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RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Moreliamaniac — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:06:01 GMT

Unofficially, a northern copperhead. Had it for 3 months before my mom made me release it ( i was a local capture). I was 7. Bought my first herp at 9, a green anole, followed by a northern leopard frog, then an iguana, some fat tailed geckos, some day geckos, a blue tongued skink, some ceaclians, dart frogs, red eyes, etc. etc. etc. list goes on and on. Led me to my career--I am a zookeeper (mostly herptiles) and part-time volunteer researcher (mostly amphibian stuff, namely hellbenders). Herps, they are like drugs without all the nasty side affects

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

skyemac13 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:37:27 GMT

I first got into reptiles when I was about 4 and had watched The Land Before Time for the first time. Growing up my dad always had some sort of reptile in the house, and since they were usually older pets that people didn't want anymore they usually died after a few years. But my first personal reptile was a 3 Toed Box Turtle named Jacob that I had since I was about 7 (I'm 15),and I still have him to this day, and I always wanted a Red Foot Tortoise, so after about of year of looking for a breeder I finally adopted a 17 month old, and I named her Cara. And when I get older I'd love to get a green igauna and some fire bellied toads.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

BillApocGreen — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:51:26 GMT

my first purchased pet was a ball python. Rio.

i want every possible cornsnake morph!

i got into reptiles by catching snakes when i was a kid.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Debs — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:07:02 GMT

Hey Jazzy
You sure do have a lot of pets!
I stay in a townhouse so am not actually allowed pets, but what people don't know won't hurt them...
I'm actually a big fan of dogs but can't have one since I stay on the second floor. I often browse pet shops to check out the animals and started being interested in the beardies. They are just too adorable when they are babies!
So I have 2 beardies now - One male, one female. They are such a treat! We feed them roaches. They just love to eat... I would like to breed them - it will be a wonderful experience!

Debs

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

dansexotics — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:52:57 GMT

my first pet was a savannah monitor that bit me!!! lol. then i got into snakes which my first was a 4 foot african rock python!! and now im into breeding pythons and boas id have to say the snake i want is to create a super moonglow they are so beautiful!!!!! i got back into reptiles after i bought my first nile monitor. from there on ive had many different species at one time and been going strong from there on its my passion and life i love these guys. u dont get to hear some one say they bought a 6 foot african rock python that though he was king at first and then tame him down to become a big and beautiful baby! i did and now hes almost 8 foot and still a big and beautiful baby. rocky is his name!!! hence the name note the movie lol

"united we stand united we fight"

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Holly12 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:29:11 GMT

Well what I want is a crested gecko a male or some tree frogs anything that is nocturnal all cuz they are easy to have no special UVB is needed and they have easy setups as far as houseing them.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

GeckoNewt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:09:53 GMT

My first reptile was a turtle named Scooter. I didn't really know how to care for him, but thankfully the poor little guy made it until he was released (he is a native wild-caught species- I wouldn't release an exotic). I've had numerous amphibians. Now I have 3 well- pampered leos and a pair of paddle-tailed newts.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Mummenstein — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:42:48 GMT

My first reptile I think was a green anole from school in 4th or 5th grade. His name was speedy. he had a really simple enclosure without much of what he should of had. but he survived for a few months. But one day i decided to take him out and let him climb on a fake tree and got distracted by a movie. Never saw him again. I would always catch froms and toads and salamanders around my house. I never really see too many snakes up in Minnesota but i did catch a turtle once and kept him for a week until I let him go in a pond.
As for what i want now, I would really like a ball python (which my mom is terrified of), a chinese water dragon or any water dragon for that matter, and another crested gecko once i get my little izzy a bigger terrarium.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Cflaguy — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:36:38 GMT

I can't remember which came first actually, a small corn snake or the Black Racer.

