Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i amwriting a report for school on the differences and similarities of reptile keeping from past to present andwas wondering if anyone had any stories i could useto help me with myessay

keeping reptiles has become more main stream. there is good and bad. good: ignorance on reptiles is starting to fade away.
bad: stupid people will go get a reptile wout knowing anything about them.

Well back when I was a kid, I would walk ten miles in the snow uphill both ways to the local pet shop to see if they got in the new shipment of Triceratops to add to my collection. Nowadays, you can't even find a fossil for one of those bloody things!
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Ten million dollars on a losing campaign, Twenty million starving and writhing in pain, Big strong people unwilling to give, strong in vision and perspective, One in five kids below the poverty line, One population running out of time...

1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Rough Green Snake
1.5.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Viper Gecko
1.1.0 Pictus Geckos
0.0.1 Columbian Tegu
1.1.0 Collared Lizards
1.1.0 Blue Tongued Skink
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Red-eyed Tree Frog

Too funny.

I don't know much about how reptile keeping has changed through the years, except that there is more good information available now, I think we understand reptiles better, and it is as commented earlier more mainstream. Of course, people still need to get and read the available information...
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Sarah Stettler aka Starling
Sarah@stargecko.com
StarGecko.Com COMING SOON! Star Quality Leopard Geckos
Specializing in Hypotangerine Tremper Albinos

Ok, going to show my age just a bit here. lol.

I can remember back in the 70's.....of having pet turtles. You went to Woolworths and picked out a baby red-eared slider about the size of a quarter. You brought it home and set it up in the turtle pond they told you to get. The turtle pond consisted of a green lagoon about the size of a dinner plate. It held maybe a half an inch of water. There was a little ramp for the turtle to crawl up and sit under the little plastic palm tree that was sticking out of the center of the landing area. The turtle lived, MAYBE a month or two before it died. (My dad remembers having one for almost a year when he was a kid.)

NOW: For a hatchling turtle, you need a ten gallon tank (minimum) and this won't last long. A submersible filter, a UV light, a basking light, a rock for him to crawl out on, water conditioner, calcium supplements and a wide variety of food for him to eat.

Out of all seriousness, In my personal opinion, I think the rediscovery of the crested gecko has had a large impact in the herp world. Thought to be extinct, these gentle creatures were rediscovered in the mid 90's (1994 I believe) and have been thriving since. To me, having a species believed to be extinct, rediscovered, and brought back in fairly strong numbers in both the wild and captive world is not only important, but impressive. I can't speak back to the 70's, I was born in '81, but I remember that the local pet shops consisted of mainly Iguanas, Anoles, and Box Turtles. Those are just my foggy memories of my first choice of herp when I was a wee tyke. The variety nowadays is more readily available, and more diverse, and people know more now than to keep a turtle in a shoebox and can provide information about more natural, and spacious enclosures. Poison Dart Frogs available for pets still blows my mind. Captive lived reptiles and amphibians not only increases the numbers, it also decreases the rate of species endangerment. The more we learn about breeding, more importantly, captive breeding and more everyday hobbyists becoming involved with breeding, the better chances we have, law prohibiting of course, of keeping these beautiful animals alive and kicking. Nothing crushes me more than to hear about a species being obliterated because their natural habitat is being cut down to build strip malls and gas stations. Not too keen on the song, but I think the lyrics are fitting. "You don't know what you got till it's gone. They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot."
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Ten million dollars on a losing campaign, Twenty million starving and writhing in pain, Big strong people unwilling to give, strong in vision and perspective, One in five kids below the poverty line, One population running out of time...

1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Rough Green Snake
1.5.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
1.0.0 Viper Gecko
1.1.0 Pictus Geckos
0.0.1 Columbian Tegu
1.1.0 Collared Lizards
1.1.0 Blue Tongued Skink
1.0.0 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Red-eyed Tree Frog