How did you get into reptiles? What is your favourite reptile, and why?

[Morfias]

Too true, my absolute fav book/movie series ever !! I watched deathy hollows again yesterday and it never gets old, I still wish I had a snake that size and let it roam the house like that one in Vietnam I think it was, you know the one were the kids rides it ?? That's a beautiful specimen

 

[kawasakirider]

Haven't seen any kids riding a snake, lol. I'd love to see a video. I got sad when I finished the last book, kinda ended a large part of my life (as stupid as that sounds, lol), but reading them never gets old. The movies are great, too. I just wish they'd stop omitting so much stuff, however The Deathly Hallows Pt 1 was the closest to the book out of all the movies, I was pleased with it

Getting a bit off topic, PM me the link of the vietnamese snake if you can find it

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

What did you learn today? I think it's awesome that you found a way to work with snakes and still remain passionate, what do you do?

i work as a professional snake catcher presently,and have worked previuosly in native wildlife collections a sanctuary and a University reptile and mammal research facility. also ive worked doing wildlife presentations in places from kids parties to groups of adult new immigrants and snakes where always involved of coarse cant have a presentation on Australian wildlife with out snakes!!
i spent alot of time in recent years wandering around in the bush and i really found peace and happiness there.

 

[kawasakirider]

That's excellent, mate. I know not many people like to talk about it (no idea why?) but have you been tagged by anything venemous? I'd really love an RBB in a few years, but I'd hate to cop a bite from one.

 

[Juz92]

I've always had a fascination with snakes (particularly vens) and lizards. I went on holiday up the coast earlier this year and the weather turned horrible, so we were stuck inside most of the time so I abused the foxtell there and watched alot of docos on snakes (and other animals). That was pretty much the turning point really. Got back home and a week later I had my reptile licence and a month after that I had my stimmie

As for favourite reptiles... I love GTPs. Does it really need to be explained why?

 

[Naga_Kanya]

I grew up in a few different countries due to Dad's job, including Thailand, India and Nepal. In Thailand at one of the snake farms I saw my first cobras, including an ivory-coloured albino cobra that just took my breath away. I worshipped that thing like it was some sort of deity, I was so awestruck, and kept begging my very patient parents to go back again and again. Then in Kashmir, a 2m cobra slithered over both my feet as we were wandering around the gardens. Honestly, it was just love bordering on obsession after that. Back home in Aus I ran across heaps of RBBs and browns walking in the bush and riding. I didn't know you could actually get snakes to keep until much later, and as soon as I could, I got my first, the little Stimson's who's my avatar. A couple of years after I got him I popped into the pet shop I got him from to pick up his mouse ration, and saw a snake that completely blew me away, it was so beautiful. It was bright gold and looked like a ribbon with a head, and moved like a whip, and it was $1500, priced beyond my wildest dreams. That snake remained my Holy Grail until I saw another one, fully 8 years later, and priced waay more affordably (plus I had a job and wasn't an impoverished student any more). Now I finally have my Gold phase Common Tree Snake and I'm still like a teenager with a crush over him. I'd love to get more; the more time I spend with mine the more fascinating I find them. Not to say that I don't love my pythons any the less or that they're not fascinating too, but I'm smitten by the Tree Snakes.

 

[FusionMorelia]

i got into reptiles when i moved to laycock street Wyoming when i was 9, i lived just 1min walk from Eric Worels
original reptile park site at wyoming where aldi is now, there wasn't a lot to do with not much cash and i ended
up doing a few odd jobs here and there to pay for entry every weekend and holidays(sweeping the entry or handing out maps or topping up the oats bags for the roos)
i always ended up at the snakes all day and waiting for feeding time lol i always lived with snakephobes
my mum,then my mate Duane then my 1st missus, it wasnt till recently my mrs said why dont we get one,
i realised wow for the ist time in 32 yrs i can actually get one without a fight
one look online and my memory's kicked in and im a morelia man and well addicted 2 already and plans to add more in the works lol
love my MD's but also a big love for all morelia pure blood and morph/albino/hybrid etc if its morelia im all over it

 

[MiddleOfNowhere]

I got into snakes because it was an unmentioned part of my job as Safety and ER on a minesite in the Pilbara. I was absolutely terrified of anything cold blooded, which was very bad considering that we all shared rooms with geckos, and showers and toilets with frogs, we were also not allowed to use chemicals in the toilets due to the frogs... Went through a Brian Bush course, basically holding back screams of terror and probably came close to fainting when he threw a considerable sized BHP around my neck. From then on it was relocating Mulgas, Adders, Olives, BHPs, Stimmies and Monitors, as well as the care of several mammals (quolls, kangaroos) and birds (falcons, cockies). With all the reptiles i had to relocate it started to raise a bit of fascination. Didn't hit home till my now wife told me she was going to buy some frogs, and i threatened her that if she bought a frog i would buy a snake. (Un)Fortunately (not sure which) she didn't back down and carried through with buying 5 Northern Green Tree Frogs. So i bit the bullet and started searching for a snake. Got my licence and went to a pet store where the guy threw two adult stimmies on my arms and asked which 1 i liked better, almost crapped myself at that point.

