Hi, I was wondering what do you think is eaiser to care for, a reptile or a fish? I was thinking of getting a second pet, and that would be a reptile or amphibean, Also, since i;ve been taking care or fish quite some time and I can handle the maintence of fish what type of reptile you would reccomend that has it's care ability not to far from a fishes care ability for me? Something small, inexpensive, and easy to care for.
What's Eaiser To Care For: Reptiles Or Fish
- Thread starter Fishhub
- Start date
tortoises are relatively easy to care for however quite expensive to initially buy. They are inexpensive to keep though as they can eat mainly cabbage, dandelion leaves and and other greens while only been fed specific tortoise food every 3-4 days to keep them healthy
im no expert on them but they are abit more difficult when it comes to hibernation, i think you should start when they are around 3 years old or later, 3 months hibernation at 3 years old, 4 months and 4 years old etc etc...
im no expert on them but they are abit more difficult when it comes to hibernation, i think you should start when they are around 3 years old or later, 3 months hibernation at 3 years old, 4 months and 4 years old etc etc...
tahneen
Fish Crazy
I don't want to offend you but keeping tortoises is not very easy to care for if you are doing it right
you almost always have to build a custom enclosure as they can not live in fish tanks
they require a pen sort of thing called a tortoise table, they need a special type of uv light or else their shells get deformed, you can't use those tube uv lights you need a good MVB for them and cabbage is bad for them they need fresh greens and sometimes fruit along with added calcium and vitamins. Some common torts like sulcatas gfet to be 150lbs!!! and will need an indoor enclosure as big as a room not to mention they NEED an outside enclosure that they can graze and get proper lighting all torts need this and it is recommended for turtles too
sorry for the rant but no turtle or tortoise is " low care"
but to me fish are easier, reptiles can be close though
leopard geckos and crested geckos make great easy to care for pets so do snakes
in fact I think snakes are the IDEAL pet for kids
Ill give some reasons
- only need to be fed once a week
- only poop once a week
- don't need much space
- no walks
- they won't miss you when your gone
- easy care
- most come in a HUGE range of colors
- most are a reasonable size
- most are very relaxed and well mannered
- a bite from them is usually no big deal compared to a dog
- and you can't be allergic to them!
all it takes is a little research and a snake can fit your life style in almost any way!
I keep fish fresh and marine and a lizard and snake and I;d say the reptiles are far eaeier to keep
Like fish you need suitable quarters (viv) and decoration for the reptile then like fish the necessary equipment to heat and light (uv etc)
Once set up with suitable temps and humidity the actual keeping of the reptile is easy. My equipment runs at set temperatures etc and I just have to check them and I unplug the heater and swithch uv light off for the lizard at night.
feeding for lizard and snake is easy and less often than the fish
The maintenance is far easier also as I spot clean the vivs when necesary with a all out clean once every monthish
Obviously they need water refilling daily but all in all I find them far easier than the maintenance on my tanks
Like fish you need suitable quarters (viv) and decoration for the reptile then like fish the necessary equipment to heat and light (uv etc)
Once set up with suitable temps and humidity the actual keeping of the reptile is easy. My equipment runs at set temperatures etc and I just have to check them and I unplug the heater and swithch uv light off for the lizard at night.
feeding for lizard and snake is easy and less often than the fish
The maintenance is far easier also as I spot clean the vivs when necesary with a all out clean once every monthish
Obviously they need water refilling daily but all in all I find them far easier than the maintenance on my tanks
The thing with all pets of this nature is that it is critical that you get the setup right. This is the trickiest part of the process.
Tortoises are relatively easy to look after (providing you get the right species), as long as you have set up a good enclosure for them (see members post above), and know about the correct foods to give them.
However, with an inadequate set up and poor diet they will never thrive. The same can be said for any reptile, amphibian and indeed fish.
Personally, the need for live foods makes most species of lizard a bit more problematic, and similarly snakes are a no-go unless you have the freezer space for dead mice, but other than this they make good pets as long as you have a good house for them.
In terms of something relatively easy to care for, some of the 100% aquatic newts are very similar to fish in terms of care needs. Fire bellied toads (Bombina) are relatively small and good fun (though, again, setting up a proper house for them is critical).
Have you considered invertibrates? I kept a rhino beetle for ages - great fun and probably the easiest pet I've ever had! nice soil substrate, a few leaves and bits of wood to climb on and all the vegetable peelings he could eat and he was a very contented beetle!
Tortoises are relatively easy to look after (providing you get the right species), as long as you have set up a good enclosure for them (see members post above), and know about the correct foods to give them.
However, with an inadequate set up and poor diet they will never thrive. The same can be said for any reptile, amphibian and indeed fish.
Personally, the need for live foods makes most species of lizard a bit more problematic, and similarly snakes are a no-go unless you have the freezer space for dead mice, but other than this they make good pets as long as you have a good house for them.
