Best herp species to keep?

[KeGathings17]

I've been batting around with the idea of getting a crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) or maybe another snake, preferably Lampropeltis or Pituophis, I have a BP that I have kept for about 2 1/2 or 3 years now, and enjoy her immensely. I am not opposed to other options aswell. I've thought about keeping skinks, and some other lizard species aswell. Any suggestions on a nice "beginner" lizard or snake species, or even just a staple in your own collection? Long live our scaly friends!

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Bearded dragon?
I had one as a kid and he was easy peasy.
I'm not a herp guy but i also had a White's tree frog that was very cool and lived a long time.

 

[Sarkhan42]

I’m more invert focused than herps- but I’m a huge fan of my gargoyle gecko. Extremely easy, out and about, really interesting coloration and variations. Can’t go wrong imo. Granted they’ll definitely pull a bigger pricetag than a crested, but well worth it I’d say.

 

[KeGathings17]

Bearded dragon?
I had one as a kid and he was easy peasy.
I'm not a herp guy but i also had a White's tree frog that was very cool and lived a long time.

My little brother has a bearded dragon, he is cool, but I think I would even get a whites tree frog over a beardie, just my opinion. Cool animals though, I've thought about keeping frogs, but I would like some more experience with herp husbandry before getting a high moisture species. Thanks for the reply Domgom!

I’m more invert focused than herps- but I’m a huge fan of my gargoyle gecko. Extremely easy, out and about, really interesting coloration and variations. Can’t go wrong imo. Granted they’ll definitely pull a bigger pricetag than a crested, but well worth it I’d say.

Yes gargoyles are pretty rad, I think eventually I would love to own a Leachianus, but that price tag!!!!! Geckos seem like pretty neat little animals, plus the making of its enclosure and husbandry sounds kind of fun.

 

[goliathusdavid]

Gotta admit I tend to stay away from crested and gargoyle geckos due to their IUCN status and listing on CITES, despite their commonality in the US pet trade.

Would highly recommend leopard geckos and mourning geckos. Plus the latter is super awesome since they're exclusively parthenogenetic
Also snakes. Snakes are wonderful, particularly Kenyan Sand Boas.

 

[KeGathings17]

Gotta admit I tend to stay away from crested and gargoyle geckos due to their IUCN status and listing on CITES, despite their commonality in the US pet trade.

Would highly recommend leopard geckos and mourning geckos. Plus the latter is super awesome since they're exclusively parthenogenetic
Also snakes. Snakes are wonderful, particularly Kenyan Sand Boas.

I hadn't really thought of that, and if I do eventually seek out one of those beauties, I will do my due diligence in ensuring it is a captive born animal, preferably to captive born parents aswell, but the Mourning Geckos catch my eye aswell, in regards to parthenogenesis, do they lay eggs often? I wouldn't necessarily mind learning how to do that kind of stuff, but I would hate to irresponsibly lose a clutch due to ignorance, any experience with that? Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Sterls]

One of my personal favorites are carpet pythons, but idk if you're looking for a snake that gets bigger than your ball python.

IME leopard geckos are cool. Tokay geckos look sick if you're willing to have an angry gecko instead of a friendly gecko

 

[KeGathings17]

One of my personal favorites are carpet pythons, but idk if you're looking for a snake that gets bigger than your ball python.

IME leopard geckos are cool. Tokay geckos look sick if you're willing to have an angry gecko instead of a friendly gecko

I absolutely love Carpets actually! Geez there are just too many great species out there! I wouldn't mind a feisty gecko either, as I don't really handle my animals all too much. I've looked into Blood pythons, carpets, and of course Boa's aswell. All heavyweight contenders for my heart. How is/was your experience with the Carpet pythons?

 

[goliathusdavid]

I hadn't really thought of that, and if I do eventually seek out one of those beauties, I will do my due diligence in ensuring it is a captive born animal, preferably to captive born parents aswell, but the Mourning Geckos catch my eye aswell, in regards to parthenogenesis, do they lay eggs often? I wouldn't necessarily mind learning how to do that kind of stuff, but I would hate to irresponsibly lose a clutch due to ignorance, any experience with that? Thanks for the suggestions!

Mourning geckos lay 1-2 eggs every 4-6 weeks and fortunately, the eggs can be kept at room temperature. Honestly the easiest species to breed. Parthenogenesis is WHACK

 

[KeGathings17]

Mourning geckos lay 1-2 eggs every 4-6 weeks and fortunately, the eggs can be kept at room temperature. Honestly the easiest species to breed. Parthenogenesis is WHACK

Neat. I am familiar with parthenogenesis, since one of the most common lizard species in my area is a parthenogenetic species. Really neat to find and read about. And that doesn't seem like it's that difficult I suppose. Thanks!!!

 

[emartinm28]

My Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis is an absolute wonder. I’ve had her for five years and she never refuses food. My White’s Tree Frogs are also a staple in my collection, they were my first herp and I’ve had them for 7 years and again they never refuse food, plus they’re very forgiving of husbandry mistakes. My five recommendations:
Leopard Gecko (or related species) - amazing lizards, lots of personality and super hardy
White’s Tree Frogs - reasons listed above
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes - reasons listed above
Central American/Hog Island Boa - I had a girl in my collection before I had no choice but to downsize and she was amazing, these localities usually don’t grow past 7 feet at the most so they’re quite manageable.
American Toads - another unsung JEWEL of my previous collection, super bold, super personable and super simple to keep. People have started breeding them in captivity now so if you can find them I can’t recommend enough.

