What got you into geckos?

[gothra]

My boyfriend talked me into getting my first Leo a year ago, I never really cared for reptiles much but now I am an addict!

Same here. My husband said he'd wanted a lizard since he was a little kid, and talked me into letting him keep a lizard in the house. I agreed, so we went to a pet shop. At first, I was thinking of keeping a newt, but after I saw the leopard geckos (high yellows), I changed my mind. We ended up with 2 leos, 1 hi-yellow and 1 albino. That was in 2002, now I have 9 leos.

 

[DanTheFireman]

It was 1988, I went to a guy's house to get an albino Cal kingsnake. He had a few high yellows for like $30 so why not? Then, when the first egg hatched it was a done deal. They don't shed, bark (not loud anyway), if they get pregnant that's a good thing - and when's the last time you scraped gecko poop out of the sole of your sneaker? If I want the newspaper and my slippers, I'll get em myself.

 

[sacredcreatures]

I owed a few as pets many years ago but never bred them, my mom had gotten sick and I was taking care of her so I brought them over to her house and unfortunately my brothers twins knocked all of the cages over and they broke, most of the Leos and Fat tails died. Then We got involved with Leopard Geckos again thru my work. I am a Emergency Animal Care Specialist and I have my own business specializing in the care of all creatures, domesticated, exotic, wildlife and farm animals. I remembered how much I loved Leopard Geckos while caring for a bunch of them for a breeder who had to go out of town on a emergency. I had already been breeding Ball Pythons and Beardies and while at a reptile show my daughter met a boy who was the son of a Leo breeder( who is now one of our best friends). I traded him a Ball python for three Blizzards and three Jungles. Then the addiction started so I contacted Dan the Fireman(above) and he sold me some beautiful Rain Water Albinos, Red Stripes and SHTCTB's ( THANKS DAN!) So thats how it happened! Now another good friend, a Crested and Fat tail Breeder got sick and he has asked me to take over breeding them so now I will also be breeding Cresteds and Fat tails in 2007! Geckos Rule!!!! Deb

 

[leolover2]

my friend had a AFT and he liked it but wouldnt really care about it. when i first saw it a loved it and i would always beg him to let me hold it. then i was just about to get one wen i saw a leopard gecko picture and then i fell in love with them so i am about to get my first one soon!

 

[ReptileMan27]

Thats hard to say, I have always loved all herps since I can remember. My first herp was a green anole which didnt live very long , after having a few anoles, I decided I wanted something different and better. Leos seemed to be the best choice and they are so beutiful, so got one leo and fell in love with leos . As far as other gecko species, I have had several different gecko sp. They have always fascinated me and also their pretty readly available and cheap.

 

[geckocraze]

Well ever sine i was a little kid my goal in life was to become a vet( and it still is, and i will be a vert once school is over, anyway) i have always ben addicted to animals, having 3 pet already in my life at birth, a bird, a cat, and a dog, (yes weird, but they all got along)but when i was about 11( my mom and dad divorced and just living with my mom, cause that was my choice) my mom had gotten even more animals to fill the house(so first subtract the bird an dog as they have passed away) but now ad 4 new dog, 2 cats, one rabbit, and one hamster.... now it have ben about 5 months, and now i have 2 more cats. So my mom takes me to Florida that may, i catch an anole, and i keep that as a pet when i go back home(we drove there an drove home) , an about 1 week later my friend decide to get me a female anole so i could breed them, then about 6 moths later, the male, the one i caught died. an I didnt know when the female might die, but i did not want to go with aut reptiles if it were to die so. So with the money i had ben saving for a very long time to get something that i really want, i went to the pet store with about 200 dollars, mabey 215 dollars at max, and i had no clue what other reptiles even exested. So i get there, I see at least 30 different types of lizards and gecko being sold, but i wonder why this gecko look like no other gecko i every seen, i did not under stand why there was nothing for it to climb, an i was wondering why it was not climbing up the sides of the glass tank. so i asked the store owner how fast it move. He did not say a word he just took it out of the tank and he put it on the tiled floor, i assumed i would never see it again, this is because i believe all gecko were very fast, but this gecko was different again, it was very, very slow, so with it being so different from how most people saw a gecko it grabbed my attention even more, so i bought the gecko( it was about 4-6 weeks old) a 10 gallon tank, and other necessities. With in no time i was running home everyday from school to play with my leo, and as anyone will tell you, you just start to ge5t more and more atracted to them. So he soon got a bigger tank, 20 gallons, and his life just keep getting better and better. So that is how i got my first leo and became heavily attached to him.

 

[Stitch]

I have always loved animals of all types. One day my friend asked if I wanted to help him clean some cages for some guy named Alan Bosch :main_laugh: . Well I went and he was (at that time) breeding all types of lizards and snakes. At that time the chameleons really awe struck me. About 5-6 years later I decided to take the plunge into owning a chameleon. Had quite a few over a 3 year period with some success in keeping them. But leo's started to catch my eye and finally took the plunge on them as well. Not too mention, my wife likes the leo's more than the cham's.

