Worst thing about keeping reptiles or amphibians?

[Ghostoftangerine17]

Most of the threads here are pretty positive about keeping this 'lil (or not so little) creatures, but let's dish about our least favorite parts

When I had 2 newts I hated how fast the water would get dirty It would also get smelly if I didn't change it constantly.

As for my leos I don't have that much to complain about, but I suppose it does get kinda stinky if their excrement is fresh :main_lipsrsealed: At least there's not really any most substrate involved :main_rolleyes:

Bonus complaint: I keep Japanese beetles that I catch in the summer and the food on sap, which is replaced in captivity by little jelly cups, but unfortunately they'd often knock the thing over and it would soak into the dirt. Sticky jelly mud is not fun to clean up. Oh, and of course it would attract flies :main_thumbsdown: I think this was my last year of keeping them haha :main_yes:

 

[lisa127]

The only negatives I can think of are the extra cost on my electric bill and the amount of space they take up in my home.

 

[cassicat4]

Having to find someone who knows something about reptiles to take care of them if you ever decide to go on an extended vacation (i.e. more than a few days). For me, there are very few reptile owners around where I live, and even fewer that I would trust to take care of my babies!

And...having to take them to the vet is a pain only because the nearest reputable herp vet is about 2 hours one way from me. I will do it in a heartbeat if they need it, but I really wish we had a closer vet for peace of mind and emergencies.

Everything else...the feeding, the maintenance, etc. I don't really see as a negative, more like something that comes with the territory and something you know you're getting into when giving these guys their forever home. It's just part of the package. Sure, there are times when I wish there were easier or more efficient ways of caring for them, but I think that's a sentiment shared by everyone with dependents of some type.

 

[lisa127]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the hassle of finding people to care for them when I can't. Thankfully I don't leave very often. I haven't been anywhere since my honeymoon over 20 years ago!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Having to wash my hands so much! In the summer they can take it, but during the winter, with all the hand washing because of all the different herps I have (3 types of geckos and turtles), my poor hands suffer.

~Maggot

 

[KTyne]

Honestly, the only thing I can complain about right now is my AFT who so far will only eat Crickets and I HATE Crickets. They REEK and are gross.

 

[chastity]

the amount it costs to feed 6 geckos a snake and 2 bearded dragons is insane. we go through about 100$ in food every 2 weeks, give or take depending on what the dragons are "in the mood for". also, i agree with the vet thing. our vet here is pretty clueless with our reptiles most of the time. but hopefully bringing them in for checkups and answering his questions will help if anyone else brings reptiles in!

 

[mtmountainman]

The thing I hate is trying to get all the mealworms from the bag they come in to the bin I store them in. Usually when the paper with the mealworms fall out, they mealworms fly everywhere!

 

[GexPex]

Though I have several complaints, I couldn't imagine my life without them now...

-Cost of feeding (including cost for feeding the roaches as well)
-Electricity bill
-Space (or rather, lack of)
-Cost in general...there are always reptiles that I would love to have, but due to costs and space, I end up sticking to the ones I have already
-Vets...SO hard to find a good vet (one reason why I'm currently going to school to become a reptile/exotic vet). The only one that I trust is about 2 hrs away...longer with heavy traffic.
-Timely...I don't mind spending time caring for them, but I admit that it does take time away from other duties hehe...mainly duties that I don't care for
-Misunderstanding family/friends...Many times they just don't understand why I would want to keep reptiles. They're more of the cute and fuzzy type of pet owners (though I do have several of those, too)
-Batteries...My camera can go through so many batteries just taking multiple pictures of these guys lol I swear, about 50% of my stored pictures are of my reptiles...I seriously need to start buying rechargeable ones.
-Loose crickets...I've had guests get startled from the sound of a cricket jumping on a stack of papers that I had on the floor...and later they startled at the sight of it. As for chirpers, I've learned to feed those off first.

Think that's all...

 

[cassicat4]

Having to wash my hands so much! In the summer they can take it, but during the winter, with all the hand washing because of all the different herps I have (3 types of geckos and turtles), my poor hands suffer.

~Maggot

Ohh I forgot about that, and I completely agree. I've been finding it's worse in the winter here being that it's dry enough as it is. It's gotten so bad that I've constantly had a mild case of eczema that requires me soaking my hands in lotion just before bed every night to soothe them. I'm thinking we should just start washing our reptiles instead.