How Much Has Your Life Changed?

[lytlesnake]

You don't mind getting bit? I've got a gecko for you! This banded tremper het raptor is pure evil! I managed to hold her for a minute the other day while I was cleaning her tub without getting bit, but she is by far the most vicious gecko I've got. She's like a tokay in a leos' body.

 

[rubym]

We started with 1 a year and a half ago....now we have 28 ( mostly pets we only bred very small scale). Alot of ours are rescues. I have to say rescuing is both rewarding and heart breaking but all in all I don't regret getting into reptiles. Also as others have said it gives you the chance to meet alot of really great people and learn so many new things.

 

[Gecko Euphoria]

My life changed for the better when I got into this hobby, as you all know leos are addictave. I was in a very bad place in my life and my geckos gave me a new life by taking my free time and using it constructivealy. Just taking care of my geckos relieves my stress and anxiety, and makes me happy without ruining my life by self destruction. I guess just the fact that they were my kids before I had my baby a month ago, in fact they still are, but they gave me a reason to think of something other than myself. They make me so happy other than my wife and kid which are my life! I love my geckos a lot - they were instrumental in saving my life and for that reason I will always have a smile on my face when I am around or thinking of geckos. They are just awesome - there is something about their color and mistic that just gets you plus their personalities are all different makeng for some interesting moments. In short - I love my geckos and I hope that I can give someone the joy by breeding them that mine have given me and make someone's life a lot better by sharing my hobby with them as well. Nothing makes me feel better than the response when someone gets there first gecko and are so excited. I hope that everyone else has had as positive of experience as me. These guys really are the best hobby I can think of and very rewarding and thereputic. Best wishes to all gecko lovers. Thanks Adam

Leopard geckos are really cool, you'll enjoy having one. They have really interesting personalities, something you wouldn't necessarily equate with a reptile.

As long as you don't get way too many reptiles like I have done, you'll be fine. I'm a wreck now! :main_yes:

 

[daveim]

I used to spend all my time dreaming about fly fishing. Now I spend all of my time dreaming about geckos.

 

[malt_geckos]

Well, this is what has happened with us for a year now of breeding and owning leopard geckos.

We spend money monthly on food and caring for our geckos. We have about 80?? now...

We work hard to have the money to feed our animals and keep them in the proper housing.

We make decisions on what breedings to make next season.

We are happier now with our reptiles and we are closer in our relationship w/ each other.

The time we are not in college, working, cleaning the appartment, our out grocery shopping, we are working with the geckos. The animals MUST come before play or else they will die. They can't take care of themselves.

Sometimes we find ourselves tired of caring for the animals...it goes away when we go in the gecko room and start cleaning and seeing how amazing our animals.

We actually have something to do instead of sitting around...we play with the geckos. lol.

Overall, our life has changed for the better. We love our geckos and wouldn't change our life for anything.

 

[Kristi23]

Things have changed a lot for me. My husband and I have spent 6+ years trying to have a baby. There has been times that I have gotten pregnant, but it doesn't last. We spent years going thru infertility treatments and shots and I even ended up in the hospital after hyperstimulating due to the meds I was on. Everyday I was consumed with the wanting of being pregnant, the charting, the testing, and the crying. Depression was bad at times. Breeding the geckos has given me something else to focus on. I hardly ever have bad baby blues days anymore. It's hard to be sad with those cute little faces looking up at you. I took the "baby" room and made it a gecko room. It's just helped so much. There are nights when I'm tired or out late and I don't want to do anything, but it's very relaxing to me to take care of them. There are days when I'm still sad, but for the most part, I'm now ok with not having a baby. I have the geckos to thank.

 

[daveim]

Yeah, geckos are probably the only thing that will take over your mind and life, but change it for the better.

 

[fallen_angel]

well aside from some.....errrr most of my friends thinking i'm a little "off" LOL
I only have two Geckos (for now ) but I have met some really awesome people, Since getting into Gecko's/Reptiles like Jess & Mike (fallen_angel) Whom I bought Griffith from. there are some really cool people here on GF [especially the Arizona People] ha ha ha j/k, everyone else is really super nice too .