 

[LeoGeckos]

Saw one at petco and fell in love with it. Since then ive purchased manyyy more!

 

[scottmckillips]

Josh Wilson got me into geckos (It's all his fault)! Thanks Josh!!!

 

[Chibi Alien Monster]

I actually just got into leopard geckos about eight days ago, when we went to PetSmart to get my Christmas present. I saw two juvenile leopard geckos in the Reptile section, and after one of them lunged after a cricket(and missed) I decided to get one. So three days later, I went with my dad and sister to PetCo and bought a baby(I think it's about four months old?).

 

[eyelids]

I got into them in 1998 after I sold off my Cichlid collection. I had a bunch of tanks and had to put something in them. I kept them for a couple years, but never bred them. Then in late 2000 I broke my neck and got paralyzed from the chest down. Needless to say, I had to get rid of them. Then in the Summer of 2005 I sold my Japanese anime collection and had some money to spend so I decided to give Leos a try again. My first intention was to try for Bell Blazing Blizzards so I bought some Bells and Blizzards... However, when I saw the Mack Snows at NARBC I changed my direction towards them. At the time Macks were way over my budget so I kept dreaming. Then in early 2006 my sister helped me get my Mack Snow Pastel het Bell from Kelli. A few months later I paired him up with one of my Blizzards and I got my first hatchlings in June. It's been a lot of fun and I'm definitely in it for the long run!

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Well, my friend was returning a 20 long tank of mine. Fish was out thanks to the landlord, and I wanted a pet that could live it's whole life in the tank. remembered Leos from a reptile show I had been to YEARS ago (I bet Kelli was there). Back then, the fancy leos were high yellows. So, I decided I would get a "fancy" gecko if I could afford one. Well ... I ended up getting 2 of them.

I THOUGHT I was happy with my two geckos. One of which was a high yellow, and the other was a hypo tang (had to research that). I couldn't understand the interest in all the expensive morphs. That was, until I saw an LVPA. I HAD to have it. I started planning breeding projects, fell in love with more morphs, and 30 some-odd geckos later I'm a total addict!

 

[acpart]

My son brought home a newt about 6 years ago with no care instructions and I kept it going for about 9 months (digging earthworms in the back yard in November . . .). After it died, I wanted a non-aquatic pet. I went to Petco --didn't know any better in those days-- and got a care sheet for each reptile. After I tossed every care sheet that required either a large tank or special equipment like drip systems all I had left was the leopard gecko one. I asked to see one and fell in love. Like a lot of people here, I thought I'd get just one. I'm about to start my third season breeding and I'm having a great time.

Aliza

 

[BluGnat]

In '94, I got a job as an assistant manager at a Petco (short-lived). There was an African Fat Tailed gecko there that I fell in love with, and no one knew anything about him. I educated myself about the Eublepharids, and became really interested in Leos. I bought the Fat Tail (Herman) and then on a trip visiting home in Boulder, picked up a "hi-yellow" (back when those were fancy) leopard gecko at Pro Exotics. Been hooked ever since. :smitten:

 

[GekkoGalaksen]

My youngest son got him self some snakes when he got he´s own place ( they were allowed to keep nearly all sorts of animals when they was young and lived at home, but not reptiles ).
One day he called and asked if he could put a Leopardgecko (that he was about to buy), in my home for a couple of days, while he was arranging the transport to he´s home!
Sooo...there she was...a reptile in my home!!!
For two days I was constantly looking at her. First to make sure that she stayed in her terrarium, but after a while I was totaly sold...she was smiling to me!
Well, my son picked her up and a few days past...
And then the phone rang!
"Mum...I can´t handle the food!!! I HATE CRICKETS AND WORMS!!!"
I thought of her smile for two seconds and said "I´ll take her".
It took me two month to touch her and two years to accept her food...know I have 28 Leopards and 10 AFT!

Thank you Linus...my beautiful son, for bringing those amazing animals in to my life!

and a pic of Elisabeth Tailor...the first one!

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I have loved animals all my life. My parents never let me get a dog, so I had a lot of fish, gerbils, some turtles and a parakeet when I was young. After the parakeet died I tried more for the dog and the most I could get out of them was the cockatiel I have now. Last year for about 2 weeks, a family friend of ours went on vacation and asked me to watch their Fat Tail for them. That's what got me interested. I moved into an apartment in August and planned on getting a dog right away, until I learned no dogs were allowed in our complex. So I was thinking about what animal I could have that stays in a cage/tank. Went to Petco and bought a leo about a month ago and I am dying for more.

