OFF-TOPIC THREAD 10

[aggiegirl]

Yeah! Your first cresty baby is just gorgeous! I'm so excited for you! They are so tiny and cute! That one has wonderful colors too! Oh my goodness. Might have to get a few more of those guys!

Steve's loss was huge. I know some people criticise his wife for allowing his daughter to step into the spotlight but she was born into that lifestyle. And, unlike those of us who have a rather limited influence, they have a huge viewing---and the potential to champion conservation that we can only dream of. Besides, she is such a cute kid to boot!

My family is funny about spiders too. We were at a new aquaintance's house last week and my son wouldn't let them kill a spider in their own house. (Wonder if we'll be invited over again?)

SSL--You are so lucky! A reptile zoo. How fun. Most zoos through in the reptile house as though it was a second thought. All the herps at the Houston Zoo, even the Komodo Dragons have little, boring enclosures. Anyone else know of any cool reptile zoos or zoos with neat reptiles?

[SailleSkinklover]

Brad, congrats again of your new addition. Its a beauty! I think you are totally doing the right thing with your Cresties!

I would never critisize Terri Irwin for allowing her daughter to do what she loves to do: The kids a Leo, she belongs in front of an audience! And she does it so well! She's a great ambassador for the animal kingdom! Good 'ol Bindi!
Aggiegirl, hooray for your son. I hope he taught that family to think before they so blindly exterminate what they don't understand. I'd much rather have spiders in the house than mosquitos! Out of the mouths of Babes. . .
Our reptile zoo is fun, but I wouldn't say its got the most interesting enclosures for the critters, however, he is great with Pub ed, and all his animals seem happy and healthy and clean. He has expanded since I first started going, and he's definitly a good cause to support!

[Hijinks]

There is a tiny zoo in West Orange, NJ that I go to pretty frequently, the Turtle Back Zoo. They have a new reptile house and it looks like they put a lot of care into each of the enclosures, however small. But the awesome thing about their reptile house is that an entire wall of the building is devoted to a HUGE enclosure housing to two beautiful monitor lizards, of "unknown" classification!

Its most notable new feature is a $4.6 million reptile house and education center, the zoo's first indoor exhibit, which opened in June, 2006. The center contains a pair of nine-foot-long "black dragons", a species of monitor lizard which was discovered in Malaysia in 2005 and has yet to receive a scientific name. The lizards at Turtle Back are believed to be the only "black dragons" on display in the world.

Admission is only $7, $5 in the off season. I'll get pictures of the black dragons next time I go. They're so cool. I was there the first week after it opened, and they were really active and still exploring. Now they just lounge.
You can see the enclosure here: http://www.turtlebackzoo.com/whatsnew.html
They're also getting red pandas!

[Fatal_S]

In Brandon, Manitoba, Canada we have the Westman Reptile Gardens. http://www.reptilegardens.ca/

This place has a retic that is the largest snake in Canada, an albino king cobra that is to die for, nile crocodiles, goliath birdeaters, and much more. I haven't actually been to the Gardens, but I've seen some of the animals when they bring them in for the Winnipeg Reptile Expo. I'm planning to rent a plane in the next little while and fly to Brandon to have a look. If I go I promise to take many, many pictures.

[LittleFoot]

There is a tiny zoo in West Orange, NJ that I go to pretty frequently, the Turtle Back Zoo. They have a new reptile house and it looks like they put a lot of care into each of the enclosures, however small. But the awesome thing about their reptile house is that an entire wall of the building is devoted to a HUGE enclosure housing to two beautiful monitor lizards, of "unknown" classification!

Its most notable new feature is a $4.6 million reptile house and education center, the zoo's first indoor exhibit, which opened in June, 2006. The center contains a pair of nine-foot-long "black dragons", a species of monitor lizard which was discovered in Malaysia in 2005 and has yet to receive a scientific name. The lizards at Turtle Back are believed to be the only "black dragons" on display in the world.

Admission is only $7, $5 in the off season. I'll get pictures of the black dragons next time I go. They're so cool. I was there the first week after it opened, and they were really active and still exploring. Now they just lounge.
You can see the enclosure here: http://www.turtlebackzoo.com/whatsnew.html
They're also getting red pandas!

I used to love going to Turtle Back, we used to take the riding camps there for field trips every summer. It's such a cute little zoo.

[SailleSkinklover]

OK, I did it! Got a little Crestie tonight, and named him(or her) Nib!
I need to take some pics when s/he settles in. Totally ridiculously CUUUUUUUTE!!!

[Bird_Brain]

OK, I did it! Got a little Crestie tonight, and named him(or her) Nib!
I need to take some pics when s/he settles in. Totally ridiculously CUUUUUUUTE!!!

Congrats! I am in love with Cresties. I think they have made it to the top of my list of favorite reptiles (even more so than blueys, please dont ban me lol). I am sure you will love your new little guy. And I love the name Nib. I have several that still need names, including the other egg that just hatched tonight!

Here are some pictures of him/her. Started hatching around 6pm tonight, as I was heading to work. So I couldnt stay and watch the whole hatching process.





And the two clutchmates together!