LOL, yeah I am pretty sure our families think we're a little "off" too, but it's not like we weren't already :main_laugh:

Geckos have changed our life too in the sense of meeting and making awesome friends, in real life and here on the Forums. It's crazy because I have never been on any Forums in my life until I came across this site, and I've been hooked ever since! I really enjoy spending my free time on here looking at pics, learning, and helping others learn

As many others have said, the geckos are also very therapeutic for me. Taking care of them can be a lot of hard work, but seeing their little faces everyday is priceless and has always brought joy on even the worst of days. I'm sure we won't always be in the breeding business, but we will always have some geckos, as I couldn't imagine not having any. It's so nice how these little creatures have enriched so many people's life in some very heart warming and significant ways

 

[GrimmyX15]

Yep it changed my life more fun since i got baby leopard since July 17 2oo9! She was about 3 or 2 month old. She makes me laugh when she was doing gooofy while catching crickets! haha! Also enjoying Taking care of her. Of Cours ei Worry about her alot. I try to get her everthying as possible, Yes it changed me alot because i never own a lizard! Leopard Gecko are wonderful pet. they will live more years! :main_thumbsup: She is Jungle Het ablino! Her name is Luna I love her very very Much.

 

[Haligren]

When I was little I did have a fascination with reptiles. I lived in Virginia and near a creek so I saw a lot of grass snakes, rat snakes, and even on the rare ocassion, baby water moccasins. Also not to mention box turtles, snapping turtles and one time a very young terrapin! He was so cool I wanted to keep him but my mom always told me that things such as that are best left in the wild if that is where they are from. So I had to carry the little guy down in a box to the creek. He didn't seem to be afraid and just looked at me the entire time like "Whoa! You're HUGE!". Also I used to take care of the snakes and red-eared sliders in my high school biology class.

As I got older I developed more of fondness and kinship with cats more than reptiles, but the spark later returned just recently actually when I was working in the reptile section of a local pet store. And even though working there turned out to be too much stress, I took away a new found love of lizards, especially leopard geckos. They've made life more interesting and are as part of my family now as my cat is. I love taking care of them and seeing them prosper as well as taking them and watching them explore.

If I wasn't so broke I would already have bought another one. I would really like a male this time. A BIG one. :3

I don't care if people think I'm weird - which they do anyway even without them knowing I have reptiles - but it's nice when people think it's cool. I always enjoy talking about them, especially to those who are interested or share the same love of them that I do.

Not to mention all the friends I've made on here. That's awesome too! <3

 

[gekko.gurl]

I wouldn't say my life has changed to much...Rather then coming home from work and sitting watching tv or whatever...I have to feed/water/clean. I have 17 reptiles all together. With that amount I wouldn't say it takes me longer then a hour on a average day to do that. My boyfriend and I have got into more fights due to the reptiles so that's more of a downside. Traveling also has a bit of a damper on it, because a lot of the people I know either don't like them or don't want to take on the responsibility. Other then that, it gives you something to do, opens up to meeting new people (like on here), reptiles you usually don't have to worry about as much like a cat or dog. They seem to be happy doing their own thing (gecko's especially). Having one or two gecko's I think would be super easy. All and all, having reptiles has been a good experience. :main_yes:

 

[gitrdone0420]

I got so addicted, so quickly! I got my first one back in June... Now I have 6 and more coming. >.< Its insane. The only thing that has changed in my life though, is taking the time to spend with them and clean their cages, going to shows etc.. It has just added something more to my life, the way adding a new hobby would. I love it!

 

[BalloonzForU]

You know I've never really thought about how much one single leo, I bought for my son, started a whole new life for me untill I saw the title of this thread. I knew it was a lot, just never really thought about ALL of it and how much of my current life is linked to reptiles and the community.

I think it's been five years now since our first leo, Diego. He really re-lit a passion for reptiles in me that had been surpressed for many years from every "normal" person in my life saying "ewww reptiles" to me my whole life, starting with my mom at a young age. I can still hear her telling me, "Girls don't play with reptiles." :main_no:

If I had not gotten Diego, which started the chain of events in my life that has made it what it is today, I have no idea where I'd be. I wouldn't have the passion I have for life that I have right now. I wouldn't have met so many great people that I'm honored to call friends. I wouldn't have met my current husband nor have my beautiful little girl.

