Getting into a new species...but which?

[T-ReXx]

Haha yeah, sorry about that Krysty. Sometimes when I get going I can't stop.

 

[M_surinamensis]

I'm a big fan of Candoia as well, sort of an underrated genus. I kept some vipers before, haha, angry little snakes. The grounds aren't bad though for handling, though they might get a bit too large for a 20L, at least the females.

I think they tend to be dismissed due to the feeding problems a lot of fresh imports display. Fresh little CB neonates can be a bit tricky as well.

... that and the tendency for half of them to pretty much furiously bite anything that touches them.

I like them a great deal though, just sharp looking little snakes with a lot of appeal.

Yeah... I wouldn't put most female carinata in a twenty long, they tend to get just a little big for it. Not by a lot, but if someone is using tanks, I'd bump them up to a forty breeder. Males would (mostly, size can vary a bit) be fine though- or either gender of the vipers.

If anyone is considering them and hasn't kept them before... I'd suggest getting CB or LTC animals that are at least subadults. Skip the trickier tease feeding issues that usually accompany neonates and fresh imports by obtaining an established animal. It'll probably be a little tougher to find and cost a bit more but it's well worth it. Unless the person considering them has similar experience with manipulating feeding triggers in tricky individuals of other species. Not ball pythons either- I know they have a popular reputation for going off feed but getting them to take rodents is a cakewalk compared to some of the genuinely picky animals.

 

[Elisa]

Picta are awesome but are more difficult to handle then leos. I kept mine with half dry sand and half damp soil or mixed the sand and soil. I misted twice weekly, most seem to enjoy misting and will come out of hiding for it. Slightly cooler basking temps then leos. Rock piles, slate or sandstone is what I have used, or thick branches are attractive to them. Males will fight with each other while females generally get along fairly well. These guys will breed all year round no need for cooldown periods but that also means males and females must be housed seperate unless breeding as the females can get bred to death. VERY quick and active geckos, I got into these before leos because I liked how much more active they were. I'll stop now haha

 

[M_surinamensis]

A pictus gecko caused me to need stitches once. My entire arm was torn up after it bit me. I have some deep scars from it, clearly visible even years later.

I was visiting a friend who owns a specialty pet store. He gave me a set of keys to his enclosures and turned me loose to look at his stock. Included in that were a couple rows of enclosures for small lizards, mostly geckos of various types. I was up on a ladder taking a look into the top row, I was lifting hides like it was a shell game looking for the pictus when it ran out from a hollow it had dug under the water bowl, bit me on the pinky finger and shook back and forth- like a crocodilian trying a death roll or a terrier with a rat. Then it let go and dashed back into its hiding spot.

I laughed so hard I fell off the ladder and stuck my elbow through a display stand full of wire mesh tank lids. The corners cut me up pretty good.

 

[lampeye]

Good one. I was wondering where you were going with that. I've had shell cichlids that were the same. The part where they "shake," trying to separate your finger from your body, is priceless.

Anyway, having had vipers, pictus, and bandeds...I'n the looks department, I'd say vipers, hands down. But they're a little lacking in the personality dept. You're not going to see them "doing their thing" much outside feeding time, because they don't seem to have much of a "thing" to do. Very, very passive when handled, IME. That said, just don't handle small geckos too often.

The pictus aren't much more interesting, IME. And they can put a hurt on you if they bite, as you've read.

I'd say go with bandeds - desert, Yucatan, Central American...not handleable, but they do get out and about the cage at night, and they're fun to watch.

 

[thegeckoguy23]

You can try western hog noses.




Jake

 

[fuzzylogix]

everyone is talking about geckos, but i actually think a schneiders skink would be good. i think they are very underrated in the reptile industry, but i love mine. he's got a ton of personality, very easy to handle, they are inexpensive, easy to care for, and i think his colors are awesome.

just moved him into this setup, but they actually love to climb so im going to add some branches.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Is that a rancor, lifting its head to bellow its tiny plastic dominance from the top of that cave?

 

[fuzzylogix]

lol, nah one of my son's "freaky creatures" figures. he thought it would be cool in the tank

 

[Elisa]

How do you guys get your pictus to bite you I have never had one of my pictus bite me and quite a few I have had where surprisingly handleable. Still it is hard for me to think of getting hurt by a pictus gecko barely as long as my index finger. >_>