B
Blizzma
Guest
(WARNING- long rant!!)
My boyfriend was the one who got me into reptiles after he told me story after story of his past Bearded Dragon.
I had loved reptiles and dinosaurs as a kid, but had never had a reptile as a pet before.
After a little trip to a reptile store one night, I decided to do a search on google for "best reptiles for beginners" or something and a leopard gecko was always one of the first on the lists. So, I decided to research them and found myself growing more and more interested in them. After becoming a member of this forum, it was official: I wanted a leopard gecko!
BUT...my parents are the biggest opstical. I knew that they had made a new rule for pets about a year before. At first, it was a 'no more rats until you move out (I had about 3 rats)' then it moved to 'no more pets until you move out.'
This crushed me because...well, I have a huge passion for animals. I love them, and I don't think life is worth living without them. I am considering being a vet tech and devoting my life to them.
I mean, its not like I don't have any pets. My family currently has 3 cats, 2 dogs (one being an outside dog) and 1 bird.
I have 2 male betta fish, which are the only creatures that they have allowed me to have.
I love my fish dearly, but I miss holding a critter in my hands and having an actual bond with it and having complete responsibility for it.
I went to a bookstore one night with my mother to try to buy a book about geckos. I was planning on not letting her know about my book choice, but she found out and told me straight up "Your not getting a lizard."
On the car ride home, she asked me why I wanted one and I told her I had never had a reptile before and I was very interested in them. She told me that she was once interested in geckos before and read somewhere that they were mean. She also added she wasn't going to be the one to drive me around every week for their live food (I don't have a car or a license yet...but this is another can of worms). I told her my boyfriend understood and would bring me to the petstore if my gecko needed food. She still told me that I was not getting a lizard.
Later that night, my mom helped me order a gecko book online with a gift card because the store didn't have any of them. At first, she told me to 'reconsider my choice of book because I wasn't getting a lizard.' This comment seemed to just evaporate...she let me order the book without a single complaint.
After that whole thing, it got my hopes up because it seemed she was actually considering letting me have a leo.
A few days later, my dad comes home from work and my mom has me tell him what I kind of pet I want. He laughs and reminds me of the rule, and I ask why the heck it is so strict. He then begins to lecture me about 'how one becomes a slave to animals.' My mom starts once again asking questions about what they eat, how I will get food and what heat source they need. I also added that a UTH had less wattage then a heat lamp, and that seemed to impress them. She tells me that if I were to get a leo I would have to pay for everything. I tell her that that was what I was planning on doing! They wouldn't have to pay a penny, and they probably wouldn't even notice that I had one because they don't make noises or stink.
This conversation leads into how I basically suck at being a teenager. They tell me that I should save this money for other, more important things but they fail to tell me what they are. They continue to harp on me for not having a license, a car or a job yet (these things are both impossible for me right now - I need to have a job to buy a car. I only get paid $10 a week for chores - I need a bigger pay check then that to buy a freakin car. I live out in the country, so I would need a car to get to any kind of job. I have NO idea how I'm going to get enough money for college...).
After that small fiasco, I still have hope that by the time I graduate high-school they will let me get a gecko. I am legally an adult now, but by then I know that it will dawn on them that they could be a little more lenient on me.
This summer, a lot of things are happening for me: graduating highschool, trying to get a license, and possibly getting a job. By then I calculated that I would have saved up enough money to buy everything for a gecko, including the gecko itself.
Things might get a bit busy for me, but I am confident I would be able to properly care for one gecko and a few fish in my spare time. From what I have read, they are fairly low-maitenence reptiles and don't require as much human handling as a hamster or rat does.
I was planning on officially asking them about a leo this summer or after I graduate, but geez. I am not one with a lot of patience, and so far the suspense is killing me. You have no idea how tempted I am to just go up to one of them and ask them if I could make some kind of deal for a leo, but my boyfriend keeps reminding me that patience and time is essential with parents when you want something like a pet - begging or nagging just makes it worse.:main_lipsrsealed: So far I haven't brought up the subject of a leo unless they ask.
As of now, I am doing all I can to be especially good: no arguing, avoiding trouble at all costs, doing what they tell me without a word, keeping up my grades, keeping my room tidy, doing things they don't even ask me to do, not making huge messes - basically being a kiss up. lol. So far my mom has noticed a little, but my dad isn't around enough to acknowledge it because of work. I would love for them to realize that I'm a good kid who might deserve a small new pet, but this might be wishful thinking.
For those of you who have read this far, I give you a hugemongous cookie.
But you have no idea of how happy I would be with just one leo. :main_yes:
I went to a pet store the other day and held a leo for the first time - it was a male, and he was awesome. He looked very healthy and plump, and he was calm and just chilled in my hand while I held him. His skin texture was a lot different and better then I thought it would be. He licked my hand a few times, and I just stood there and beamed like an idiot. I asked the employee who had let me hold the leo if it was captive breed, and he said yes. I couldn't disagree, the little cutey was very tame.
I would have bought him if I had everything set up for him...but I know by the time I have the money saved, he will probably be gone.
How do those of you who still live with your parents persuade them to let you keep geckos? What "techniques" have you used to talk them into it? Does anybody have parents as strict as mine?! :anxious:
I just need some help with this...dealing with parents isn't my strong suit...:main_rolleyes:
My boyfriend was the one who got me into reptiles after he told me story after story of his past Bearded Dragon.