What do I want? A Mosaic King, a White Oaks Gray Rat..... man, sky is the limit I guess.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Holly12 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:34:49 GMT

Hello thire my very frist herp was a beared dragon name simon he was my baby and after I got him from a reptile show now how I frist got into reptiles was oneday me and this girl I use to know whent to the collumbus ohio reptile show when I frist got in thire I saw all of the reptiles I will admit It was scary for me cuz i have never been around reptiles befor and never helld them it would gross me out lol well the girl i was with thire held a snake and a lizzard she ask me do you want to hold the snake? I was like noway and she said it is now or never lol okay I was not a sissy girl so I held it and that is when I became a reptile lover.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

The Bishop Teyverus — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:31:15 GMT

To be honest, I've had a big interest in animals since I was a child. I kept a wild-caught south Texan tarantula named "Hairy"; I would go outside and catch wild Anoles, aggravate them to open their mouths and wear them as earrings; play with tiny snakes we called 'carpet snakes' (during the summer, they come inside and live in the carpet. They looked like little worms, but upon closer inspection, they are reptilian.); and by night, I'd grab a big mop bucket and go toad hunting.

Despite all my interest in animals, my mother wouldn't let me have anything unless I bought it myself. So one day, I go to school after getting my first paycheck of my first real job, and my science teacher is selling baby kingsnakes for $10 a pop. I didn't know then about not buying things as an impulse, but I made sure to know everything I needed before leaving school that day. His name was TV's Superstar Adam West (yeah, I'm a dork), and he was a big sweety. I loved keeping him, but one day whilst on vacation, my sister did not secure his lid correctly, and he ran away.

Nowadays, I've branched out into different husbandry, so my dream reptile is actually multiple reptiles. For beauty, I would go for the rainbow boa; for oddity, I'd go with a uromastix and I'd call it Homestar (they kinda look like him); and for sheer awesomeness, I would love a burmese or a retic.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

King-Godzilla — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:36:58 GMT

I was 12 when I got my first reptile: a green iguana named "Godzilla." She was 2 1/2 years old when I got her from a guy who severely neglected her. When I first saw Godzilla, she was in terrible shape. Her cage had about an inch thick layer of her own crap all over the floor and up the walls, she was given only iceberg lettuce as food, a fish aquarium florescent tube was her only light, she was clinging to a malfunctioning hot rock that didn't always work, and pizza boxes with moldy cheese on the inside was lining the cage top. I'm surprised she lived for that long, and she probably wouldn't have lived another month if the "owner" didn't let me take her. She had a sever case of MBD, and permanently had a hunched back. Her growth also stunted, stopping at 3 1/2 ft long (including tail).

I gave her the right everything and she lived a happy 8 years before she died from egg binding (I wasn't trying to breed her, she was just laying infertile eggs; the first time she did it, it nearly killed her but the second time did ).

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Forever Hardcore — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:32:59 GMT

My first reptiles are the crested gecko's that I have Athena and Makeda. I have had them both for about a year. I also now have 4 dwarf african frogs in my aquarium. I am hoping to get something else but I am not sure if I should go for a bearded dragon, argentine tegu.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

brady14monty — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:30:41 GMT

My first pet reptile was a Greek Tortoise. I got Leonidas last year on April 18th. I had finally talked my mom into letting me get one! I have always loved turtles and tortoises and have always wanted one since before I can remember. Sadly shortly after I got Leonidas he contracted a respiratory infection, since i was first time herper he died maybe a month and a half after I finally got him. I was extremely distraught about losing the tortoise that I had wanted for so very long. When I finally was starting to get over it I asked my mother if I could get a Ball Python, I knew it was a long shot but I had to try! Amazingly, my mom said yes! I got Monty last year on August 12th last year.

The herp that I would love to get is either a Leopard Tortoise or a Reticulated Python. I can't get either one yet because this coming year I will be moving into an apartment with my girlfriend (who I hope to make my fiancee by the time we are living together.) I can't get a Leopard Tortoise because I won't have a yard big enough for a tortoise pen, and won't be satisfied if I can't provide my pet with the best living conditions that I can. I'm not able to get a Retic because I don't have a terrarium large enough to keep one in, and I hope to build a custom terrarium for one when hopefully my wife at the time and I move into our very own house.

