# not sure what to get



## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

Hi

I'm lee and i'm a newbie to this forum. I'm looking to get a new pet as i've had the usual pets throughout my life and want something different. So far i've had cats, dogs, tropical and marine fish tanks, gerbils, hamsters, rats and Giant Land Snails, i also used to help my uncle with his garter snakes.

I'm not sure what to get now. I'm undecided whether to get a beardie, gecko, snake (something small to start with like a corn or garter) or maybe an emperor scorpion.

I have 3 kids (ages 3, 8 & 10) and i want to get them involved as i loved all the animals i've ever had and it's educational for them rather than spending time infront of the TV or playing games on the computer.

I would love a pacman / bullfrog but the wife has said a definite no to any frog (weird, she doesn't mind spiders but wont go near a frog).

I have enough room to house all of the above but not sure what would be best to start with. Just looking for some advice. I usually get a nice bonus from work at christmas so not looking to get something straight away as i want to do as much research before getting something.

Thanks in advance


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## JohansonLeos (Sep 26, 2012)

Probably a Leo. They can become really tame, are easy to care for, have great personalities and come in loads of different colour morphs!
:2thumb:


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

sorry for my ignorance but what is a leo?


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## danstar33 (Apr 13, 2012)

Leopard gecko! (Leo) they're awesome, I've got the one at the moment, they're really easy to care for and as this will be your first lizard, they are quite tolerant of their surroundings. So it doesn't matter if you forget to feed one night, or their temperature drops by a couple of degrees. You don't really have to worry. As long as you get on top of anything that goes wrong fairly wuick you should be fine.

And as long as you tame him or her, it will be great with kids!


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## Drayvan (Jul 7, 2010)

lee331 said:


> sorry for my ignorance but what is a leo?


That would be a leopard gecko :2thumb: personally I would go for a snake, as lizards would most likely be a look but don't touch pet for your youngest child whereas with a snake they can stroke them. Corns are great, they were my first snake. Hatchlings will be quite small to start off with so if you're looking for something the children can interact with then an older one may be a good choice. That being said if the kids are just going to watch them then there's no reason to not get a lizard either : victory: There are a couple of shows coming up depending on where you are in the country, the Doncaster show on Sunday and the CREAKS show in Kidderminster on the 2nd of December. These are great places to pop along and look at all the different species and chat to breeders to get a good idea of what you might like in the future as well as just being a great day out.


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

thanks, i'll take a look at them. I see a lot of terminology and acronyms and its like another language. I guess i'll get it one day


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

With the ages of your children and your wish to get them involved, I'd consider a bearded dragon to be honest. They are diurnal so will be awake and ready to come out for some attention when your kids are up, and can be full of personality! They can seem to really enjoy interaction if treated well.
Leopard geckos are also a good choice as they're pretty sturdy and can grow to be rather tame. They are also a good size for small child hands.


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## Revobuzz (Nov 8, 2011)

Most reptile shops will have Beardies, Leos and corns. Why not take your kids and see what excities them. If you want them to be involved in makes sense to involve them from the start.

All the above are good choices for kids to be involved in my opinion. 

If your wife is not too keen on the frog idea you might want to check how she is about live crickets in the house chirping away all night and frozen mice in her freezer.


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## Africandragoncorn (Sep 16, 2012)

lee331 said:


> Hi
> 
> I'm lee and i'm a newbie to this forum. I'm looking to get a new pet as i've had the usual pets throughout my life and want something different. So far i've had cats, dogs, tropical and marine fish tanks, gerbils, hamsters, rats and Giant Land Snails, i also used to help my uncle with his garter snakes.
> 
> ...


Firstly welcome lee. All the above are a good place to start the only one i havent is a leo altho i will be looking to change that soon. However if you want the kids involved i would rule out the scorpian. Ive had one she a very tempromental and moody old girl. I took quite a few nips from her. Fortunatly she gave enough warning before she used her stinger so i avioded that one but kids may not. However my recommendation based on personal experiences would be a beardie very lively, very friendly and to be fair even in the incredibly rare circumstance that they wanted to cause harm they arent really capable of it. My nephewd love coming round to my house to see the zoo but most of the animals they will steer well clear of but they love the beardy and he can come out and i just leave him to run around the house for a couple of hours great character fantastic temperament very hardy and once youve got the set up sorted very easy to care for. 
Good luck whatever your endeavour


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

Revobuzz said:


> Most reptile shops will have Beardies, Leos and corns. Why not take your kids and see what excities them. If you want them to be involved in makes sense to involve them from the start.
> 
> All the above are good choices for kids to be involved in my opinion.
> 
> If your wife is not too keen on the frog idea you might want to check how she is about live crickets in the house chirping away all night and frozen mice in her freezer.


The wife is fine with crickets and mice (she used to hold the rats, gerbils and hamsters we had). I have spare space in the freezer and i do most of the cooking so no problem with her going in the freezer.

There is a good reptile shop in northampton, so i might pop down there with the kids at the weekend and see what they like the most. Our neighbour has 4 corn snakes and they have been round to see them several times. A friend also has loads of exotics and they've seen them a few times too.