[SailleSkinklover]

Awww, Brad, they're beautiful! I love them! I gotta take some pics of Nib, he/she's a really pretty peach colour. How do you deal with the jumping factor? They're so fast, and I am so scared that I'll drop her, or lose her somehow, even on the bed! Sooooo teeny tiny! But I really want to play with and handle every day so I can have a playmate while Chuff's sleeping for the night.
Hey, what kind of pen do you mark the eggs with? I assume its a special one that won't leech and bad stuff in through the shell?

[Bird_Brain]

I usually handle them over my bed or my lap. I have a couple that will just crawl around, while the others are jumpy. You will start to notice them getting into a certain position and be able to stop or place your hand in front of them before they jump.

Although I am sure them falling to the floor from my hands is not good for them, I think all of mine have done it (even a gravid female) and they are all ok. I just try to minimize it by holding them close to a flat surface.

I just use a regular Shapie marker. nothing special. Didnt have a problem with it on the first two.

I can not wait to see pictures of Nip! Where did you end up getting him/her from?

[SailleSkinklover]

Horribly, I got Nib from PetCo of all places! (Please don't kill me, anybody!! ) The vertical cage was on sale, and I was going to pick one up anyway, and I stupidly asked to see their Cresties, and Nib was so cute, and just hopped onto my hand, and well, darn it all!
Frustrating because I really would rather buy from a breeder, (nobody says I can't do so in the future!) but they were either too expensive or not ready to go yet, and I didn't really trust dealing with Shipping until I'm more settled, (we're kinda rural now) and I gave in to my impulse. I've been wanting a Crestie for some time now, and when one hops onto your hand and looks at you with those big eyes, and they're soooo teeny, and well, you know how it is.
I love the difference in how Cresties feel compared to Blueys! I love how Blueys are soooo shiney and hard and strong, and Cresties feel like shammie cloth or really fine suede.
On the Sharpie marker thing, are they the non-toxic water based ones?
How many eggs are usually layed in a clutch?
How big are the eggs?

[Bird_Brain]

Petco usually has very nice crested geckos. My younger brother picked up a very nice dark harly from them and it is doing very well. I have heard that all of the cresties come from repashy stock (anyone have proof?). I am sure if there was a Petco closer to me, I would be so much more in debt (gotta love college lol) due to buying all the cresties!

Not sure about the sharpie. It is just a regular fine tipped sharpie. I have been told that they are safe to use. I sure to hope so.

Cresties usually lay 2 eggs per clutch. Here is a picture of the eggs next to a quarter.

[SailleSkinklover]

Those are some BIG eggs for such a small animal to lay! So do the gravid females get chunka?

[Funda]

Do you have pictures when the female was gravid?

Thanks for sharing the egg pics, there awesome

f.C

[Bird_Brain]

Well, my only female that has been laying is already a chunky girl lol. But here are pictures of her. Not too sure if she was gravid in the pics or not, but she does look "larger" than usual. You can kinda see a buldge right before her back leg.
I assume that this is the mother of the two that hatched. She is the only one giving me eggs once I seperated the females into their own cage, but then again, I do not know 100%

[Funda]

She does look large
Like her colours though, a lemony colour
Should of called her Sunshine

Thanks for sharing mate, appreciate it


f.C

[LittleFoot]

Awwwww they are cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.

[aggiegirl]

They do feel like suede! They feel so fragile and soft compared to blueys. I don't let my kids handle mine too much because of the jumping and delicate frame. After awhile, you will recognize the pre-launch crouch and will know to anticipate a leap!
Brad, that baby hatching is one of the cutest things I think I've ever seen! I love the markings on both of those guys. Was the dad a harlequin?
I'm going to have to map out some reptile zoos for our next vacation. You would think down in the Southern US that we'd have more reptile zoos, etc. It is sad when the local exotic pet store has more variety than the local zoo!

[Bird_Brain]

Brad, that baby hatching is one of the cutest things I think I've ever seen! I love the markings on both of those guys. Was the dad a harlequin?

Yea he is. Here is a picture of the dad.

he isnt that impressive in color. I hope to soon have some males (out of the 4 babies) as I only have the one. One of the hatchlings I purchased about a month ago was fired up this morning so I got some pictures of him/her.




That one should be very nice looking, possibly a red harly, when it gets older.

[SailleSkinklover]

GAAAAHHHH! So CUTE! I love these guys! They're so horribly-adorable in a totally different way form the Blueys! (I am in love with Stumpie-poos too! )
I think the dad is adorable, I love his face! I love the chunka- momma as well!
My camera batteries ran out last night, (Arrrgh!) so I have to charge 'em up then I'll take pics of Nib tonight or tomorrow!
And just to be on topic for a sec, more Chuffie Pics. He's cracking me up lately! He loves wandering the house!
I love Blueys for really different reasons than I love geckos, I can play with Chuff in a totally different way because he's so sturdy and strong, and so stable.
Keep those gecko and Stumpie pics coming!

[Nia]

OK, so I gotta join in on the baby fun! I just had my fist clutch of milksnakes hatch! I've never bred before, it was a total accident, but I got some beautiful babies! There were 7 eggs. 5 hatched perfectly on their own. The last 2, I ended up slitting the eggs. 1 was so deformed, he didn't make it, the other came out and is doing fine, thought he has a stump for a tail and a flat head.