I had loved reptiles and dinosaurs as a kid, but had never had a reptile as a pet before.
After a little trip to a reptile store one night, I decided to do a search on google for "best reptiles for beginners" or something and a leopard gecko was always one of the first on the lists. So, I decided to research them and found myself growing more and more interested in them. After becoming a member of this forum, it was official: I wanted a leopard gecko!
BUT...my parents are the biggest opstical. I knew that they had made a new rule for pets about a year before. At first, it was a 'no more rats until you move out (I had about 3 rats)' then it moved to 'no more pets until you move out.'
This crushed me because...well, I have a huge passion for animals. I love them, and I don't think life is worth living without them. I am considering being a vet tech and devoting my life to them.
I mean, its not like I don't have any pets. My family currently has 3 cats, 2 dogs (one being an outside dog) and 1 bird.
I have 2 male betta fish, which are the only creatures that they have allowed me to have.
I love my fish dearly, but I miss holding a critter in my hands and having an actual bond with it and having complete responsibility for it.
I went to a bookstore one night with my mother to try to buy a book about geckos. I was planning on not letting her know about my book choice, but she found out and told me straight up "Your not getting a lizard."
On the car ride home, she asked me why I wanted one and I told her I had never had a reptile before and I was very interested in them. She told me that she was once interested in geckos before and read somewhere that they were mean. She also added she wasn't going to be the one to drive me around every week for their live food (I don't have a car or a license yet...but this is another can of worms). I told her my boyfriend understood and would bring me to the petstore if my gecko needed food. She still told me that I was not getting a lizard.
Later that night, my mom helped me order a gecko book online with a gift card because the store didn't have any of them. At first, she told me to 'reconsider my choice of book because I wasn't getting a lizard.' This comment seemed to just evaporate...she let me order the book without a single complaint.
After that whole thing, it got my hopes up because it seemed she was actually considering letting me have a leo.
A few days later, my dad comes home from work and my mom has me tell him what I kind of pet I want. He laughs and reminds me of the rule, and I ask why the heck it is so strict. He then begins to lecture me about 'how one becomes a slave to animals.' My mom starts once again asking questions about what they eat, how I will get food and what heat source they need. I also added that a UTH had less wattage then a heat lamp, and that seemed to impress them. She tells me that if I were to get a leo I would have to pay for everything. I tell her that that was what I was planning on doing! They wouldn't have to pay a penny, and they probably wouldn't even notice that I had one because they don't make noises or stink.
This conversation leads into how I basically suck at being a teenager. They tell me that I should save this money for other, more important things but they fail to tell me what they are. They continue to harp on me for not having a license, a car or a job yet (these things are both impossible for me right now - I need to have a job to buy a car. I only get paid $10 a week for chores - I need a bigger pay check then that to buy a freakin car. I live out in the country, so I would need a car to get to any kind of job. I have NO idea how I'm going to get enough money for college...).
After that small fiasco, I still have hope that by the time I graduate high-school they will let me get a gecko. I am legally an adult now, but by then I know that it will dawn on them that they could be a little more lenient on me.
This summer, a lot of things are happening for me: graduating highschool, trying to get a license, and possibly getting a job. By then I calculated that I would have saved up enough money to buy everything for a gecko, including the gecko itself.
Things might get a bit busy for me, but I am confident I would be able to properly care for one gecko and a few fish in my spare time. From what I have read, they are fairly low-maitenence reptiles and don't require as much human handling as a hamster or rat does.
I was planning on officially asking them about a leo this summer or after I graduate, but geez. I am not one with a lot of patience, and so far the suspense is killing me. You have no idea how tempted I am to just go up to one of them and ask them if I could make some kind of deal for a leo, but my boyfriend keeps reminding me that patience and time is essential with parents when you want something like a pet - begging or nagging just makes it worse.:main_lipsrsealed: So far I haven't brought up the subject of a leo unless they ask.
As of now, I am doing all I can to be especially good: no arguing, avoiding trouble at all costs, doing what they tell me without a word, keeping up my grades, keeping my room tidy, doing things they don't even ask me to do, not making huge messes - basically being a kiss up. lol. So far my mom has noticed a little, but my dad isn't around enough to acknowledge it because of work. I would love for them to realize that I'm a good kid who might deserve a small new pet, but this might be wishful thinking.
For those of you who have read this far, I give you a hugemongous cookie.
But you have no idea of how happy I would be with just one leo.
:main_yes:I went to a pet store the other day and held a leo for the first time - it was a male, and he was awesome. He looked very healthy and plump, and he was calm and just chilled in my hand while I held him. His skin texture was a lot different and better then I thought it would be. He licked my hand a few times, and I just stood there and beamed like an idiot. I asked the employee who had let me hold the leo if it was captive breed, and he said yes. I couldn't disagree, the little cutey was very tame.
I would have bought him if I had everything set up for him...but I know by the time I have the money saved, he will probably be gone.
How do those of you who still live with your parents persuade them to let you keep geckos? What "techniques" have you used to talk them into it? Does anybody have parents as strict as mine?! :anxious:
I just need some help with this...dealing with parents isn't my strong suit...:main_rolleyes:
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