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## ChazzieJo (Jun 14, 2012)

Bearded Dragons are the most social out of all those that you suggested. I love my Beardie, she'll happily just lay on my lap in front of the telly for hours, once you've researched their environment, they're easy enough to keep. Obviously you have to take into consideration food costs (veg daily & live insects), cost of heat bill (they'll need a UV strip and basking spot on for 10-12hrs a day and also whether you have the room for one, the minumum is a 4foot by 2foot by 2foot vivarium.


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## Revobuzz (Nov 8, 2011)

lee331 said:


> The wife is fine with crickets and mice (she used to hold the rats, gerbils and hamsters we had). I have spare space in the freezer and i do most of the cooking so no problem with her going in the freezer.
> 
> There is a good reptile shop in northampton, so i might pop down there with the kids at the weekend and see what they like the most. Our neighbour has 4 corn snakes and they have been round to see them several times. A friend also has loads of exotics and they've seen them a few times too.


Is that the Northampton reptile Centre? If so, they will have plenty to look at. They are a helpful bunch too.


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## Dubia82 (Jan 19, 2012)

Hey mate,

I would get either a Bearded Dragon or a Corn snake. Both good examples of hardy and forgiving reptiles that at least 9 times out of 10 will make great pets that wont bite or cause any real problems. They're both easy to handle and a joy to keep.

King snakes a good, but more chance of being bitey in my experience. Boas are great, ofcourse more attention is required and maybe not great as a starter snake with small children, however, some are unbelievably docile. I would get a corn first then consider a boa depending on how the family did with the corn.

I don't own any geckos and I think they are slightly more difficult to keep than Bearded Dragons, but I could be wrong... if I went for a gecko I would go for a Crested, but that's purely for looks. With children, I woudl suggest a Bearded Dragon still as they seem, imo, to be tougher... good for when it's handled with not so delicate fingers.


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## lilbeth (Aug 28, 2012)

Just thought I would say :welcome:

I'm afraid I don't know much about the other options.
I went for a Beardie as it is awake during the day, so something to watch! They also don't mind being handled and ours stares out the vivarium as much as we stare in!
I am a teacher for 9-10 year olds and they love our class pet, they think he's brilliant. We also have plenty of visitors from children in other classes, so a popular one with children in my experience.
I like the idea of taking your kids to have a look- you'll just have to hope they choose the same thing!!

I hope you find the one for you!


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

revobuzz - yes northampton reptiles in St James, i've been there and they seem like a friendly bunch. 

I've seen an advert for someone selling both a garter and a corn with their own viv's and i might have a look at them this weekend. Both of them are quite young and are good handlers.

I'm tempted to get a snake as our next door neighbour has had them for many years and would always be helpful (answering questions and feeding when we're on holiday).


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

just a quick update. Went to the reptile centre with the wife and kids today and they enjoyed looking at all of the animals. They all held a baby corn and a baby beardie without any issues and i held an adult beardie called Ted. Could have bought all of them right there and then, so cute. Now the difficult process of thinking which one to buy.


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## Smudge251 (Aug 7, 2010)

Haha, i know that feeling. its a tough choice but good luck with whatever you get.


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## marc26 (Aug 12, 2012)

Think if you want your kids involved and to handle etc i would say gecko, canbe tame not big enough if they bite to do serious injury, a snake can be tame but need be extra gentle had two snakes in past and believe them to be most tame reptile ever, if handled in apropriate or (kids) can be rather fiesty. Bearded dragon get big flighty and nasty bite.

Just my opinion 
Owner of 3 Leo Geckos, Previous owner of albino corn and a black king snake


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

going to look at a 2yr old garter and 1yr old corn tomorrow. i could come home with both of them.


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## marc26 (Aug 12, 2012)

Just been told in another thread by me that garters can be flighty!

Ive had a cornsnake before which was very skittish but i was in experienced (was years ago)and to me i dont think best beginner snake but then could been one off fiesty snake or me been un experienced. Just my experience


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

been to see the garter and corn today and hopefully picking them up later. Held them both and they were fine. Can't wait.


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## pussmunky (Jan 23, 2012)

i had leos first, now got a corn and king snake an the kings a little bitey but nothing too bad haha! remember to get pics up if you get them tonight :2thumb:


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

yeah will get some taken later. Corn is a Hypomelanistic, lovely and bright. Garter is a lovely dark green.


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

a royal python would be the best snake for a young child to handle in my opinion


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

would like a python someday but thought i'd start with something small as it's my first snake. The kids held a corn in a shop yesterday and they were fine with it. Ok, so they a pretty quick movers now as they're small, they should slow down a little when they're older and larger. 

Held both of them today for a while and they were both fine.


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

picture of the corn as she came out of her hidey hole.









I will replace the naff thermometer as i know they give crap readings. Also i know the temp is a little on the low side but this is just after bringing the viv in from the car after half an hour drive. I'm warming it up slowly.


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

royal pythons are small


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

I had leos but found them a bit boring. I now have a royal and am getting a boa. the royal is great, nice and docile, don't get huge, easy to look after. but nice one on the other snakes


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

Pic of the common garter, bit smaller than the corn even though it's a year older.


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## lee331 (Nov 11, 2012)

one of the kids holding the corn and garter


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