I got into reptiles because one day I was watching the National Geographic Channel and I saw Dangerous Encounters with Dr. Brady Barr. It was the episode where Dr. Barr is studying Reticulated Pythons and he goes into a cave and he gets bitten by a huge Retic. Its weird but from that moment on I decided that I wanted to become a herpetologist.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

herpsrule13 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:55:27 GMT

(whistle) long list

always loved herps chased 'em all the time: my finds were anoles, green tree frog, gray tree frog, cornsnake, kingsnake, garter snake, black snake forgot the name

first reptile was a male mali uromastyx, i would like to have a pair of: leos, cresties, iggys, beardies, fire salamanders, chinese and japense fire belly newts, red eye tree frog, clown tree frog, fire belly toad, california kingsnake, cornsnake, fire skink, panama dart frog, imitator dart frog

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

zimmedp — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:38:15 GMT

My first rep was an iguana. Then actually a caiman, when you could actually buy them in any store...even department stores, like Woolworths, where I got mine, aging myself here....my mother did not know any better and thought he was cute, until he took one of the bathrooms over and I had to give him up....

Then I discovered snakes...especially boas. I spent days at the library, this is before the internet was around, reading and researching everything possible. Volunteered at the Boston Musuem of Science to learn more. Met a gentleman there that taught me everything....Finally convinced my mother to let me get a red tail, trust was limited after the caiman.

Long story short, my mother ending up loving reptiles herself, got a water dragon and tortoise (forget what kind). I actually fell out of the reptile world for a while.

Then one day out of the blue my 6 year old son asked for a lizard, must be in the blood, then it all started over. As you can see by the list below.

1.0.0 Leopard Gecko

1.0.0. Iguana

0.0.1 Dumpy Frog

0.0.1 Argentina Black and white Tegu

0.0.1 Savannah Monitor

0.1.0 Bearded Dragon

1.0.0 Ball Python

1.0.0 Columbian Red Tail Boa

0.0.1 Emperor Scorpion

0.0.1 Mexican Desert Kingsnake

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

jeff223 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:29:17 GMT

My first reptile is a painted turtle (eastern) named Jeff. For as long as I can remember I've loved all animals and as soon as I saw his adorable face I fell even more in love with turtles. Currently he is my only reptile by I hope to get him a friend soon. I hope to get another painted turtle this spring.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Fully Scaled — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:59:15 GMT

My first pet was a ball python. Then i got some leopard geckos and i got a gold dust day gecko. that little gold dust was fast but cool. Then I always loved how blood pythons and green tree pythons looked and acted so low and behold i have one of each now. There are many more snakes that I'd love to own all are pythons except i do want a clalifornia king snake. But i have to say that next on my top want list is eaither a carpet python or a really nice black blood python.

I dont know why but i have always loved herps. ever since i was little i use to catch and release anything from frogs to snakes. They have been the one costant intrest that i have had from my child hood. Now that i have a son that will be 2 soon, I have already gotten him into them. He cant talk a whole lot yet but he always watches my snakes and when i get them out that is the one time he is gentle with any animal. he just sits there rite beside me and with a huge smile on his face he gently pets the snakes.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

herpsrule13 — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:26:44 GMT

i'm with zoofew you really should have reported that guy then volunteered to take it in. but the guy probably doesn't miss it still ya stole it

anyway my first herp was a mali uro named king xerxes and he died like a week or two later after i got him cuz the guy wh gave me him didn't take proper care of him and then i got a female whom i named esther and she lived for 5 years and then i went without a herp for 2 or 3 years then i got my fire belly toad pair cricket and flipper and i hope to get a fire belly newt in a week and then in june after saving up hope to get a bearded dragon

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

angelicarboreals — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:00:44 GMT

I ended up with a ball python as my first reptile. To make a long story short, I had bought two babies from a chain pet store that I think were imported and they died soon after. I went into another pet store and was talking to a lady that worked there and she told me her son had an adult ball python for several years that he was looking to rehome. I went over there and picked her up. You could say it was downhill from there- within several months I had ten snakes living in my room. That was my sophomore year in high school, over a decade ago!

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Zoofew — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:36:17 GMT

KAH REPTILES (12/3/2008)

My first herp was a baby ball python I stole from my next door neighbor. He was a sort of a drug dealer only doing it occasionally and i guess he sold a dime bag of weed to some guy and the guy couldn't pay so he took his snake instead and the snake was not being feed and my next door neighbor philip only wanted the snake as a show piece and he too never feed the snake so i took him. And now the snake is about 5 years old and still thriving. And now I own 18 different types of reptiles.

you took a herp from your neighbors yard! thats illegal!!!!!

