Life With Reptiles



You know, reptiles can really improve your life...and when you develop an addiction, and reptiles infuse every aspect of your life, things can get interesting...


These are the current reptiles residing in my house...or ones I've rescued and adopted out.

See pics of these guys!

(oops coming soon I should say)


Snakes:
2.0 Boa constrictor constrictor (red-tailed boa), Scylla and Carybdis
5.10 Elaphe guttata guttata (corn snake):
1.2 amelanistic: Giraffe, Carnival, Piro
1.2 normal: Chip, Fiesta, Juaquim (or "Juaquima")
2.2 snow: Icon, Whiplash, Mirage, Tsubasa
1.2 anerythristic B: Einstein, Delta, Ricrac
0.1 normal striped: Roshambo
0.1 amel striped: Chyna Peach
0.1 Drymarchon corais couperi (Eastern Indigo) Nefertiti
2.2.1 Python regius (ball python) Cricktor, Roswell, Puppet, Crane, noname (fostering)
1.1 Antaresia maculosa (spotted python) Norm and Madge
1.2 Lampropeltis getula niger (mexican black kingsnake) Kanji, Teemu, Nightshade
1.2 Eryx colubrinus loveridgei (kenyan sand boa): the Collective: Leech, Gorman, Kostmeyer


Lizards:
0.1 Scincoides scincoides (Blue Tongued-skink), Bindi
1.0 Uroplatus sikkorae (mossy leaf-tails)
3.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (crested gecko), unnamed (but they look like puppies!)
2.13 Eublepharis macularius (leopard gecko)
0.0.4 Lepidodactylus lugubris (mourning gecko)
2.8.4 Paroedura picta (Madagascar ground gecko)
1.3 Ptychozoon kuhli (flying gecko)
0.1 Pogona vitticeps (bearded dragon), Ozymandias
Amphibians:
3.1.1 Bombina ssp (fire-belly toads)
0.0.1 Chacoan "mystery" frog (I dont know the scientific name) Blarg
0.0.4 California Slender salamanders


Animals I have adopted out:
1.1 Elaphe guttata guttata (corn snake): Cymru (10/1/02), Sippi (8/5/02)
1.0 Crotophytus ssp (collared lizard), Chakotay (5/1/02)
1.0 Phelsuma madagascarensis grandis (giant day gecko) Jolly Green (6/1/02)
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getulus splendida (Desert king) (9/15/02)
0.0.1 Pituophis melanoleucus (Gopher snake) (9/01/02)




A SAD story:
I do a lot of reptile rescue...sometimes it can be very satisfying, but often the animals cannot be saved since they are so sick. This weekend I had witnessed damage to a snake that was so horrifying it made me ill--but the worst part was that the owner was just going to wait for it to die rather than give it any release from its obvious agony. The whole story, with pictures, can be found here: burned ball python




Here is a VERY important link--especially if you don't like getting screwed over.
Board of Inquiry
--go to this database BEFORE you decide to buy a reptile over the internet, without knowing anything about the person to whom you are about to send a ton of money and/or your reptiles.



Here are some other links that I have found useful, and use often:

  1. smuggled.com: Australian Herp Papers
  2. NRAAC: National Reptile and Amphibian Advisory Council
  3. Kingsnake.com: HUGE Reptile Source
  4. gekkota.com caresheets: Gecko caresheets
  5. Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care: Excellent herp information



Here we have places to shop for animal supplies:




I intend to add links of photos of each critter... I just get tired fairly easily, so more later, I suppose...