 

[Zbiz]

I have always kept herps since i was 7, when i got my first frog. Since then ive been ABSOLUTELY fasinated by all things cold blooded. One day at Pathmark(supermarket) my mother showed me an add for Reptiles magazine. Realizing there was such a thing i wanted a subscription. Over 120 issues later i still read it. It was in 6th grade when i got my first leo from petco, 20 dollars it was. I saved up money for about a year to afford everything. 3 years later i wanted to breed them after reading so much about them. After convincing my mom i was given a new leo for my birthday. 6 months later it passed away. At the time i didnt know much about diseases or parasites, so I didnt take it to the vet when i got her, i regret it everyday. 4 years after that im 18 and the spark as taken off again. My first leo is now 7.5 years old and as strong as an ox. I just got a male patty leo about 4 months ago. And in the next 4 months (if everything goes to plan), i hope to have 4 more and start my breeding project, Eyelids FTW, this summer.

 

[crayolaskies]

I used to volunteer at the Central Florida Zoo where one of the types of education animals were leopard geckos. After learning about them and handling them, I knew I wanted one. For about a month all I did was research on them, their care, and the different color morphs. Finally, I got my first one from a Petco near me when she was a baby. That was almost a year ago. I now have five and love them all. They're cooler than almost any other pet I've had. :main_yes:

 

[sportbike_rob]

when i moved to FL i was facinated by the "house geckos" because they were walking on our cealing in the carport. i cought one and got a closer look and i tthought it was coolest thing ever. after two years, of watching the little guys roam around outside, my mom knew i was facinated, so on my birthday, they brought me home froto, my AFT.

 

[okapi]

Long story... I went from just one to over twenty in a little over a year.
Ive always had turtles and fish for as long as I can remember. Then two years ago I got a job at an animal shelter and every once in a while we would get in snakes, turtles, iguanas, frogs, and alligators. I spent alot of time taking care of the exotics and fell in love with an adult iguana with a great temperment. I adopted her and for a long time things were going good. Then after about a year I started college and the iguana went crazy... Started attacking me every time I came near, hissed, threw food around, and started trashing everything in the cage. After a few months of that I decided that since I was in college and had a full time job I needed a pet that wasnt as demanding and dangerous. The shelter found her a new home with a guy who loves iguanas and I started looking around online for a smaller lizard that would freak out and took up less space, and wasnt a fire hazard (long story...). I remembered seeing leos when I was at a reptile show but wasnt intrested in them back then. Thats too bad, because now I wish that I had looked at those tables. So I looked around on the web and in books and decided I liked the size and requirements of leopard geckos. The books I looked at didnt really mention morphs aside from normals, jungles, high yellows, and albinos. Online I visited a few forums and heard about blizzards and patternless leos. I wanted a blizzard so bad but didnt want to have one shipped so I went to petsmart and got an albino. I researched more and started looking into the genetic information and was bummed out to discover that most blizzards yellow up as they age. About that time I went to a different pet store and saw a very sick blizzard and did a mercy buy. He/She lived like a week. But of coarse I was too attached to blizzards by then so I started checking kingsnake and saw an ad for Alex Hue Reptiles. Mom said I could have a total of two leos so I decided to get a male tremper blazing. AHR had the whitest ones ive ever seen so I got my first male from him. Was way overstressed about shipping :main_rolleyes: After that I talked mom into letting me get a giant. So I went in with a friend who wanted to borrow my blazing for stud service and ordered myself a giant female when he ordered some albinos and normals 66% het blazing from VMSherp. He didnt like them so I ended up baby sitting his. That was fine with me because I wanted to test breed to see if any of his were hets. I got one infertile clutch and the friend never took his leos back. So we worked out a trade, I gave him my bearded dragon (which mom was very happy about) and I kept his leos. Also mom said I could get more leos :main_thumbsup:. I went to petsmart again and got another tremper blazing blizzard. I decided that I would get another giant and start a giant blazing project. So I looked around and liked what Paul from BrightAlbino had and got an albino giant female from him. Once she grew up and I saw how beautiful an orange gecko is in person I decided that using her for a blazing project and blocking out all that color in her grandchildren would be a crime so I started looking at males that were like her. IndyLuckyLeos had a really nice giant albino het Raptor that they bought from RT. A friend of mine who was meeting me at a show in indiana was asking me what kind of a leo I would get if I was her and I directed her to their site. She and I both asked Caleb if he would come to the show and he came. My friend didnt end up buying the giant, but I did . So I had a het raptor project set up. Then I was talking more to Caleb and decided that I wanted to get into bells... He met me and I got two bells, a stripe, and a patternless from him. Then for christmas I asked mom if she would get me a gecko for christmas and she agreed. Id wanted a super snow for over a year but they were way out of my price range. I split the cost with mom and got a super snow in december . Right before I went to the indiana show I rescued some sick blizzards (me and my mercy buys) from a guy who had them dumped on him. He also gave me some of his own hatchlings for free . And once I went into a petco just to check it out and ended up buying two SHTCTBs as well as a super hypo at a show. So, now im at 21 leos, and two leo eggs. Im an adict. I plan on getting a pair of mack snows het bell next summer as well as another amel AFT and then just working with what Ive got. Ive got a big enough gene pool to produce just about any morph (aside from those using LV albinos) and really need to stop buying more...