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

jeff223 — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:26:37 GMT

My first herp was a eastern painted turtle named Jeff.Then I found 2 snapping turtle hatchlings around the yard.I kept them for about 3 weeks.They soon became dangerous and snappy though,so I let them go in a pond.Now every spring I keep my eyes out inthe yard.Cause you never know what you'll find.I still hope hope I find another painted turtle for a friend for jeff. my current herps:"2/2" eastern painted turtle (Jeff)

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

GagerPager2 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:10:52 GMT

WHen i was 2 my granpa caught a ringneck snake and i held it from then on to know 12 iv loved all reptiles.Ive had a Iguana green anole brown anole lepard gecko waterdragon and bearded dragon iv always wanted a ball python or a blood bao but my mom is scared to death. I just wish one day i can get a snake

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

edge — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:58:36 GMT

my first pet well that was long time ago-was a Tyrannosaurus rex and we went everywhere together-ok ok i am not that old-it sounded better than a newt as my first pet-I always did search for herps as a kid and being a airforce brat and later i was in the army i got to go all over on government expense to do my herping-been to the Philippines,south korea and west germany(which is no longer east and west)and while i was in germany i went to several other countries.and of course to most of the USA including alaska and hawaii(i didn't know the names of different reptiles i encountered but i sure loved looking for them.)

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

RGS — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:57:44 GMT

Okay, fellow herpers, come with me for a trip down Memory Lane...
The time is 1958, and I was four. My parents had arranged a short vacation to a place in Upstate NY called Twin Lakes Mountain Lodge. While there I found and caught my first frog. Naturally, we bottled the wee creature and took it back to the city where, after about a week, it escaped.

Not to worry; my mother found the frog, alive and a bit larger, several months later when she was repotting the plants in the living room.

There followed a few of those unfortunate red-eared slider pups and the bean-shaped plastic turtle tank...

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Herp250 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:13:29 GMT

A 3 month old beardie named drake was my first reptile

I want a Rufous Beaked snake

and My uncle had a burmese python until 2 yrs ago

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Turtle Boy — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:56:55 GMT

oh yeah i got into reptiles when i first got a little frog in a plastic container for my birth that died in two days then my parents let me get 2 red eared sliders.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

KAH REPTILES — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:50:07 GMT

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Turtle Boy — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:50:03 GMT

2 red eared sliders.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Zoofew — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:56:49 GMT

i got into reptiles at maybe around when i could walk i caught garter snakes, frogs, toads, lizards, salamanders and newts i admired them and then let them go. my uncle was a real reptile guy and he said to my dad one day "its time for your son to get a real herp" by then i was about 8 and i got a bearded dragon then i got a whites tree frog.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

ShadowHerp — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:33:06 GMT

I don't know when or how I got into herps. But I'm going to my first herp soon (Green Anole). And I'll try to get a ribbon snake too in the future.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

HERPETOLOGIST N TRAINING — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:51:56 GMT

A green anole from behind my house started my whole liking of herps.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Auballagh — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:26:03 GMT

So many stories.... Very cool stuff!
My own?
- My grandfather in Texas owned a 16 acre pecan farm. In his barn one day when I was there for a long summer visit, we both discovered a little diamondback rattlesnake, around two feet long. Now, at this time he was going to poison out, a major rat infestation in his barn. This poisoning was to protect some feed supplies, for some cow heifers he also kept. Well, that day, we both sort of made a pact to let this little rattlesnake live.... Because you see, together we actually discovered/caught this little rattlesnake beast, right at the moment, IN THE ACT, of eating one of those hated rats! And, that day my grandfather returned to the hardware store all of the rat poison he'd bought.

Eight years later, at Christmas time, I'm sixteen years old and ol' Grandpa had something special out in his barn he wanted to show me. Yep...... it was that SAME snake! Now grown REALLY impressively large, and actually hibernating in a sort of 'den' that someone - I wonder who? - had dug under the pallet where he kept his cow feed!
-
-
It was about 6 years later, that I found in the Virginia woods my first actual, captive-kept reptile, (A Black Rat snake) to keep. But, I was definitely, already hooked........