In terms of something relatively easy to care for, some of the 100% aquatic newts are very similar to fish in terms of care needs. Fire bellied toads (Bombina) are relatively small and good fun (though, again, setting up a proper house for them is critical).
Have you considered invertibrates? I kept a rhino beetle for ages - great fun and probably the easiest pet I've ever had! nice soil substrate, a few leaves and bits of wood to climb on and all the vegetable peelings he could eat and he was a very contented beetle!
My mrs won't have rats in the freezer so I just buy them once a week. They;re easily availble by me
Good advice by Asp its how I said to my mate you can spend a week making sure set up with temps etc is right and once set your good to go,, its rare temps and humidity fluctuate but you just need to check
Good advice by Asp its how I said to my mate you can spend a week making sure set up with temps etc is right and once set your good to go,, its rare temps and humidity fluctuate but you just need to check
Yeah I was thinking of either geckos, fire belly toads, and snakes. My only concern is crickets. I have no probelems feeding them and all. The only concern is how expensive cricket costs can be when you run out, and how often you have to run and get them? My plan was get the cricket keeper, the one with the tubes. And give them cricket food and water gels. How long do crickets usully last on those foods.
tahneen
Fish Crazy
you dont need to use crickets you can use, meal worms, super worms, feeder roaches, crickets
with one or two geckos it wont be very pricey
with only about 10 crix a day each give or take or 2-4 supers a day
but if you get a bearded dragon they can go through hundreds a week especially babies
if you getting a gecko I would suggest african fat tailed geckos, crested geckos or gargoyle geckos
cresties and gargs do not need crickets as you can get a thing called crested gecko diet made by raphsy (sp)which gives them a complete diet that most love and it comes in different flavors!
for snakes i would recommend ball pythons
and for the FBT they can't be held so that may be a downer on that
with one or two geckos it wont be very pricey
with only about 10 crix a day each give or take or 2-4 supers a day
but if you get a bearded dragon they can go through hundreds a week especially babies
if you getting a gecko I would suggest african fat tailed geckos, crested geckos or gargoyle geckos
cresties and gargs do not need crickets as you can get a thing called crested gecko diet made by raphsy (sp)which gives them a complete diet that most love and it comes in different flavors!
for snakes i would recommend ball pythons
and for the FBT they can't be held so that may be a downer on that
tahneen
Fish Crazy
I breed leopards and I love em,just do your research and you will be fine, I do find that males make better pets but you can't house more than one male per tank
have you looked at african fat tails? they have the same care as leos just make sure they have a humid hide and some won't eat crix
africans are a lot more calm in my experience and have equal personalities
have you looked at african fat tails? they have the same care as leos just make sure they have a humid hide and some won't eat crix
africans are a lot more calm in my experience and have equal personalities
tahneen
Fish Crazy
put em in your fridge
I personally like supers more as they do not need to be in the fridge like mealworms which will pupate when kept out
and supers can be gutloaded which is more important not to mention the meat to shell ratio which is what you really want to make a gecko happy
I personally like supers more as they do not need to be in the fridge like mealworms which will pupate when kept out
and supers can be gutloaded which is more important not to mention the meat to shell ratio which is what you really want to make a gecko happy
Thanks for expanding my comment however i disagree that tortoises are harder to keep than fish, where i work we sell both tropical fish, coldwater and pond fish and tortoises and i am the one who is given the job of looking after them all which i have done for a fair while and i love doing. The tortoises take up far less of my time than the fish mainly because tortoises are fairly clean and require minimal cleaning in comparison to fish (certainly in our shop anyway because im always being pressured to keep the fish stocks to the max meaning much more cleaning is required). Ive not had any experience with any tortoises of an older age to be honest however i cant see how things would be much different.
We keep our tortoises mainly in a vivarium with reptile heat lamps and daytime lamps on thermostats (they need a basking area of close to 40 Celsius and a cooler area of around 20 Celsius to allow them to regulate their body heat properly. We keep ours in a rabbit pen outside on warm days with log tunnels and shaded areas for them to get out of the sun if needs be. They want to be outside on hot days but be careful they don't escape as they can burrow into the grass and you'll never see them again! their diet is important as well with special tortoise foods available which can be fed to supplement a diet of greens such as cabbage, dandelions and lettuce (not iceberg). The only advice i would give if anyone was thinking of buying a tortoise is dont just decide to go and buy one, take a look around various places and choose one that is active and looks visibly healthy. We sell quite a few and as different batches come its easy to spot that all some do is sleep all day whereas the next batch are very active and spend all the time wandering about and eating
i'd love a tortoise but the commitment of having one which would likely see me out is quite a big one to take on, they say that if they dont reach 60 theyve died at a young age! they usually mature at about 8 years old and reach 12 or so however ive yet to see a fully grown one as my experience is with young ones!
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