which to buy?

[joseph.deluce]

i am looking into buying a snake or lizard, as a pet. i have wanted one for a while now but parents being parents weren't to keen on the idea.
now that im leaving for university i will be moving into halls, then into private accommodation and as a complete newbie, ive been reading all about setups etc, but i have been unable to find any advice on which breed / species of snake / lizard is best for people starting a new.

so any advice on which species would be best for me
thanks

[Boon]

Hi,
For your first time snake I would recommend a corn snake, they are easy to feed, docile, get to a nice size and have a range of pretty colours.
However, IMO i think that something like a kingsnake, royal python or a milksnake would all be good choices because they are something a little bit different from your generic corn.
For lizards i would go for either a leopard gecko, crested gecko or a bearded dragon. They are easy to look after, very friendly and are cool pets. My choice out of the 3 would be crested geckos because the can be kept on a CGD (complete gecko diet) meaning you dont have to feed them livefood.

[srh1972]

I agree a corn snake aswell.I've just brought some today after looking into either a snake or lizards.The snake won hands down for me as i can leave the house days at a time and the snake won't go hungry if you have just fed him.I believe lizards need feeding everyday.
It was a hard chioce once you are in a pet shop and you see Bearded dragons and Leos staring at you for attention.They were cute.
I picked up my snakes today and i made the right chioce.They are simply quality to look at.Go for a hatchling as well and watch it grow.I can't wait untill i feed them but i'm going to leave it 48hrs so they can settle in there new rubs.

[joseph.deluce]

Thanks for the info guys
I was up last night looking at loads of different pictures of corn snakes and I do love bearded dragons and little multicoloured gecko's they are pretty amazing !

im so looking forward to starting my rub / viv.

is it best to make one depending on what species i choose or to just buy one from the rep store ?
i have seen the sticky about setting up your first rub, so that was really helpful
is that suitable for lizards as well as the snakes?
( get me, third post and im down with the forum lingo XD )

[Stephen P]

Do check the rules and regulations regarding pets in University rooms and also private accommodation as you may well find they are not allowed. Also, with the social lives that students appear to have a) will you have time to care for your snake/lizard and b) will you still be interested in reptiles with so much going on around you?

Sorry to be "boring", but just a couple of thoughts.

[joseph.deluce]

yea =[
i looked into it and the university doesn't like pets
it says not even gold fish aha
so i don't think i will be getting one while im in the halls
private accommodation i can look for somewhere that allows me to have an animal.

I am big on the social side of uni, but in Bangor there isn't too much environmental distraction so i can say that im sure i would have plenty of time for a lizard after the initial freshers week

edit.

i mean environmental as in. there aren't many things to do other than mountain walking and cruising the pubs.
and im not a big drinker. :P

[joseph.deluce]

ok, so i have been talking to people who are at the university already and a couple of them have kept T's with no problems.
so i think im going to go for a spider, then when i move into somewhere with a bit more room for me to set up a viv.
i will go onto lizards or maybe even snakes

^^

[Mujician]

At uni, I woudnt keep anything that got too big, corn snakes although usually recommended as a good first time snake may take up too much room in an adequate sized enclosure. Something smaller would be better, there are some small milk and kin snake species. Spotted and childrens pythons are small too. However I think the best choice would be a male sand boa of some kind. These make great first time snakes.

[joseph.deluce]

cheers thanks for the heads up
i will look into it.

aha at the moment i am more excited about getting my first exotic pet than starting university ahah !

[joseph.deluce]

as im looking into buying a spider as an "easy" pet for my first time.
what type of spider would you say is more interesting >?
im thinking about an arboreal species ( climbers / webbers )

but i dont know if there are any species that make webs suitable for begginers.
im not into all the handling. im more into the appreciating the spiders.
contact would be nice, but i wouldnt want to stress it out at all.

burrowing species seem a little off putting to me as i want to watch it grow and i cant do that if its underground aha

any suggestions?