 

[Condaman74]

I have kept reptiles of all kinds since I was 8 years old so reptiles haven't changed me that I can remember, but they did save me. I was always a ''Big Snake'' guy. I bred Bums and Retics, and kept Scrubs, Anacondas, and various hots. I was 16, I believe, when I started keeping Leopard geckos. I always treated them like my little secret. I thought Geckos were a kid reptile. But I loved them. About 6 years ago I stopped breeding everything. I sold everything but my favorite Anaconda, and 2 Leopard Geckos to a good friend of mine who still has most of my collection. I was tired of watching people I had sold animals to, that I produced and cared for, dump them at the pet store, starve them to death, and generally not care about them the way I did. Fast forward to about 2 years ago. I had an accident at work that left me disabled to a point I could no longer even lift my Anaconda, or so much as walk. I had to find her a new home, and I just lost it. I stopped leaving the house, I stopped talking to almost all of my friends. I got to a point where I hated myself too much. I have always been a large strong guy, I was still large just no longer strong. Not in mind, body, or spirit. That is when I can honestly say reptiles saved my life. I was given a couple of geckos, and an albino Boa. The geckos were half dead, and I got one of them to pull through (still have her too), the boa died within a week, but all the effort I was putting into trying to fix these poor animals that never did anything to be treated the way they were, it sounds corny but, it gave me a reason to get up everyday. I started walking, granted I have to use a cane most days but I started to feel like I wasn't useless anymore. Shortly thereafter I kind of slid into a happy groove and started getting more and more reptiles. I may never have the collection I used to have, I will never own anything bigger then a BCI and never any more hots, but I am happy again. I do have rules as to who I will sell babies to now. I just wish I didn't have to sell them Well I'm done rambling, I need to go to sleep.

 

[Adinar]

My story is pretty much the same as anyone elses. I got bit with the gecko bug back in Feb. when my husband bought me our first as a V-Day gift. A week later he brought our second home as a surprise. (He thought the first needed a friend.) Now we're at 11 (if you include those who have unfortunetally passed on). And we even branched out to include an AFT and 2 Cresties. Granted I guess people think we're a little odd, but meh.

I love my guys. They've all got different personalities. I enjoy taking care of them all. The only bad part has been the illness factor since April... but under normal circumstances, this probably wouldn't have happened. It's stressful, but I wouldn't change anything about it for the world. Caring for these guys is a perfect way to relax after a hectic day.

We're even talking about dabbeling in breeding in a year or two when we're more experienced and have more room to expand.

 

[_Sam_]

I see the change as a fantastic thing. It gave me a career path
I'm currently working towards being a reptile vet
If you had told me 10 years ago that I'd love snakes and spiders as much as i do now, I'd have told you you're insane. lol

 

[mainelygeckos]

When I was a child i loved searching for snakes, salamanders, turtles and just about any other herp u can think of. I have never been scared of thm as most girls my age were. Other kids used to think i was just plain weird because of it especially the "girly girls", lol I did however get out of the herp thing for many many years. I ended up being a cat person tho not breeding them but rescued many and just plain loved them for their independence and personalities. Fast forward to March 22,2009 lol I got my first leo as a bday gift. Right away I started researching everything on them I could to give Willow a great life. The addiction is instant and overpowering lol I now have 5 and want about 7 more. I have decided to become a small scale breeder starting next season. I want to study gens and whatnot til then so I am more educated before i start breeding.

The personalities of these amazing creatures is unique to each individual leo and amazing. Just having them in my life makes me feel I have something to offer in life. I am a married mom of 2 kids that are now teens and feel mom is less needed lol. I also get a little depressed and feel useless staying at home all the time. This new hobby and love of these leos has given me a sense of purpose that I haven't felt for a long time. Thankfully my husband loves them too (maybe not as much as me but.. lol) My kids are also fascinated and I hope when they grow and start their own lives they will also get into herps. I think my son will do snakes lol he just loves them. Someday maybe I will get him one but not yet My daughter loves herps..period..and would someday like to work with all kinds of animals possibly as a zooologist.

