Need advice on rehoming leos

[Xerneas]

Hello everyone. So, I am aware that just from reading that title people will probably be judging me but I would appreciate it if everyone could take the time to read this through before yelling at me.

I have two female leos and have had them since July. They are in very good condition and have no problems eating or shedding and allow me to handle them. They get phoenix worms, dusted mealworms, dusted dubia nymphs, and dusted crickets. A nice variety. They always have fresh water and clean substrate, plenty of hides and things for them to climb on. They are still quite young but have quite nice plump tails and are growing fast. And as I write this I do feel ashamed of myself and almost in tears that I feel I may need to rehome them, so please don't think I am treating them like objects.

Recently my brother went to tech school. He has a beardie that he bought during the summer and didn't even think about if he were able to take it to school or not. And so it turns out he can't, and the responsibility for the poor thing has been dumped on ME. The only other people that would take it is his other friend who takes horrible care of his herps and I didn't want that to happen because I obviously can take much better and proper care of him. Generally though, I did not really have a say in this matter, it was just some kind of silent agreement that I would take care of it. But beardies are a lot of work. I constantly have to worry about his insects and his vegetables and giving him a bath every day and turning his lights on and off. Before this happened, I took care of my 3 cats and my 2 leos and my 2 rats perfectly fine but I did not want another pet. I know my limits. And now that it has been dumped on me I am completely overwhelmed and stressed out about having to manage all these pets by myself and it is too much responsibility. I cannot rehome his beardie, he is simply too attached to it. So it has come to an extremely painful decision that I think I should downsize and rehome my leos so I am not as stressed out.

This is very hard for me to do. I love them very much. They are not even full grown yet. I don't want to give them away but I honestly think I have to for myself because like I said I know my limits and I am already getting wigged out and I know if I freak too much my leos will be neglected and I don't want that for them. I do not want them to go to a bad home. I don't trust any of my friends with them. I am probably going to be posting an ad on Craigslist, but if anyone else has any other ideas I would be more than happy to hear, and I would appreciate advice on any kind of questions I should ask to make sure they aren't going to an idiot. I want a responsible and loving home for them. I don't want to ship. Thank you all very much.

 

[Phoenix1115]

I'm in CT, which I know is really far for you but I do reptile rescues and rehomes. You can check out my website at rrrreptiles.weebly.com. If you can't find another solution that's more convenient then I'd take them off your hands.

 

[Dreamsong]

Sent you a PM, if it comes down to it as an option. I often see a bunch of Crestie, Beardies and Leos on Craigslist, several of them I've seen reposted by their 'new' owners, either for a higher rehoming fee or for trade for something else...It really isn't a good place to look for potential adopters, but it is a good place for people that enjoy rescuing. Example - There's a breeder in Fredrick selling off his entire breeding colony and incubator/eggs, with only one 20gal long tank listed, 12 geckos total for around..350 I think it was?...You get the picture. (I'd buy the colony if I had the money, but I'd need so many more tanks and/or a rack system...Some gorgeous geckos, but most are looking underweight on their pictures)

I know it's not the most enjoyable option, but there is always the humane society. Most shelters work with reptile rescues when they get exotics like Leos or snakes/Beardies, and they generally screen for good homes when they adopt their rescues out.

 

[acpart]

Sorry you're having a hard time. I have 2 kinds of suggestions:
1. rehoming the geckos:
--contact your local herp society
--list them here in the "adoption" section and see if someone is intersted

2. Coping with the beardie and leos
I"m not saying you should do that, but based on your description of what you're dealing with, there are some things you could do a bit differently to make things easier:
--get a timer so the lights go on and off by themselves
--give him a bath once a week. He doesn't need a bath every day
--feed the beardie and the leos crickets if you're not doing that already.

I have a huge number of geckos (I'm a breeder) and a beardie. The beardie gets crickets twice a week and veggies most other days. I often get a bag of arugula or collards from Trader Joe because it's already cut up.

Good luck either way.

Aliza

 

[Dreamsong]

Suggestion three has already been mentioned via PM, and if Xerneas does decide to rehome her geckos, I'm only about ~35 minutes away. On another note, if I end up purchasing the giant dreamsicle male I found, and the SSAlbino/Raptorfemales I'm hoping to breed with him later on...Should she ever want another Leo, I'd be more than happy to give her a really nice baby.

(The Giant Dreamsicle male is ~250 shipped, so hopefully I'll be able to make enough next saturday to snag him, if no one else has by then. If Xern's females end up with me, they'll be pets only.)

 

[Xerneas]

Thanks for all of your support and suggestions. I really appreciate it

@acpart - I will be purchasing a timer soon. Completely forgot those existed. As for baths and feeding, the beardie is still a juvie, so I figured he'd need a bath at least twice a week, but I suppose I have been overdoing it so I'll cut it down. He does like crickets (my leos don't LOL - one of them is quite lazy and if she can't catch a cricket within two tries she gets up and goes back into her hide like, "man, I am done with these things.") so if I focused on one type of feeder that I don't need to be putting into a bowl it would probably help me a lot. Thank you.

As Dreamsong mentioned she lives close to me so if it does come to that I know they have a nice home to go to. Feeling much better about that. One of the reasons why it is so hard for me to decide is that these two girls are what got me into herping - I've spent nearly every day since I got them learning about all pet herps and now I am obsessed with everything scaley. They have opened me up to a whole new world. I even keep a list of what morphs I want in reptiles (piebald BP and jungle albino leo please...) and I feel awesome every time I can explain snake genetics and herp care to my friends... without these little gals I would have no idea what an ultramel anery corn snake is lol! They are beautiful girls too, one is a mack snow and the other is a super hypo tangerine carrot tail.

I've never had to rehome any animal besides an old chinchilla due to developing allergies to his hay (I have asthma). And now that it's come to me possibly having to do so again and for a reason that isn't even my fault I just get upset - angry even. I don't know where to start because it's never had to happen because I know how many pets I can have responsibly. I feel frustrated and I want to call my brother out for not even considering what he would do with his beardie for the next four years let alone its 12 year lifespan! Then I feel guilty about it because it's not the beardie's fault, he's just an innocent animal... ahhh, it's hard.

I think for now I'm going to try coping with it as much as I can. Right now I have a handful with all my other pets -- both of my rats are sick and need two types of medicine twice a day (eight times a day total!) as well as coming out to play for hours at a time, I have to wipe my cat's nose daily due to his breathing problems, my other cat is having dental issues and needs her teeth and ears cleaned, I have to clean the cages and the litterboxes and replace the food and water and then I play sports and have homework to do... Yea, it's pretty hard right now. As much as I wish I was someone who had endless space for every gecko morph available I do not, I have anxiety already and this is aggravating it, but maybe it will be easier to settle into than I think. Thanks for the help again, everyone.