Yesterday was world lizard day

[Chew Toy McCoy]

This is butters, my blue tongue skink. Native to australia.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

 

[Eric]

Excellent, way to kick off this forum!

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Excellent, way to kick off this forum!

Thanks. Sorry for doing a separate post per picture but I couldn't figure out how to post multiple pics from my iPhone. Really glad you started this sub forum though. Pets are the best.

 

[Eric]

Thanks. Sorry for doing a separate post per picture but I couldn't figure out how to post multiple pics from my iPhone. Really glad you started this sub forum though. Pets are the best.

It's all good, share away.

 

[Alli]

I have a former colleague who has a side hustle breeding lizards. Geckos to be precise. I prefer the larger ones. The photo of the dogs just chllin’ with the lizard is fabulous, @Chew Toy McCoy !! We have garden variety skinks all over the place here. They’re as common as geckos. But nothing so large!

One of my favorite things about having spent time in south Florida last summer was all the iguanas. Not so little, but such timid little dragons!

 

[lizkat]

I really miss the colorful little eastern newts that used to adorn our gardens in the western foothills of the Catskills. They mostly had faded away by the early 90s after some drought years in the late 80s --followed on by some harsher than usual winters-- and I haven't seen one in my yard in about 25 years. So flashy and sporty in their terrestrial juvie phase, and very good at picking insects out of the veggie patches.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I have a former colleague who has a side hustle breeding lizards. Geckos to be precise. I prefer the larger ones. The photo of the dogs just chllin’ with the lizard is fabulous, @Chew Toy McCoy !! We have garden variety skinks all over the place here. They’re as common as geckos. But nothing so large!

One of my favorite things about having spent time in south Florida last summer was all the iguanas. Not so little, but such timid little dragons!

Locally we mostly have blue bellies, alligator lizards, and whip tails. It’s crazy to think these large lizards are just as common in other parts of the world.

I try to take Butters out at least once a day. Sometimes I pass out and she just sleeps with me, sometimes nuzzling between my head and the pillow, occasionally hissing in my ear when I move too much.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I really miss the colorful little eastern newts that used to adorn our gardens in the western foothills of the Catskills. They mostly had faded away by the early 90s after some drought years in the late 80s --followed on by some harsher than usual winters-- and I haven't seen one in my yard in about 25 years. So flashy and sporty in their terrestrial juvie phase, and very good at picking insects out of the veggie patches.

I’ve noticed a drop in the local reptile and amphibian population as well, but also some our making a comeback. For a while at our cabin I thought we were seeing less because I took them all home as a kid.

 

[Alli]

Locally we mostly have blue bellies, alligator lizards, and whip tails. It’s crazy to think these large lizards are just as common in other parts of the world.

I try to take Butters out at least once a day. Sometimes I pass out and she just sleeps with me, sometimes nuzzling between my head and the pillow, occasionally hissing in my ear when I move too much.

I’ve had snakes as pets in the past, but never a lizard. I wonder how my husband would feel about that....

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I’ve had snakes as pets in the past, but never a lizard. I wonder how my husband would feel about that....

I've also had snakes in the past. It was a toss up between a blue tongue skink and a ball python, but when I got the email from the skink breeder that they had new babies for sale an unusual for me competitiveness kicked in. When they send out emails to announce newborns it's almost like eBay sniper bidding. They are usually all spoken for within minutes of the email being sent. I was one of the lucky few who made it, 6 babies available, thousands of emails sent.

 

[Alli]

I've also had snakes in the past. It was a toss up between a blue tongue skink and a ball python, but when I got the email from the skink breeder that they had new babies for sale an unusual for me competitiveness kicked in. When they send out emails to announce newborns it's almost like eBay sniper bidding. They are usually all spoken for within minutes of the email being sent. I was one of the lucky few who made it, 6 babies available, thousands of emails sent.

The last snake I had was a ball python. He was, quite honestly, a boring pet.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

The last snake I had was a ball python. He was, quite honestly, a boring pet.

I live in an apartment that has always allowed cats but I’m not much of a cat person. They started allowing small dogs a couple years ago, but I don’t think an apartment is fair to a dog and depending on the dog there could be daycare costs I would have to consider while I am at work. The puppies pictured above are my parents’.

I also have an assortment of small critters (for another thread) and was looking for a more mid-sized pet that could be out of their enclosure and somewhat cuddly. The boringness of a ball python and relative small size for a constrictor sounded like it might fit that bill. An issue I had with them is their dietary needs, not that I’m against feeding rodents. It’s just kind of a chore. A bonus with Butters is she eats wet cat food for the first year and after that will also eat dry and wet dog food along with some vegetables and fruit. All stuff I can grab at the grocery store.

 

[Alli]

That makes it pretty low maintenance! I once had a friend who had rats that just roamed the house. She claimed they were just as smart as dogs. No thank you. I’ve known others who had tarantulas that pretty much roamed freely through the house or apartment. That could be kinda fun. My last wish list was a hedgehog. At least you can take them out of their cage and play with them.

 

[Renzatic]

 

[lizkat]

We had a king snake in the apartment my college roommate and I shared for awhile in Manhattan in our first years out of school. Her boyfriend at the time was in graduate school down south, and on his way to becoming a herpetologist. So you know how it is, you usually try to love whatever your true love loves, whether it's Harleys or king snakes, jazz or trance... so she said absolutely yes when the guy asked if she wanted to have this critter. I was okay with it, and the snake was beautiful, but I have to say I was more fond of her two cats.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

That makes it pretty low maintenance! I once had a friend who had rats that just roamed the house. She claimed they were just as smart as dogs. No thank you. I’ve known others who had tarantulas that pretty much roamed freely through the house or apartment. That could be kinda fun. My last wish list was a hedgehog. At least you can take them out of their cage and play with them.

I want a hedgehog too! But they are illegal in my state (CA). Not to disuade, but I've heard a lot of those adorable hedgehog moments are rare and in some cases owner abuse (they really don't like floating on their back in water).

I love the narration and editing in this video.

 

[Alli]

I want a hedgehog too! But they are illegal in my state (CA). Not to disuade, but I've heard a lot of those adorable hedgehog moments are rare and in some cases owner abuse (they really don't like floating on their back in water).

That video was darling! I wonder why they’re illegal in CA? It figures that here, hedgehogs are legal and pot is not. When I visit my mother in FL I always talk about going to one of the many hedgehog farms nearby. So far no one has let me cause they know I’ll come home with one.

Who knew you could feed them scrambled eggs?! If they eat grits, too, I could make dinner for both a hedgehog and my husband to share. Just sayin’.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

That video was darling! I wonder why they’re illegal in CA? It figures that here, hedgehogs are legal and pot is not. When I visit my mother in FL I always talk about going to one of the many hedgehog farms nearby. So far no one has let me cause they know I’ll come home with one.

Who knew you could feed them scrambled eggs?! If they eat grits, too, I could make dinner for both a hedgehog and my husband to share. Just sayin’.

Not sure why they are illegal in CA but the way CA works is there is a list of allowed animals. If they aren’t on the list they are illegal. Given hedgehog’s popularity there probably is a direct reason and it’s not just an oversite. But even CA has hill folk and I can guarantee they have pets that aren’t on the list, like ferrets.