Questions on critters for elapid

[Tarzan]

G'day mate read your post on your trip, and thought to myself heres the man to talk to so rather than pm you I thought others might want to get in on the act. My dilema is that I've just been given a large reptile enclosure and am wondering what to get. Do I go with frogs or a snake or a coupla lizards or what? What are the easiest to look after and what is most friendly for a family with three kids under 5? Cheers

[Elapid]

G'day Tarzan, If you want a great display animal that is pretty active and has plenty of personality go for Inland Beardies. They are pretty cheap(from $20) and come in a few colours- bright yellow, reds, orange and grey. They are vey easy to maintain and if you just want them for pets 2 females can be housed together with no problems, providing the enclosure is big enough. They are pretty easy to handle and get use to human interaction. I have mates that have theirs on their sholders for hours while they do stuff around the house and while they watch tv.

The Carpet family has a few members- Inlands(Murray Darlings), Centralians(bredli), Jungles, Coastals South Westerns and Diamonds.
If you want a display snake that climbs that isn't to be handled, A Jungle Carpet Python is great. They can be bright yellow and jet black, light yellow with bugger all black and just recently quality Black and White Jungles have hit the market. They have one bad point though, the prettier the jungle, the snappier they are. Definately not kid friendly. Jugles are a smaller python too. Most top out at about 6 foot for the blck and yellows, the lighter "atherton" type grow up to 8 odd foot long.
Coastal Carpets are usually pretty placid and come in a few different colours and patterns- striped, banded, mottled, speckled and come in olive greens, yellows, browns, black etc etc. They can grow to over 12 foot, so I wouldn't let a young kid play with them. Coastals are cheap too. They usually start at $150-00 and upwards.

Diamonds are pretty, mainly black with yellow or white specks and rosettes. They can grow pretty big 8 foot plus. Lucas has a nice pair fopr sale that are adults atm. I've never kept Diamonds, Lucas is your man when dealing with them.

Inlands are grey and black. They grow to about 6 or 7 foot and are very placid in most cases. Like Coastals they are very easy to maintain.

South Westerns are over priced carpets that are from around perth and look nearly identical to Coastals.

Centralians/Bredli are usually brick red in colour and grow to about 7 foot. Again, usually placid.

All members of the carpet family require a warm basking spot of about 31 degrees and a cool end a few degrees less. They need branches to climb, a hide box to go to feel safe and secure in and a water dish large enough to get their whole body in.

Childrens/spotted and stimsons pythons all grow to about a metre. As youngsters they are a bit bity, but nearly all grow out of that pretty quickly. They don't really ned branches, but if provided they use them somethimes, though not like the carpet members. Heating/water and hides are the same as carpets.

Water Pythons are arseholes.

Olives are the gentle giants, they can get over 12 foot though, so large enclosures are a must. They climb and require the same water/heating and hides as Carpets.

Black headeds are pretty looking, pretty secretive and reasonable placid. They don't really need branches to climb, but will climb every now and then. They can get over 8 foot, so the should be housed in a large enclosure once they start getting a bit of size on them.

I breed Jungles, Coastals, Brown Tree Snakes (mildly venomous- not recommended as a first snake or a kiddies snake for obvious reasons.) Black Headeds and maybe water pythons(why I don't know because they are total cunts of things....but pretty.)

Hope this helps. If you want to get the kids interested and have somthing fun to watch, I'd go the Inland Beardies Tarzan.

Kris.

[Tarzan]

cheers mate absolutely brilliant info

[Razorback]

My friend in Mildura breeds beardies, they are very cool little lizards :)

[Elapid]

No worries Tarzan.
Yeah, I don't keep any but the missus wants some one day. I have a mate in Brisbane that breeds the most insane looking bright red Beardys.
I don't recommend Bluetongues or Shingle Backs because they look like turds with legs that do fuck all. And them dopey old Bluetongues bite....Hard. They are just shit machines.

[scotty mac]

i got a few coastals from 3-9ft. all different temperments and peronalitys but mostly good. my 9ft is great with kids but the 3ft is still a bit snappy. the only advise i can offer is if you go the python option the more regular you handle them the more use to people they get.