So put simply..my leos have changed things in my life for the better as well as the life of my family. After getting my first leo I found GF and have been grateful for the new friends I have made. This community has taught me so much and everyday I learn something new. Herp friends are the best friends! My RL friends tend to look at me funny..but as stated before on this thread..it is def a conversation starter Everyone I have talked to, save forone person, has asked many questions about the leos and some have even considered getting one of their own

I am exstatic about this new hobby and love my leos more prolly then most people I know LOL. Even if i never breed I will keep as pets until it is impossible for me to not care for them anymore.


Donna

 

[mainelygeckos]

OOO! and thanks for bumping this thread!

 

[OneFootedAce]

Wow, this is a great thread. It's nice to see how great this community is, and clearly 100% of us here love, care and cherish these fricken amazing animals .
I honestly don't think its changed my life all that much, its given me something to do, and something to love. I first got into reptiles when I was 8 years old, and one of my teachers was a huge reptiel fan, in his classroom he had 4 leos an iguana a cornsnake a basilisk some house geckos, and more that I just can't remember . Well during the summer he had left for vacation, and he called me up to see if I could watch his reptiels for a couple weeks, I was hesitant at first, but me and my sister went over and cared for them, Although my sister did most of the work (she was older ), I really started to get fascinated by them and intrigued, but it wasn't until 5 years later, when I asked my parents if I could get one. And boy was it hard to convince them! in september of last year I finally got my monster normal. My parents were definatly unsure of him, especially my dad, who really thought I shouldn't've gotten him.
A few months later I was thinking of getting another one, and was thinking of breeding, but I didn't want to mention the breeding part until after I got the next gecko, cause I thought they'd be weirded out and say no. Once again i begged and pleaded, and in february before the show, they asked if breeding was hard as if they were interested in breeding (and i hadn't even asked them about it yet!), when I heard that, I was pretty excited, that they finally realized that these creatures were really cool. Well i got that Mack Snow in february, and picked up another one in may, then another one in june. My mom especially has really started to love these geckos (in my surprise, because she is absolutely terrified of snakes, so I wasn't expecting good reviews on the geckos lol), she appreciates their beauty, and that makes me happy that they are no longer skeptics, but supporters. In september I plan on getting one more to make it 5 , and I think thats gunna be the last one until after college (So I say haha).

 

[GeckoNub]

First of all it is really nice to read all ur stories and especially the ones where people have been suffering but through having their little friends have been helped with their problems

For me having my geckos has really enriched my life. I used to suffer from really bad depression and anxiety. I was really bad with agoraphobia, i locked myself away and didnt want to see anyone. I was practically housebound for 6 years.

I was forced to go out due to the local council doing repairs on the house so it kickstarted me to go out. I started to go out more and enjoy life but there was still something missing. We have been trying for a baby on/off for the last 10 years with no luck.

I actually woke up from a dream one day and said "i want a lizard". I had dreamed of having an iguana, something i always wanted as a teen, and it just seemed great to have one. But i did my research and realised i wasnt ready for one. I found out about leos on the internet and instantly fell in love with them. After a month of spending every waking moment researching about them we got Yoshi

Since we got Yosh in Feb we have got 4 more and i dont regret a single day of having them Even when im so tired i could just fall asleep on the couch i just cant bring myself to neglect them because they need me and that is a wonderful feeling, to be needed

Just seeing them makes me smile. They have given my life more meaning and have brought me and my other half closer together as i am a lot happier. We both spend time with them and he no longer sees them as mine, but ours

They are my babies and i feel very lucky to have them. They have made me really appreciate life and how special it is. I am looking forward to breeding them next year as the gift of live is the most precious gift u can give

Some people suggest dogs or cats for people with illnesses, i suggest Leos. There is nothing more therapeutic than seeing a little face looking up at you always smiling

Yeah some people may think i am weird for putting so much time and effort into an animal but the rewards you get are huge. I know people say they are incapable of love, but when they come scratching at the glass, trying to lick ur finger and climb onto your hand .... when they look straight at you and there is a bond...it just melts your heart and you know its worth it :sweetheart: