Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These guys are definately ready. The female is in blue here, so she certainly isn't looking her best.

Hey Lee can't wait to hangout in Daytona again ... right on. Awesome animals you have in your collection. What about sending me a Gila for Christmas.

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But if I can get her to produce we may have to do a bit of trading. You've been producing some pretty nice ones.

I'm sure I'll be in Daytona in some capacity this year. I may have to go a bit easier on the playing this year but probably not.

Here's a pic I just took for you. You do need some of these guys.

What about getting a beaded lizard?

Breeding them & then hatching the eggs is a bit tougher but there are several people out there with pretty consistant results. They eat mice & rats & will live well in most any condition you could ever put them in. The only thing you really have to watch is overfeeding - they will get fat. I don't think anyone really knows how long they live but it is pretty darn long especially in the wild (my opinion) well over 25 years. They have a bit of an attitude but it's very understandable - they are the kings of their domain & have the venom to back that up. There are no accurate records of anyone dieing specifically from a Gila but my understanding (havn't been biten yet) is it's the most painful thing you could ever imagine.

As far as the Beadeds go, I've got a couple. They are much larger. My male is over 3' now. Very powerful a bit more of an attitude. Death could be a possibility from one of these guys, though once again - no records of death from a beaded bite. Check out Bob Applegates site for an envenomation account. It sounds nasty. Dinosaurs man. True dinosaurs.

I think the Gilas are by far the coolest herp out there & I have kept a lot of different species over the years. Hopfully the regs won't close us down, but it's happening all over the country as we speak. Fortunately, in Colorado they are listed specifically as not needing a venomous permit statewide though a few communities (Denver & Colorado Springs for instance) say no.