 gallon long tank with a ceramic lamp, two daytime lamps, and an under the tank heater. They are very easy to care for. We don't often feed them crickets, ours love meal worms, also easy to keep in your frig for up to a couple months.

Our schoolroom, where they live, often gets down to about 63 in the winter. As long as you keep the tank itself no lower than about 75 degrees, they should be find. They're small, don't smell, the tank is a breeze to clean, etc. But, as with most other reptiles, they live a long time and one should really want them before bringing some home.

[Dana in OR]

but have you ever even considered getting a dog? Our two golden retrievers have been an immense source of joy to us. Now that one of them is full grown she makes the best reading pillow ever. I am getting great exercise by taking them on walks.

The biggest surprise to me is how much I adore them, and I am not really a pet person. There is no way in this world that I would keep a reptile in our home.:eek:

Ok, I know this post was not what you wanted. I just think that your boys would pitch in and do so much of the work, and it's nice to have a dog to talk to when you're a kid. I was an only child and I don't know what I would have done without my dog - she was my companion, friend, and therapist. It's that unconditional love thing.

Good luck with your decisions!

[Colleen]

(H)ave you ever even considered getting a dog?

Yes, I've considered it when my oldest has asked but I'm not going there. I definitely wouldn't let a dog in the house (the thought of using a dog as a reading pillow just does not go over well with me;)). My guys have to survive childhood with a gang of brothers and a farm, sans dog.

[Colleen]

Meal worms in the fridge? Ummm...no thank you.:p Something there is about living a stone's throw away from a barn and a million gallon manure lagoon that makes me want to keep my house an island of sorts, free of the presence of animals.;) I am trying hard to try and expand my mindset, but this thread alone is making me more and more wary of the whole lizard endeavour. Regulating the temp, cleaning the tank, feeding...It sounds like a pain to me. Sure my son will be in charge, but I'll inevitably by second in command, kwim?

Sigh. I feel bad for him, I really do. He has read a half dozen books about lizards in the past few months and is totally focused on this. On the other hand, he read a half dozen books about frogs before getting some last year. And then they died. And he didn't really care. And he moved on to lizards. So, I don't know...

[Colleen]

And your second bit, about the latest "fad"-- I get really ticked off at all the misinformation out there, especially those mall kiosks that sell hermits/turtles "You only need this!!" "Oh they are good little pets" grrr.rrrrrr..rrrr...rrr... NO THEY ARE NOT AND YOU DO NOT..... grrrrrrrrr.... even hermit crabs take a LOT of care.

Yep. And my guys have friends whose parents indulge them in these fads. Seems like every time they go to this one boy's house, he's got a different critter. "He has the coolest (fill in the blank) now, Mom!" "He does? I thought he had a (fill in the blank)?" "Oh, yeah, but it died. And if this thing dies, he's going to get a (fill in the blank)." Great. Lovely.:rolleyes:

[Elaine]

I can't believe that you let the cat in the house. ;)


Seriously, we investigated the whole lizard deal this past summer and decided that it was not for us. As the man at the pet store explained the proper care required, my boys desires began to wane because I was clear that I was not taking care of the lizard. I have a hard time living with the notion that there are lizards in the backyard with me, let alone one living in my house.

We did get a dog and the boys love him. Some days I threaten to make a hat out of him, but for the most part he is a loving and gentle dog. The best part about the dog is he has fur and can live happily in the garage.;)

[Colleen]

I can't believe that you let the cat in the house. ;)

Okay, technically, the mud room is "the house" because it's attached to the house but what with the smelly farm boots and smelly farm clothes, I don't think of it as part of my "home", kwim? I can tolerate a pet out there.

Seriously, we investigated the whole lizard deal this past summer and decided that it was not for us. As the man at the pet store explained the proper care required, my boys desires began to wane

Hmmm...can you send that man up here to talk to my son?:p

We did get a dog and the boys love him. Some days I threaten to make a hat out of him, but for the most part he is a loving and gentle dog. The best part about the dog is he has fur and can live happily in the garage.;)

What kind of dog did you end up getting? Do you let him in the house at all? I liked having both cats and dogs when I was a kid, but now the thought of it just seems so tiresome. The vet, the poop (UGH!), the need to keep it out of the barn & off the busy road right in front of our place, yada yada yada...:rolleyes:

[Scarlett]

What kind of dog did you end up getting? Do you let him in the house at all? I liked having both cats and dogs when I was a kid, but now the thought of it just seems so tiresome. The vet, the poop (UGH!), the need to keep it out of the barn & off the busy road right in front of our place, yada yada yada...:rolleyes:

Seems to me with 5 boys, you should not have to deal with a dog much. That could be part of the deal---you want em you take care of em thing. I think part of your boys are old enough for that.

My son has a dog and she is a LOT of work for me, but he is still not yet 8. And he is also an only child and since I can't seem to get him any siblings I bought him a dog. He loves his dog. Hence, he smells like a dog a lot too. :)

Oh, my ds also is constantly begging for a snake. Not gonna happen. Even the hermit crab I bought him turned out to be not quite the great thing he thought it would be. We gave him to a local school who has a whole colony of them.

[Scarlett]

Btw, I think cats are much easier pets. But dh is opposed to it for some reason, so we got the dog instead.