Almost complete!

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hi there everybody! With the exception of another chameleon since mine passed away in 2015, and 2 more dart frogs and a small possibility of an Ackie monitor (I'll probably wait until my bearded dragon passes away though for that one) And some occasional small things like mantises and other insects, my terrarium collection is almost done! This is really exciting! It's been over 4 years in the making! In the meantime I would like you all to meet three new additions! One of which I've had for a while and didn't get around to posting about.

First off back in November my almost 4 year search for what in my opinion is the second most beautiful lizard on Earth ended when I finally found my jeweled lacerta/ocellated lizard! Gosh are they hard to find! Even captive bred the supply is low and they are often out of stock on most websites that sell them and even when they are in stock it's mostly hatchlings. Adults are expensive and a lucky find. A few times when adults were available I either didn't have the money right then or didn't have a set up for one and then low and behold a juvenile pops up at my local Petco and I nabbed him quickly! I swear I was about to post an ad looking for one on one of those reptile classified sites. In these two pictures he's still brown but he's since turned green like he's supposed to and his blue spots are much brighter! He's also a good 60% larger! Since they live in the Mediterranean area of Europe including part of Italy I named him Constantine but if he turns out to be a female I might rename him Minervina after the wife of Constantine. I'll get some up do date pictures soon!

Secondly are two animals I got less than three weeks ago when I went to Nashville with my cousin and aunt for the Repticon expo being held there on May 19th and 20th. My cousin got two gorgeous tarantula slings and I came home with these guys who both were absolute troopers on the 500+ mile drive back home. First there is my 2nd favorite frog species and in my opinion second most beautiful after the blue poison dart frog, a black and yellow/bumblebee poison dart frog who I named Yellowjacket! I have a couple pictures of him alone plus two beside his older brother neptune, my blue poison dart frog who I hope he eventually grows the same size as! Finally there's an animal I've been considering getting for a few years and have really wanted a lot. This is Cinder, a 3 year old female gray banded kingsnake! Really touching actually is that parting with her was a little emotional for the guy I got her from. This snake was very special to him and was like his child but he wanted to retire and travel with his wife and he didn't know how easily he could do that while caring for all of his snakes. I have an extra strong obligation now to give her an excellent life and I will send him pictures as soon as I can!

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Two updates guys! First of all, very unfortunately, Yuma, my common collared lizard, passed away on the 7th after an unexpected and sudden accident in his tank. For some reason I don't quite understand and had never been a problem before, he out of the blue tried to eat a big clump of substrate and I guess it just got stuck halfway down. I'm positive it was quick at the very least though. Two days from now on the 15th would have been the one year anniversary of getting him. R.I.P: Yuma. Here's a nice and healthy picture of him I got on the 5th two days before he left us.

Secondly here's a new picture of Constantine the jeweled lacerta like I promised! Now bigger, brighter and greener!

 

[Yvonne G]

You have a beautiful collection. Now all that's left to make it complete is to add a tortoise!!

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

You have a beautiful collection. Now all that's left to make it complete is to add a tortoise!!

Thanks Yvonne G! I certainly have considered an African pancake tortoise. I like them a lot and I've even heard they have a much more manageable lifespan than other tortoises that live into their 80s or more.

 

[Nero]

Ooh, I wish I could start a collection, I have to wait until I move out (A few more years). So my beardie was my parents only exception. Currently I want to find a hissing cockroach or a leech. My main goal is to home a leopard gecko, my grandfather's friend's son wants to find a home for his gecko. Snakes are out of the question, my mother is not a fan of them.

 

[Nero]

Also I have never seen a Petco that sold a jeweled lacerta.

 

[Crabs Mcjones]

Whats the care like for the dart frogs? Buddy of mine really wants to get them but is worried that maintenance and care is too much.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Also I have never seen a Petco that sold a jeweled lacerta.

Thanks Nero! It was certainly a lucky break to find one there. It can be hard to find them in stock online and it took me a while to choose the right setup for one. I definitely wish you great luck in building your own terrarium collection. There is so much variety to choose from and it's always awesome when new species become available in the hobby. I haven't had a leopard gecko in many years but they are an excellent species! Just watch their toes, sometimes they can lose them if shed skin gets stuck on them and it can be hard to get it off if it does. It's too bad your Mom doesn't like snakes. A garter snake might be a good suggestion for her since they stay relatively small and eat mostly nightcrawlers.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Whats the care like for the dart frogs? Buddy of mine really wants to get them but is worried that maintenance and care is too much.

Dart frogs are a lot of fun actually! They don't grow large and in captivity they aren't toxic at all since they don't have access to the insects they would eat in the wild that make them so. They like tiny food and fruit flies are a great staple as are pinhead crickets if available. You just want to dust them more lightly with calcium than most feeder insects since you don't want to smother them. In my experience dart frogs are willing eaters and water is a piece of cake since they like close to 100% humidity and are very forgiving of just plain saturating the tank. I put a light layer of plastic wrap over the screen lid to hold the moisture in. What's also nice about them is not only do they not need any special lighting (though they look amazing under it) and they actually like slightly cooler temperatures than a lot of other tropical frogs. Keep in mind though that they are extremely fragile and some would consider them a more advanced species. They can sometimes die for unclear reasons so its' definitely worth reading up on them all you can.