3 years on and i have 2 stimmies 2 carpets 2 womas 2 beardies and have taken over the frogs. I get calls from people to remove a snake from there house (turns out most times to be a bobtail) and can't seem to get enough of them. My wife now needs to keep a leash on me to stop me from buying all the great deals i see around. I spend most of my time off work looking for reptiles, photographing reptiles, educating people about reptiles, and getting people who are terrified of snakes to come over and get over their fear by handling a couple of mine. Even got some Kiwi's over their fears, and it has started to become a bit of an obsession with them as well, and more often then not they come over to see the snakes, and i'm just the person they have to put up with to see them.

As for Favourite, probably the BHP as it was my first relocation and i think they look amazing, but for keeping i like the Stimmies more, probably just because Strife helped me get over my fear of snakes.

MON

 

[cleobhp]

I got into reptiles because my husband kept them years ago, when he applied for his license he went for his restricted straight away, and was suprised he got it, but then he kept his old receipts of reptiles he had bought which consisted of vens when he sent his application away, so our first this time round was a dajarra adder, which is on my avatar, my first reptile was a BHP, and she is my fav because her nature is just so easy going and very friendly, I just love her to bits, but close behind is my RBB, he is the same just a beautiful animal to keep and do anything with. Now it has become an obsession, at the moment we have a death adder, RBB, water python, brown tree snake, colletts snake, inland taipan, St George Mulga, 2 species of monitors, shinglebacks, land mullets, EWD, frillies, cunninghams, gidgee, blueys, and Sandswimmers, so I think to say I'm obsessed is an understatement. Lol

 

[Morelia4life]

I have had snakes and lizards since I can remember. I grew up catching Garter snakes, Corn snakes, Rat snake, King snakes, Anoles and other species of reptiles. My mom let me get my first snake when I was 6, (it was a Garter snake) and the rest is history. My favorite reptile has to be snakes and my favorite snakes has to be the Morelia species. I love Carpet pythons. Last week I got a pair of Spotted Pythons and they are pretty awesome so far. I have always loved all animals but reptiles especially. They are just amazing from the tiny geckos to the Salties to the Green Anacondas to the blind snakes. I feel sorry for the people that are scared of snakes and they won't take the time to learn about reptiles. They will never know how much they are missing out.

 

[Torah]

i saw a crocodile monitor , and then got into snakes hang on that doesnt really make sense now does it , why didnt i get a monitor to start with .lol

 

[IzzyBeardieLover]

Cool topic
How did i get into reptiles...ever since i was little i've been obsessed with animals... When i was little i would take a container out and see what i could find! I use to breed silkworms and i had a snail colony! I also had a worm farm and a dog I had fish then hermit crabs and i wanted something different! I got some phasmids (spiney leaf insects) which i still own and breed today! I remember been really facinated by those little garden skinks that run around everywhere I use to sit outside for hours watching them eat ants and catching them and then catching bugs for them to eat I use to own my own 'animal hospital' apparently and i'd 'save' frogs from the swimming pool filter by giving them a wash and walking down to the creek to let them be free! I used to grow up tadpoles all the time i'd find frog eggs at the creek and then i'd take them home, grow them up and put them back in the creek! I guess i was helping them in a way (protecting them from birs and other predators!). Anyway...so down at the creek i would always find turtles and i would also find snakes! When i was little i found 2 baby blue tongues and i even picked them up and found them some bugs to eat before letting them go again haha! We had a blue tongue living in our pool box i called him flat He had been run over by a car and was squished! But he was still alive Spending most weekends on my grandparents and cousins farm i became very familiar with snakes (esp. tigers & brown snakes!) and they also had lots of frogs and turtles One time we lit a barbeque and out came hoping a frog who was on fire! I nursed him until i had to come home and he became much better So i guess that was what started my reptile obsession!
Favourite reptile: Central Bearded Dragon
Why: They are so friendly and sociable! I love my baby Fred at the moment he is running up and down the tank and looking at me hopefully hehe

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

I was always intersested in reptiles & critters as a young boy & scooted around the garden & creeks for whatever I could find.
But after marriage & older.
Our eldest daughter wanted a spider, but mum put her foot down. So after daughter talking to dad, dad convinced mum to let her get a snake (spotted python).
Well I think the daughter got the s---s with dad always wanting to handle the snake, so mum & daughter bought me a hatchie Coastal carpet for my birthday in I think 2006 & well if had one I might as well have a pair & then it started from there.

