I am the biggest reptile fan in the world. Until this point, I have never had a pet of any kind (well, my family had dogs whilst I was growing up, but they were those annoying rat dogs that yip and we had a mutual agreement to leave each other alone). I have been contemplating getting a lizard for some time, but I am a poor single working chick and couldn't afford the terrarium needed to house such a pet.

However, my super fantastic boyfriend went out and bought me one! So I'm getting a lizard! w00t! It's going to be a leopard gecko. I'm going to name him Fido.

So, this is where I am going to tell you all about my adventure in the next couple of weeks outfitting my terrarium and finding food, furniture and heat for my Fido! Oh yeah! And finding Fido!

Chapter 1: Finding Fido Furniture

My bf and I went to the river bottom tonight and found a bunch of cool looking, flat rocks and some driftwood.

While we were down there, my bf stumbled upon a goose nest and nearly got maimed by an angry goose (ok, so the goose was pretty far away, but it was clearly not happy!). We also stumbled upon a mostly rotted ribcage and attached leg of a deer on the banks. Lovely.

My bathtub is now full of a 10% bleach solution and driftwood, and on my stove is a big pot of boiling rocks. It smells like a swimming pool. I just need some sand and I'll put together Fido's house! Yay!

I'm issuing a pre-emptive moratorium on any car insurance gecko jokes for thr duration of this adventure.

When I saw the title of this thread, I immeidiately thought of the book "Lizard Music". That's a definite "lizard adventure". I wonder if that island will ever appear again....



We'll need to see some pictures of Fido, obviously.

Just for the hell of it; here's a picture of "The Lizard King"....



Not a lizard, but a reptile. I'm told they're different.....



And half-scientist half-snarling beast-creature, The Lizard.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, have fun with the driftwood in your bathtub....

Congrats on the new companion...

Now the bad news - I jump in with this because you said you were unable to afford housing for the gecko. You live in Canada and I am only aware of a few "exotic" veterinarians in Canada and those treat domestic rabbits. What you are getting is known as an "exotic" pet.

Before you get the gecko, you need to locate an exotic veterinarian in your area, one that specifically treats reptiles. You need to learn about proper care of the reptile and if you are purchasing from a pet store, don't take their word on anything about care. Pet stores are there to make money as are most breeders and they don't always speak the truth. Find out from the veterinarian the proper care and diet for your gecko and find out about any medical problems that can arise and what it will cost to treat the gecko should it become ill.

For starters, this site contains some useful gecko health and well being information: http://www.drgecko.com/index.html.

A gecko's lifespan is 5 to 10 years with proper breeding and care.

If you have already done the above, I apologize for being pushy. I am a wrestling fanatic but I volunteer with animal rescue: Doberman Pinschers, domestic rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters, domestic rats and mice. Everything but the Dobermans are considered exotic...that five dollar Easter bunny can quickly turn into a three thousand dollar sick bunny (I speak from experience).

Umm, Sassy...I don't suppose you'd want to donate to the animal shelter fundraiser I'm doing, tomorrow? Heck, donate a dollar. It's all done online and tax-deductible.

I spend an average of five thousand dollars a year on rescue...I am an approved foster home and an approved sanctuary home -- for the elderly and ill animals that are dumped. I have a chinchilla lop rabbit at the present time suffering from e.cuniculli. She is on daily medication and makes trips to the acupuncturist once a week (the vet visit is $60.00 a pop w/out counting the gas). Her bonded mate, an agouti rabbit, developed an abdominal abscess. We had it removed and lost him several days later -- that was over $500.00 -- with a discount from the vet because I am with a rescue group.

would YOU like to donate?

If so, you can go here:

http://www.kcdoberescue.com/ (Clarke is my foster Doberman). My female Doberman is around 7 or 8 years old...I adopted her when she was around 6. She was displaced by the hurricanes.

or here:

www.rabbit.org (national) or http://www.mohrs.org/ (local for me).



www.kindplanet.org (we don't have our NFP status yet).

Darnit, I just spent 50 bucks to register for this frickin' run/walk! Next month for me starts May 10, so I'll bookmark your stuff and get back to it, then.

In the meantime, Here's My Donation Page. It's tomorrow. So I won't haggle anyone again.

Oh shit, yeah. I've done my research. That Dr Gecko site has actually been my guide for setting up Fido's house and everything. I'm buying Fido from a store in town that specializes in just reptiles and amphibians. It's a locally owned place, and the owner herself has several pet snakes and lizards that look super healthy and well taken care for. I actually work with her sister, which is how I found this store.

