Have any of you guys ever met/kept one of these things? I have decided I should probably get a pet, and they sound like a reasonably conservative first pet for someone who's never raised any land animals before.
Cute! Just make sure to resist the temptation to get a kroxigor to go with him. Those are require a LOT more upkeep.
Honestly I have no experience with lizards but I've heard it's not bad -- just be sure you know how big it'll get and what kind of diet it will need. I know feeding some reptiles can be unpleasant, involving live/dead crickets, mice, etc.
Be sure to find a veterinarian who knows about skinks! I am sure you can. Most vets really only know about cats and dogs and may lie to you regarding their knowledge of other animals. I know this is a problem for keepers of rabbits.
Good point. Given that you live in a major metropolitan area there are probably some good vet schools aroud, and where there are vet schools there are exotics specialists.
My knowledge of skinks: They are very hard to catch and feel cool and smooth and muscular when you pick them up, like a snake. They are often really brightly colored and pretty. They aren't very good at climbing trees.
My knowledge of other kinds of lizards is much better... the nice ordinary iguana-type lizards, for example. They are much easier to catch and feel rough and grippy in your hands (and they do climb trees). They also seem to have a lot of attitude and will bite a lot until they realize you don't care (cuz most of the time, you don't) and then they stop and chill out. The kinds that lose their tails when you catch them, though, are really depressing because you always feel bad that they lost such a glorious part of their body and now have to put all this effort into growing a new one.
I almost got a blue-tongued skink, before opting for a bearded dragon instead - the skinks make pretty good pets, as far as lizards go (not too large (2 feet, maximum, I believe?), not aggressive, don't require particularly complex vegetarian diets (mostly crickets, potentially superworms - I once read they like canned oysters. Take that as you will.). Like a more humid tank with something that approximates forest floor/leaf litter material. Not sure on what sort of basking conditions they like.
(I used to make a point out of knowing an awful lot about reptile care. The following website kept me entertained for days (and is a reliable source on the subject) : http://www.anapsid.org/mainlizards.html
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Honestly I have no experience with lizards but I've heard it's not bad -- just be sure you know how big it'll get and what kind of diet it will need. I know feeding some reptiles can be unpleasant, involving live/dead crickets, mice, etc.
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My knowledge of other kinds of lizards is much better... the nice ordinary iguana-type lizards, for example. They are much easier to catch and feel rough and grippy in your hands (and they do climb trees). They also seem to have a lot of attitude and will bite a lot until they realize you don't care (cuz most of the time, you don't) and then they stop and chill out. The kinds that lose their tails when you catch them, though, are really depressing because you always feel bad that they lost such a glorious part of their body and now have to put all this effort into growing a new one.
I like lizards.
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(I used to make a point out of knowing an awful lot about reptile care. The following website kept me entertained for days (and is a reliable source on the subject) :
http://www.anapsid.org/mainlizards.html
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