Cheers
Ian

 

[snakeluvver]

I got into reptiles from a very young age by seeing the Croc Hunter on TV and stuff, but it was only last year that I really started to love reptiles and this year I'm obsessed :|

Oh and I cant pick just one reptile as my fave, cant even pick one snake or lizard. Heck, I cant even pick one skink or dragon ect as my favourite I love them all!

 

[AshMan]

Good idea for a thread! I got into reptiles because my dad has been keeping for a long time and he had various snakes and lizards when i was little, he got out of keeping when i was about 6 or 7 years old and when i was 8 i decided i wanted a snake. My parents took almost no convincing lol (partly, im sure, due to the fact that my dad missed keeping) and that was that My top 3 species would have to be: Western Hognose snake, because it was my first ever species (I lived in the UK at the time). Diamond-Back rattle snake, because they always show documentrys on rattle snakes on tv and something about rattle snakes has always captivated me, i think, mostly its the evil look about them..and the way they flicker there tongue so slowly...up.....and down......and up, they are amazing. And lastly GTP. I dont own one yet, but i have always wanted too, ever since i first saw one, so i shall save up and buy one some time soon!

 

[Tassie97]

I got into reptiles from a very young age by seeing the Croc Hunter on TV and stuff, but it was only last year that I really started to love reptiles and this year I'm obsessed :|

Oh and I cant pick just one reptile as my fave, cant even pick one snake or lizard. Heck, I cant even pick one skink or dragon ect as my favourite I love them all!

gee you and me are alot alike

 

[Defective]

mum owned a moloch ( i have a pic ) and kept him for about 5-6yrs (reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllyy long bit of string tied to spikeys neck behind the lump and the other end to an orange tree) he wore through the string and mum and pop found him. mum was like 7 or 8....she's 55 now. so i guess it stemmed from there but i always use to carry a fake lizard around with me everywhere, to school, the shops, the docs, to sport, sleepovers. finally get a beardie last year, a stimmie and a bluey this year.

 

[whiteblaze786]

Well i got into reptiles when i lived in QLD, we was surrounded by browns most of the time on our property, i got my first python when i was 6, a Diamond, then went on to get some BHP's.. My favorite reptile would be snakes, particular our tiger snakes down here in tas. I love my tigers and copperheads and will always work with elapids, im currently studying the ecology and genetics of the black tiger snake [Notechis ater humphreysi] as my honors research project at uni. Well there is my story

 

[Rob1165]

I got into reptiles by infection. My ex came home one day with a badly abused female Coastal Carpet Python, she had always wanted one but this was the days when keeping was still illegal and all underground/blackmarket.

The snake had been wild caught and given to an 8yr old on his birthday and he'd not looked after it properly and had physically abused it. So the father approached my ex to come rescue it as he knew she wanted a snake.

Because of circumstances I quickly became the caregiver to the homicidal manic python. Because of it's abuse it hated people and especially males. It was intrigued by females as the abusive household was only males, but after the initial intrigue she'd return to form and want to tear the poor girls face off.

Over the years and after many vicious bites she'd settled to putting up with me, ie: a look like "I wanna bite you but I'll hold off for now", but was manic with anyone else. At 2.5m+ this was a horror movie in real life in her older age.

After a few years my ex got tired of me and her snake so she moved on leaving me with the terror. When licensing was introduced and an amnesty was declared I got legal. I had her for 21yrs, she only past April '10.

My favorite reptile to be honest is whatever I currently am handling at the time.

 

[dihsmaj]

Well when I was 5 my half-sister and her boyfriend (now husband) got me a 9 year-old Eastern Blue-Tongue who was my half-sister's boyfriend's brother's. He died in 2009 at 13.
Then, last year, my friend started to catch and keep wild Weasel Skinks. We kept them with some Brown Tree Frogs and Spotted Marshes we bought... although my old teacher wild-caught some of the Brown Tree Frogs.
Anyway after that I came into some will-money of my grandmother and at the Expo I bought a Centralian Blue-Tongue. The day after I also bought two Growling Grass Frogs.