A word about mourning geckos - they glue their eggs to the side of their cages and they’re near impossible to remove, so you’re pretty much just gonna have to deal with babies running around all the time, super cool at first but after a while it gets a bit tiring having to fish out babies and find them homes. If you have more than one they WILL breed constantly

 

[Iamconstantlyhappy]

False water cobra, eastern indigo

 

[goliathusdavid]

My Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis is an absolute wonder. I’ve had her for five years and she never refuses food. My White’s Tree Frogs are also a staple in my collection, they were my first herp and I’ve had them for 7 years and again they never refuse food, plus they’re very forgiving of husbandry mistakes. My five recommendations:
Leopard Gecko (or related species) - amazing lizards, lots of personality and super hardy
White’s Tree Frogs - reasons listed above
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes - reasons listed above
Central American/Hog Island Boa - I had a girl in my collection before I had no choice but to downsize and she was amazing, these localities usually don’t grow past 7 feet at the most so they’re quite manageable.
American Toads - another unsung JEWEL of my previous collection, super bold, super personable and super simple to keep. People have started breeding them in captivity now so if you can find them I can’t recommend enough.

A word about mourning geckos - they glue their eggs to the side of their cages and they’re near impossible to remove, so you’re pretty much just gonna have to deal with babies running around all the time, super cool at first but after a while it gets a bit tiring having to fish out babies and find them homes. If you have more than one they WILL breed constantly

Love milk snakes, of all kinds. Know a friend with a Pueblan milk snake who is also a jewel.
Also yes, that can definitely be an issue with mourning geckos.

 

[The Snark]

Opheophagus Hannah in every home. A housemate with a mind and agenda all it's own, smarter than the average American (see QAnon for details) thats very presence demands you conduct yourself with proper demeanor and respect. for others. Nuff said.

 

[KeGathings17]

My Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis is an absolute wonder. I’ve had her for five years and she never refuses food. My White’s Tree Frogs are also a staple in my collection, they were my first herp and I’ve had them for 7 years and again they never refuse food, plus they’re very forgiving of husbandry mistakes. My five recommendations:
Leopard Gecko (or related species) - amazing lizards, lots of personality and super hardy
White’s Tree Frogs - reasons listed above
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes - reasons listed above
Central American/Hog Island Boa - I had a girl in my collection before I had no choice but to downsize and she was amazing, these localities usually don’t grow past 7 feet at the most so they’re quite manageable.
American Toads - another unsung JEWEL of my previous collection, super bold, super personable and super simple to keep. People have started breeding them in captivity now so if you can find them I can’t recommend enough.

A word about mourning geckos - they glue their eggs to the side of their cages and they’re near impossible to remove, so you’re pretty much just gonna have to deal with babies running around all the time, super cool at first but after a while it gets a bit tiring having to fish out babies and find them homes. If you have more than one they WILL breed constantly

Wonderful! Thank you for the suggestion, I will definitely keep those suggestions in mind. I am not so sure as to when I will be diving into keeping more herps, but all those animals sound appealing to me. I forgot about milksnakes, and the Hondurans are amongst the best looking.

False water cobra, eastern indigo

Not opposed to either of those either, although I have read that indigos and cribos can be a bit more of an advanced species?

Opheophagus Hannah in every home. A housemate with a mind and agenda all it's own, smarter than the average American (see QAnon for details) thats very presence demands you conduct yourself with proper demeanor and respect. for others. Nuff said.

Your brilliance knows no bounds!

 

[emartinm28]

Wonderful! Thank you for the suggestion, I will definitely keep those suggestions in mind. I am not so sure as to when I will be diving into keeping more herps, but all those animals sound appealing to me. I forgot about milksnakes, and the Hondurans are amongst the best looking.


Not opposed to either of those either, although I have read that indigos and cribos can be a bit more of an advanced species?


Your brilliance knows no bounds!

The Eastern Indigo is my dream snake, but unfortunately they’re over $1k and you and the seller need special permits to transport them across state lines. I’d say both falsies and the whole Drymarchon genus (cribos and indigos) are a more advanced group as they can reach lengths of over 10 feet sometimes have a bad attitude and have a huge space requirement

 

[KeGathings17]

The Eastern Indigo is my dream snake, but unfortunately they’re over $1k and you and the seller need special permits to transport them across state lines. I’d say both falsies and the whole Drymarchon genus (cribos and indigos) are a more advanced group as they can reach lengths of over 10 feet sometimes have a bad attitude and have a huge space requirement

Kind of what I figured. More along the lines of dream snakes for this guy.

 

[The Snark]

Your brilliance knows no bounds!

More like my bounds knows little brilliance.
"I think I'll get ___________ as my next animal." To which I always ask myself, Why? To learn from? As a training tool? Because I'm curious? As a display piece? A passing interest? A toy?
Thus my comments like keeping a rattler or a cobra or similar. A person must have some degree of respect for the animal if they intend the relationship to be mutually beneficial and the animal lives a healthy contented life.

 

[Postmalone35]

I've been batting around with the idea of getting a crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) or maybe another snake, preferably Lampropeltis or Pituophis, I have a BP that I have kept for about 2 1/2 or 3 years now, and enjoy her immensely. I am not opposed to other options aswell. I've thought about keeping skinks, and some other lizard species aswell. Any suggestions on a nice "beginner" lizard or snake species, or even just a staple in your own collection? Long live our scaly friends!

Bearded dragons are really pleasant animals.

 

[Tarantuland]

Komodo Dragon