First Post Warrants Introductions!

I've decided to catalog my experience in herpetoculture as a hobby, though I do aspire to one day breed reptiles and amphibians for commercial distribution. As a fall-back option, as it were.

So, I should start by mentioning my past experience with herps; it all started when I was a fetus... or not. Probably not.

I've been head-over-heels for animals since as far back as I can remember. My bedtime stories were jsut as much experts from children's encyclopedia of nature as much as fairy tales and such. My first animals were the family dog (rest her bones), and some fish. I soon progressed to guinea pigs and hamsters, but it was always the lizards and snakes that held my attention. Not sure if all boys are just drawn to reptiles or if maybe it was just in my jeans to be fascinated by them. Either way, I was about six when I got my first.

Painted turtle:
AS far as I can remember, I got my painted turtle in Montreal whilst out shopping with my aunt and grandmother. I'm not sure what possessed them to buy me one, but I got one, and that's about all I had; no decent tank, no lamps, no plants. I couldn't throw it in the fish tank; she had no place to sit. So I threw together a small fish bowl and some rocks. I got myself some dried shrimp and was content for a time. Not a long time, obviously. I feel pretty bad now for having kept it in such a silly set-up. I can only hope that she will forgive my childish ignorance in the after-life. Her name was Val, so named for my grade-school crush.

Fire-belly Newt:
I think I was twelve by the time I tried my hand at herps again. By this time, my first cat was dominating the pet landscape, with the cursory living room aquarium, obviously. I was a little more prepared for the newt. My setup was a an old tank, probably somewhere in the twenty to twenty-five gallon range, built up with pebbles, some fake plants... and this big fake log which I later came to hate with a passion. I know with the newt, I did SOMETHING right, since I had him for several months. I would take him out of the tank (of which I was allowed only because the things are so torpid and unlikely to bolt) and hold the little thing in my hands from time to time. It was really the only time I ever saw the little munchkin; he spent every waking (and sleeping) moment holed up ina crook of that damned plastic log! He went missing by then and to this day, I still don't really know what happened. We've moved out of that apartment since then but never found a body. Kind of creepy really.

Collard Lizard:
I was about sixteen when I finally convinced my parents I was ready for something with some oumph, something that didn't just eat freeze-dried bits of... still not sure what that newt ate. I had fun building up the desert terrarium. I had always wanted to buy a heat rock and a basking light. The collard lizard was great; it really initiated me into the true meat of herpetoculture. Sadly, there's only so much a kid can do when face with digestive parasites in a tiny little creature. I certainly didn't have the money to afford vet bills on a lizard. And to be honest, I never really thought there was much wrong with him. He ate plenty, basked regularly, he even seemed lively. I never really noticed how no matter how many feedings he had, he never bulked up. Sadly, he didn't last quite as long as the newt, though I'm pretty sure he lasted longer than turtle. *sigh*

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All was not for naught, though. From each experience, I took valuable lessons:

Never buy a pet on a whim.
Make sure you have the right equipment for the right pet.
Exotic pets tend to have delicate constitutions and can be affected by the slightest things.
Crickets are bitches to catch if your cat happens to knock over their enclosure. Also, crickets will eat each other. Oh, and crickets can hide very easily and chirp late into the night.

I just remembered how much sick pleasure I took from watching that collard lizard destroy those infernal things.

All that brings me to this past weekend. I could have spent it with my friend in Barry, relaxing, getting away from the unemployment grind. Instead, I plucked up the courage and demanded that right to ask my father to let me buy myself a lizard once again! No twenty-four year old truley wants to admit that last bit, but things have been strange for me. A topsy-turvey ride of colleges, jobs, careers and changes there-of.
Lucky for me, I have cool parents who know that, like the sea, I can wear them down. I mean, my grand mast-plan is to have my own herp breeding center, but my own appartment might be a more realistic and desired dream for now. That, and a new rep. Something new, something I've wanted since I saw them crawling up the sheer glass walls of their tank all those years back; it's time I brought all my experience to bear, muscled in and tried my hand at geckos. Tropical geckos.

Crested Gecko
Time to rock.