wild caught vs. captive bred pet lizard

[unsped]

ive been thinking about getting a gecko or bearded dragon as a pet for awhile, i live up in the hills and there are tons of western fence lizards (blue bellies) i caught one yesterday and gave it a nice home in a 15g terrarium, with a heat, uvb light crickets boulders and sticks very natural environment.

it looks a little sad to me, im thinking if after a week he doesn't seem better i will just release him. my coworker is giving me some crap, and i have to agree to some extent... it seems that a captive bread hobbiest lizard is alot easier to justify than a wild caught specimen even if it will live longer and not be a source of predation.

its not so much an ethical argument over the practices of wild catching, but that the wild animal is used to a free albeit more dangerous life. while a captive bred/raised animal does not.

your thoughts?

 

[Greyd]

make sure you get whole wheat.

 

[1sikbITCH]

I think you already know your answer. You cannot expect that gecko to be happy locked up in a cage coming from the wild. It will likely die soon. Get lizards that were born in cages.

But since you live in an environment where you can just walk outside and see these particular lizards everywhere, why do you feel the need to lock them up? People usually keep pets that they could not enjoy otherwise. For instance, I live in Baltimore City and you don't see any rats in my fishtanks

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: 1sikbITCH
But since you live in an environment where you can just walk outside and see these particular lizards everywhere, why do you feel the need to lock them up?

Yea, if you like the lizards you should grow plants which attract the insects they eat, then there will be heaps of them.

 

[Savarak]

Lizardsaur!!


Gotta catch'em All! Pokemon!

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: unsped
ive been thinking about getting a gecko or bearded dragon as a pet for awhile, i live up in the hills and there are tons of western fence lizards (blue bellies) i caught one yesterday and gave it a nice home in a 15g terrarium, with a heat, uvb light crickets boulders and sticks very natural environment.

it looks a little sad to me, im thinking if after a week he doesn't seem better i will just release him. my coworker is giving me some crap, and i have to agree to some extent... it seems that a captive bread hobbiest lizard is alot easier to justify than a wild caught specimen even if it will live longer and not be a source of predation.

its not so much an ethical argument over the practices of wild catching, but that the wild animal is used to a free albeit more dangerous life. while a captive bred/raised animal does not.

your thoughts?

..I caught a 9" alligator liz.a few years ago and did the same thing. he's in a tank. I feed him live crickets once a week. He gobbles up a few and leaves a few for sporting pleasure. He seems just fine.

 

[Agentbolt]

How does a lizard look sad? Lizards always look bored as far as I can tell.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Savarak
Lizardsaur!!


Gotta catch'em All! Pokemon!

useful post.


I have:
2 leopard geckos
1 bearded dragon

bearded dragons are almost always extremely entertaining and have quite a personality which make them a great pet, however a short lifespan (on average of 5-8 years).
leopard geckos, on the other hand, are almost always a personable reptile, as they are quite friendly, but also not an entirely active pet. But they have quite a personality too, depending on the style. It's entertaining to take a leopard gecko out into the yard and watch it walk through the grass, which seems incredibly tall compared to it. It takes such careful steps, its comical. They also love climbing on your body and will sit on your shoulder and/or climb on top of your head. They have a long lifespan too, average of 18-25 years.
bearded dragons have a different yet great personality. they are quite comical in their body language, and if they generally like you they can too be quite personal. But they are more prone to not like its owner than a leopard gecko, ESPECIALLY if it is not handled, either never at all or handled the wrong way/bad. however, as I said, their body language/antics are comical and really sell the reptile. it'll cock its head, it'll crawl around on you, and I have heard they are really good with another one of similar size in its cage, especially when they are young. they'll run around in the cage and hell, mine drinks water from the spray bottle I use, actually attacks it when I put it in the cage lol (I spray the sides of the aquarium, it drinks the drops of water.. I was advised this was the proper way, instead of letting a bowl of water sit. I have come to think that may not matter anymore, but its a habit now and he tends to crap in the bowl that was designated as a water bowl). he also sleeps standing up and sometimes falls over midsleep. quite funny, not so much of a nice wake up for him however. lol

I personally would go with a bearded dragon, having already had one and having two leopard geckos that I truly don't pay enough attention to since I really like my bearded dragon so much. Poor geckos, but they cute little things. Adorable as youngins, and I'd highly recommend them for the younger people whose parents refuse them a snake. However, if after a snake they may not like them as much.
but an easy to care for, easy to handle lizard.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Agentbolt
How does a lizard look sad? Lizards always look bored as far as I can tell.

certain lizard types you can judge a personality from, and some will look down or depressed, especially if you know there regular habits.
my bearded dragon, if the temperature dips in the house for a few days, will go into a slow moving period, almost actually never moves for those few days and lays in the same spot and sleeps a lot. normally he hangs out on his log or on his little hammock net, or wonders around the cage. There are a few regular spots he visits. Really fun watching him catch his crickets, and for entertainment and as an added treat I'll capture house flies on our porch and feed them to him. He chases them about and jumps to catch them. Real fun for the both of us.

 

[SirStev0]

Originally posted by: 1sikbITCH
I think you already know your answer. You cannot expect that gecko to be happy locked up in a cage coming from the wild. It will likely die soon. Get lizards that were born in cages.

But since you live in an environment where you can just walk outside and see these particular lizards everywhere, why do you feel the need to lock them up? People usually keep pets that they could not enjoy otherwise. For instance, I live in Baltimore City and you don't see any rats in my fishtanks

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Greyd
make sure you get whole wheat.

potatoe > whole wheat

 

[unsped]

got home today, he seems a bit more chipper. hes basking and staring at me

he will not die, hes got a uva/b producing light, will get a spritz of water each day, a nice tank, dusted crickets. he will live longer in the tank than he would outside. thats not the problem i have with it though. seeing as how the bulb and everything other than the tank will transfer over to a bearded dragon ill probably just end up keeping this guy in the tank until i get a dragon, then let this guy go.

part of the reason i caught one from outside is so i could let him go if it didnt work out, i just didnt forsee so much guilt from the wild catch.

 

[rgwalt]

Captive bread is *always* the way to go. Wild caught almost always have disease, gut parasites, and/or mites. Normally this isn't a problem in the wild as there is such a large range for them to roam. As a result, they aren't constantly re-exposed to the same parasites/deseases/mites. In the 15 gallon aquarium, the concentrations of these diseases/parasites/mites just keep growing and growing, which can make the animal very sick.

I would also recommend a leopard gecko as a starter lizard. They can be had for $20 or $30 at a pet store and will live quite happily in that 15 gallon tank. Be sure and clean the terrarium with bleach before putting any pet store lizard in the tank (after you release your wild lizard, of course).

R

 

[unsped]

well he's released, just felt wrong ... took him outside and threw some crickets his way. best of luck bluebelly

ya ill definiatly bleach the terrarium if re-use it. trying to decide between leopard geckos, beardeds or now .... fancy mice. saw some fancy mice the other day and they were really docile, cute and fun.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: unsped
well he's released, just felt wrong ... took him outside and threw some crickets his way. best of luck bluebelly

ya ill definiatly bleach the terrarium if re-use it. trying to decide between leopard geckos, beardeds or now .... fancy mice. saw some fancy mice the other day and they were really docile, cute and fun.

just be careful about your decision with a leopard gecko. Make sure you have a backup for someone to take care of it in case you grow tired of it. It can live 20+ years. I'm going to have that decision down the road, but I'll likely keep it, as I'll probably want to keep bearded dragons and possibly even breed them. I am highly interested in its cousin, the frilled dragon.