would your gecko have survived without the internet?

[77gecko]

My first one, Gus, would not have survived. I found her online on a local classified ad and the idiots that had her was letting her starve to death.

I think I would have been ok otherwise, there seems to be a few good books on Leo care.

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

The internet is handy, but I learned everything i know about raising them from books as a kid and from past experience from previous reptiles. The internet really only helped me with the morphs.

 

[Adinar]

Would they survive?

Considering all the issues we have had and the fact that none of it is in any of the books we have... probably not. The internet has been an amazing place to find much needed info. We just right in with Leonidas and had it all wrong. Now almost a year later after a ton of cramming on all the info I can find at any given time, she went from scrawny hatchling to a 63 gram heffer. We knew nothing, and the pet store knew even less. They told us sand was safe, they didn't need a moist hide, about calcium, and just about everything else...

Now that all fixed, and we still have that original bag of sand. lol. But I did use some last night to fill in the gaps around the tiles I had cut for Loki's tank. There's papertowel down on top of that, but yeah. :main_thumbsup:

 

[bubblez825]

Without the internet, my geckos would never have survived. I wouldn't have found all the great information on here that couldn't be found in books, as well as personal experience. I had 4 geckos before I was introduced to geckoforums, and they all died. they were from various chain stores., and I only had information from books and from care sheets. Learning from past mistakes and hearing from everyone on here(their personal experiences and vast amounts of knowledge) has led me to have 7 very healthy leopard geckos

Also, without the internet, i would have kept buying leopard geckos from chain stores and would probably have kept killing them, not knowing I could get much healthier ones from private breeders who actually KNOW what they are doing and how to raise the geckos properly

 

[leogecko88]

I would have been fine. I got all my info from books and learning what she likes as we go along.

 

[lady.gekko]

I got my first Leopard Gecko when I was 16, now 25..Back then believe it or not I didn't even think about going on forums. My Leo was fine. I did however have books that were helpful. Most of my guys even now are trouble free. Some were rescues that required attention at first but now are pluggin away!:main_yes: So I still don't really use it "information/to save" my geckos but more so just to enjoy seeing other geckos, it's more for my personal amusement. When it's time for my Leo's to be Leo's in their cages, I come on here and continue my gecko-fill! hah!

 

[ReptarNDukeNukem]

Yeah my gecko will survive because I got mine at an Expo and Brian O. told me everything I needed to keep her alive.

 

[Latlaw]

I'd have a ton of books like I bought when I started collecting Boston Terriers but you can learn soooo much more from experiences of others and these forums--this one in particular!

 

[PaladinGirl]

I'm not exactly sure my geckos would've died without the internet, but they certainly would've received some substandard care, most likely shortening their lives.

The very first source I sought out was my sister's fiance because he's had a gecko for a few years. But I wasn't satisfied with his advice alone, it felt "off".

I turned to the internet briefly, but then decided that books would provide better knowledge. I soon became very frustrated because there was some pretty significant differences in advice between the books I read. It was then that I realized that a lot of the books out there are several years old and I think there's been quite a bit of advancement in how to care for geckos since their publications.

I turned back to the internet and spent hours taking notes from different websites. I started to piece things together based on the advice of the majority, and came up with what I believed to be fairly ideal care methods for my geckos I found this forum soon after I got Toon and tweaked some of my gecko care methods, though I was happy because a lot of the info on here confirmed that I did pretty good from the get-go! Research brings knowledge, and as the old cliche says, knowledge is power!

 

[GeckoDude31]

I would't have had a leo without the internet. I google new pet ideas and this site came up.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

I wouldn't have even gotten into leopard geckos without the internet to be honest. I was looking into getting a chinese water dragon or beardie when I stumbled upon leopard geckos on a random forum.

I wouldn't say my gecko would've survived or not without the internet, as I don't get something without thoroughly researching into it. But I definitely would not have heard about leos without the internet. And if the only way for me to judge them is by looking at them in petco/petsmart, then I definitely would not have gotten one as they don't usually carry good morphs.

 

[rickmoss95]

i have been keeping herps long before the internet. i think if you study the environment and what all the little niches and the prey items there, it is not really that hard to put two and two togeather. that is how i succeeded with alot of my stuff. i bred green tree pythons when i was seventeen, that is when most people couldnt even keep them alive or get them eating. i just studied the cimate and environment where they came from, and with a little trial and error, i did pretty well. also with reptiles, i think some people simply "Have it", and others do not. i do however, think that the net is a great tool as long as it is used properly and people dont fall for alot of the bs info that alot of people will post, for whatever reasons. there is alot of good info and great people to learn from, and the hobby has been "fine tuned" since the internet...but i know alot of people were having tons of success before the internet came along.

 

[rickmoss95]

...and reptiles magazine has been a big help for the past twelve years for me!