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

fred60655 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:54:54 GMT

when i was 3 i got 2 green anoles amd than when i was 6 they died than at 7 i got a corn at 9 he choked on a paper towel and passed than at 10 i got another corn at 11 i just got a ttttteeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnyyyyyy striped corn the end

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

iguana lover for life — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:02:39 GMT

proud_2_be_filipino_herper (11/13/2008)

awww that was so sad.

i know i'm tearing up just thinking about it

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

uting — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:28:56 GMT

awww that was so sad.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

iguana lover for life — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:54:23 GMT

my first ever herp was an anole. his name was Gex. he lived for two years before my mom left him out side in the New Mexican sun in summer, and when we returned........ he was a brown skeleton, and ants where already feeding on him
i buried him in a mint tin box and under our large 200 year old tree.
that was my first herp i have ever had.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Nikita — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:36:31 GMT

I used to run around catching lizards and playing with turtles when I was younger. I'm a big reader, especially about pets, so I was already really well-informed by the time I encountered my first herp hands-on.

A few years ago, someone dropped off an adult male leo at the science department in my high school. I cared for most of the animals, so I took over this one too. His owner hadn't taken care of him at all; no misting or moist hide, no heat, and he was keeping him on red calcium sand that hadn't been changed in ages.

Because of the terrible conditions, the leo couldn't shed properly. I don't know how many times he had shed, but it was quite a few - most of his toes were constricted and all the toe tips were black and dead. And the kid taking care of him didn't notice - or care - that he hadn't shed his eyelids properly either. He had months worth of dead skin literally plugging up his eyes, forcing them back into his head! I thought he was completely blind at first because it looked like he had NO eyes. But as I worked on him with gauze and mineral oil, I realized the problem and got the disgusting skin wedges out.

I have no idea how long it had been since he'd eaten, but he was ravenous after his eyes were freed. I got his cage set up with heat, changed the substrate, and provided hide boxes and he was happy for months as a classroom critter.

Unfortunately, one day preceding a long weekend in winter (some holiday or another), a janitor unplugged his heating pad for some reason, and the county shut down the heating to the school. I came back and he was stone-cold dead. But at least he was happy for the last little bit he was alive.

After that, I cared for herps off an on and continued to research throroughly just for fun. Now, several years later, I work and study in a wildlife rehabilitation center and recently purchased my very own baby leo, Elliot.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

Sorrak — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:34:04 GMT

When I was a very little kid,I was dino obsessed.I think that started it.When I lived in Illinois,I saw frogs and toads and i loved to chase them and watch them.On rare occasions I saw a Garder snake but,my mom always shooed me away as if it could kill me.You'd think that would make me hate herps right?Wrong.It made me even more curios of the herp world.When I moved to Florida half way through 3rd grade,I fell in love with lizards.I kept trying to catch brown anoles and house geckos and green anoles but,I couldn't catch one untill 4th grade.In 5th grade,my friend and I made an anole breeding project and I kept my first anoles.We had brown anoles mainly and we had 2 green anoles.Dragon and Keera.When Keera died,my friend's dad made us get rid of the rest and I owned a Fowler's Toad named Filter and my brother's first herp,a red morph Fowler's toad named Rusty,but Rusty disapeered and we had to realise Filter.I put A House Gecko named Spaz into my old anole cage and then I added a brown anole (Taboe)and 2 green anoles(Leaf and RainScale) and Taboe attacked both Leaf and RainScaleand deafined Leaf.Taboe died shortly after that and when RainScale's wounds got infected and she died,Leaf became super sad and stopped drinking and eatting and died and I buried them next to eachother in my yard.4 days before my birhtday I got my first leopard gecko,Freckles and she is healthy and loves the heck out of me.That is my story until now.

RE: What was your first pet reptile, what reptile do you want?Describe how you got into reptiles

uting — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:22:17 GMT

My first pet Philippine Sailfin Lizard in named him Godzilla my bought him as a wild caught for $4( i did not know yet it was a bad thing to do) when I was 3 I know it was not a good choice it had mouth blisters and other sicknesses but I did not bring it to the VET because there are no herp vets here so I cured it using herbal medicines when I was 8 I thought about giving it to the local wildlife park but when I saw the sailfins there the living conditions were worse than mine so I decided to keep it. I forgo to tell you when I bought it it was 3 feet and I kept in the25 gal tank but right now I keep it in a 20x30x15 with the other females. right now I am 12 meaning that it is more than 9 years old making it the oldest lizard I have ever kept