ok,so dont think ima get a tegu now

[4ever2wheels]

well im not goin to be movin out of my current living location as expected. so that means i wont be able to house and give a full grown tegu a nice sized cage. plus i want a blue and they seem pretty hard to get a hold of. as much as i want a blue or even a b/w, i just wont be able to house an adult,DAMNIT!

so now im thinkin of getting some thing else.. i have a tank from glasscages.com thats 48in long/16in tall/17in wide. slidig glass doors and screen top. i've also got a heat light,uvb bulb, and some other goodies for the tank. oh and this is probably as large of a tank as i can fit where im currently living, for the next yr or 2.

ima thinkin of either a snake or another kind of lizard. just need some help deciding. ok so im thinkin either, a nice morph ball python,blood python, or something like that. as for a lizards...bearded, blue tounge skin maybe water dragon. ive been doin alot of research and just dont know wat to go with. anyone got any suggestions, or recomendations.

ima be going to nest reptile expo in ny next month and hope tp pick something up there. so whatcha think?

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

that would be a good size enclosure for a beardie. they have some real sweet looking color morphs. the red ones look awesome. a blue tongue skink would do well in that also.

 

[crimsonrazac]

Well its not on your list, But have you cosidered ackies?

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

ackies are cool, great idea. i would love to have some myself.

 

[4ever2wheels]

i thought and read up on them, from wat i've read they dont seem to like to be handled much. i could be wrong though.

i might scratch the snakes and keep lookin for a lizard. but a nice morph would be nice too ahhhh!! decision decsions... thanks for the relpies though,keep'em coming lol

 

[Jer723]

what are ackies anyways?

 

[Aquai]

Ball pythons! They're awesome snakes, i've got two of them.

Get a nice spider morph, or pastel, or even better a bumblebee/axanthic.

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

what are ackies anyways?

they are a type of monitor

 

[crimsonrazac]

what are ackies anyways?

they are a type of monitor

 

[4ever2wheels]

is that urs crimsonrazac? nice lookin rep. how are there dispostion? dont u need a loarge enclosure for them?

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

that's a sweet lookin' ackie. :mrgreen:

 

[crimsonrazac]

Sorry its not mine lol. I was looking for a quick example of one.

"Ackies are usually rather calm in the sense that they will usually not bite in captivity. All Ackies sold in the pet trade are CBB because they are from Australia, where it is illegal to export live animals." "For housing an Ackie monitor I would recommend a 3x2x2 (LWH) enclosure for a single adult. A 4x2x2 (LWH) enclosure can hold a trio for each additional animal I recommend adding an extra 1 �¯�¿�½- 2 square feet of floor space."

Im not sure if thats 100% correct. If you have any questions there are a few members with ackies, like BSM, that you could try asking.

 

[Jer723]

cool thanks crimsonrazac!

 

[Beasty]

I have yellow Ackies and they are quite brave for little ones. They totally don't mind being observed. They explore a lot and put on quite the show. They are possibly the most entertaining monitors I have had. I'm partial to big lizards but these guys are awesome! I can reach right in and pet them - no problem, even from day one! If you could stand to have a 4x2x2 enclosure I'd suggest getting one and I even know a Utah breeder who has a baby true RED Ackie for sale. They are $300 each but worth it if you're looking for a small fun lizard and quite handsome too. I'll be possibly picking up a trio in the future from him. Ackies ROCK!
That said, one vs the other, I'd go tegu 100% if you can house and feed them.

 

[Jer723]

are they anywhere near as aggressive as a savannah monitor?

 

[Beasty]

In my experience savannahs aren't aggressive...by monitor standards. They bluff a lot but you pick them up and they wiggle a minute and chill. White throats and black throats can be aggressive though. Ackies.. I should say, MY Ackies are not aggressive. From day one I could pick them up and all they will do is try to run a bit. The girl has nipped at me twice now but not a "I'm gonna eat you!" type of nip but more of a tasting type almost. She's weird. Either I can reach in and pet but both will try to run when you go to pick them up. I haven't worked with them much really though. I was waiting for them to get a little more size on them so there'd be less chance of losing the little tiny buggers!
They're still only about a foot long at 6-7 months old now and mostly tail. (bout big around as my finger)

My blue tegu on the other hand will walk right up to me and climb up on my shoulder and chill. She'll hang out while I'm doing dishes and crawl down to check out the counter and have a dip in the dish water and come back to sit on my shoulder. Most monitors I have had aren't THAT friendly. So, since that's the type of interaction I look for in a reptile, I now have 3 tegus and will hopefully get a fourth and final here this week. The housing size is an issue to be sure as most don't have room for a large couch sized enclosure and feeding CAN be pricey(there's tricks around that) but the payoff is totally worth it.

 

[DaveDragon]

My blue tegu on the other hand will walk right up to me and climb up on my shoulder and chill. She'll hang out while I'm doing dishes and crawl down to check out the counter and have a dip in the dish water and come back to sit on my shoulder.

My male Blue does the same thing, he loves to hang out!

 

[4ever2wheels]

wow cant beleive how calm and cool tegu's can be. damn i want one, but not yet. it just wouldnt be right.

ok so i think i'm narrowed down the either an ackie,blue tongued skink, or a nice morph ball python.

ive been down a lot of research on both lizards. but still cant decide,lol. i've read that the b/t skink can recognize people and sounds and are more laid back then the ackie. but the ackie is so nice looking. if i handled it often ,gently of course, you think i'd be able to have a nice lil monitor i can let roam my room, under a watchful eye of course?

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

i think if space is still an issue a blue tongued skink will be great. they are pretty calm and real cool looking. when i hold mine, he just sits there sticking his blue tongue out and back in. pretty cool lizards.

 

[zgoldsmith]

wow cant beleive how calm and cool tegu's can be. xxxx i want one, but not yet. it just wouldnt be right.

ok so i think i'm narrowed down the either an ackie,blue tongued skink, or a nice morph ball python.

ive been down a lot of research on both lizards. but still cant decide,lol. i've read that the b/t skink can recognize people and sounds and are more laid back then the ackie. but the ackie is so nice looking. if i handled it often ,gently of course, you think i'd be able to have a nice lil monitor i can let roam my room, under a watchful eye of course?

I would also say, wait on tegu ... unless you are REALLY sure that you want one and can care for it. Out of those suggestions, I would go with the ackie, especially if you wanted to get into monitors and tegus later on. Ackies, in my experience, are a bit more "flighty" than blue-tongues.

ZG