For the Love of Reptiles: Your Reptile Match

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Authored by Ciara Utech

Find your Reptile Match

Grand Cayman Iguana

For the Love of Reptiles is a two-part series to help you decide which reptile might best fit your personal tastes.

To be a reptile lover is hard enough. From fighting laws to misconceptions, when it’s all said we just want to be able to enjoy our pets. However finding the perfect reptile can be just as difficult. While I may not be able to help you choose the exact reptile pet, I can direct you towards what type you should choose.

Lizards have some of the biggest personalities of the reptiles. All lizards have every capability to keep you completely entertained, while many of them will also be your companions if given the chance. While snakes and turtles may not be for everyone, lizards are in a way universal. Whether its personality, size, or color, its easy to see why they are great pets.

Leopard Gecko Captive CareMost lizards are omnivorous. This means you need to be creative but also dedicated to be sure every day you can set aside time to feed your animal and always have plenty of healthy foods around for them to eat. While this sounds high maintenance, it’s actually easier after you plan a feeding schedule. If this is still too much, don’t worry. Lizards like Leopard Geckos are carnivores and just need crickets and mealworms with Calcium to keep them well fed. Lighting for all the lizards is different. The needs can range from UVA, UVB, desert lamps, night lamps, heating pads, ect. Some you can take on rides with you, walk around the house, or my favorite, walking on a leash , makes all the work worth it. Remember size does not determine how much maintenance will be required so research your lizards thoroughly before choosing.

In my opinion, snakes are the easiest reptiles to have if you do not like maintenance. Because snakes do not have limbs or movements to express pain, you must pay close attention to your animal and learn its personality. Yes, I said it, personalities. Snakes all have their little “quirks”, I had one snake that would escape his cage and go to the closet and play in shoes. When you would find him, he would be so happy. Almost seemed proud.

Snakes are usually fine with UVA lighting and can handle almost every reptile bedding.They are carnivores and eat at the least usually once a week.Yet this all depends on age, species, and size. They are fine living a solitary life with no other snake companion, but many species also do fine with more than one snake in their tank. Every species has different temperament and size is always the first question you want to ask. In my opinion anything past 5 ft should be left for more experienced keepers. Snakes can be very tricky to have as a pet but if you give them a lot of attention, you should not have a problem.

While both types of species are amazing to keep, they are not perfect for everyone. Always do your research or ask us experts for any questions you may ever have. Having a reptile can be just as amazing as having any other animal.