Hopefully I'll have Fido on Saturday, as the store is closed on Sunday. *fingers crossed*

Good job on research before the purchase. I have issues with people who have no clue that rabbits can live to be 15 years of age -- they treat them like they are short term companions, which is why the shelters are always full. And if I have one more person dumping a Doberman say to me "I didn't know it was going to get so BIG" :angry: , I'm going to scream.

And remember...your new companion should like his/her name...

Dobermans: Hallie McDobe & Clarke WuffinE
Chinchillas: Dante & Rene
Guinea Pig: Pugsly
Rabbits: Brittany, Beauregard, Lucretia, Madison & Christian, Allen-a-Dale, Harley, Awesome Blossom, Mittens, Rusty, Silver, Bear, Mouse, Anna, Stephanie & Duncan, WeeOne, HersheyBar, Bobby, Onyx, Jazz, Prince Valiant, Beauty & Harvey.
Dumped pair (2 yrs ago): Elsbeth & Victor - the next week Elsbeth gave birth to: Taupo Gigio, Merri & Victoria, Mateo, Michael & Ricky (these 3 are named after my daughter's friend who died in Afghanistan's sons), L.B. & Roxanne (who were adopted) and 3 more that died in the first two days.
Dumped pair(1 yr ago): Gracie & Spencer - the following week Gracie gave birth to: Kenworth (who died before he reached 1 year), Zachary, Aiden, Damian & Karen Leah (named after the animal psychic Karen Anderson) and 3 more that died immediately after birth.
Rabbits lost in the last six months: Ericka (cause unknown), Jonathan (pasturella) Taylor (heart attack) & Oliver (abscess)

And yes, all the rabbits are spayed/neutered & litter box trained. They don't live in cages, they live in large open top pens :)

Wow, I thought my place was a mess with a dog and 2 cats.

Bagle (Basset/Beagle Mix): Beauregard Farnsworth

2 Cats: Andre Bringer of Doom to all Kitty kind Dark Kitty of Doom Frank, and Stella Marie

:lol: I bought a house with a walk out basement (it's a ranch) and the rabbits and rodents have the downstairs. The canines and humans have the upstairs unless, of course, we have sick rabbits and the are usually upstairs in playpens. It isn't as crowded as it sounds, unless you count the foster Doberman who is only a year old and is EVERYwhere. I have a great time when someone tells me Dobermans are "killers". I've only had one foster that I wouldn't trust around the rabbits and one sanctuary. That's why we have doors and child gates <_<

Your companion animals have adorable names! My daughter has rescued two kittens, had them spayed/neutered, got them their shots and whatever tests the vet suggested, and then found homes for them. Although some cats do well with rabbits and rodents, the two she found had strong prey drive and couldn't stay with us.

People who can't take the time to find out what a pet entails shouldn't' have one. That goes for many other things too, actually, like cars, houses and children.

Anyway, I picked up Fido today! He's so cute! I'll get pictures in a bit. He's all warm and comfy in his house, which took me a good afternoon to put together. His floor is stones we got from the river with black sand in between, and a nice big piece of driftwood to hang out on. He already ate three or four mealworms today and now he's napping in his log. I took him out to play with him a bit and he's really calm.

I'm so happy! Woo!

As for the "killer" dog argument, people are retards. There are no bad dogs, just bad owners. I've known many a doberman and rottweiler, not to mention pitbulls and boxers, that are the sweetest, most affectionate dogs ever. If they are trained correctly and taken care of, they will be happy.

Same goes for big snakes. It's my goal to own a big boa or python someday, and everytime I tell someone that it's all "oh they'll eat the neighbourhood cats" or "you can't have them around children", etc etc. First of all, snakes eat neighbourhood cats because their owners don't feed them properly to begin with, or house them properly for that matter. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with having a kid and a snake in the same room...as long as the snake is properly housed and the kid is supervised and/or taught how to properly respect an animal of that size.

I could rant for DAYS about this. So I'm going to stop.

I'm glad you are enjoying your new companion.

Just tell me that when you do get a large snake you will get it as an infant and feet it raw meat and not live animals.

Live feed is disgusting.

I didn't even know feeding it live food was LEGAL. I thought it feel under some animal cruelty law. It might, actually, where I live.

And yeah, I'll feed it raw meat. I've quickly discovered that not only do you have to feed a lizard, you have to feed the lizard's food. lol

The local pet store here has signs up by the mice cases recommending people to not use live feeds, due to the bones not being good for the snakes and for the obvious reason that it's a mean thing to do to the mice.

Pet stores crack me up. How are bones bad for the snake? What do you think they eat in the wild!?

:lol: Exactly.