Any Reptile--What would YOU choose?

Dinosaur: It'd be a tie between Iguanodon and Utahraptor
And of course, if dragons were an option I'd take it hands down :D

As for reptiles alive today, I'd love to be in a situation where I could have giant snakes. Retics and boelens in particular

Well, since we're all dreaming here I'd get some tuatara and an awesome, enormous, self-sustaining habitat so I could just chill and watch them all day. I remember reading about them as a kid, one of the grooviest reptiles around in my opinion.

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Tuatara probably have the slowest growth rates of any reptile,[14] continuing to grow larger for the first 35 years of their lives.[8] The average lifespan is about 60 years, but they can live to be well over 100 years old.[8] Some experts believe that captive tuatara could live as long as 200 years.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Hmm...Velociraptor is a theropod dinosaur. I think you're confusing them with pterosaurs, which weren't really reptiles, either. (Anything covered in downy fuzz that is warm-blooded simply doesn't fit the definition of a reptile, regardless of its skeletal structure. They really need to go back over the taxonomy of the entire tree at this point. We don't call mammals 'synapsid reptiles', after all, even though they evolved from them).

Velociraptor was warm-blooded and had feathers.
For that matter, there's reason to believe that even baby T-Rexes were covered in downy feathers. Chances are VERY high that feathers evolved extremely early, because endothermy produces a real need for insulation.

Some of the largest dinosaurs didn't have feathers as adults (we have skin imprints), but then, rhinos and elephants don't have much hair, so it's understandable. A large body mass makes losing heat a priority over retaining it.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010...8291283989539/

http://www.geeksugar.com/Dinosaur-Fe...Amber-19132800

It only makes sense--dinosaurs lived pretty much everywhere, including the rainforests of Antarctica, which got pretty cold in the winter. A small warm-blooded animal, or one that lives in regions that get cold, needs to be able to conserve its body heat, which means it needs to have insulation. There are only really 4 types of insulation that animals have evolved--fur/hair (synapsids/mammals), pycnofibers (what pterosaurs had--they were diapsids), feathers (diapsids/dinosaurs/birds), and a layer of thick fat (blubber).

Anyone else as nerdy as me about dinosaurs will get a kick over this, if they haven't seen it before:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ers-science/o/

Reptiles don't require insulation, because they are ectothermic. Insulation would be detrimental--they need to be able to absorb and release heat quickly when necessary.

I believe that the 'velociraptors' in Jurassic Park were scaled up in size to make them scarier, but before the film was even released, a huge raptor dinosaur was discovered--not deinonychus, but Utahraptor, a new one that was even larger (about twice the size of deinonychus). The actual velociraptor was little larger than a turkey.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...omie_scale.png
On the other hand, Utahraptor may simply be a bit too big.
There are plenty of other 'raptors' left to be discovered, and a variety of in-between sizes as well. :)

I still maintain that keeping a raptor dinosaur would be similar to keeping a cassowary (apart from diet).
http://www.odditycentral.com/wp-cont...8/04/bird2.jpg

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Yes. Yes I did confuse them. I just got done my finals for my Dinosaurs class for this semester, I guess its a good thing I did my finals on Ceratopsians.

They do need to rethink the entire tree, but they still haven't proven whether or not pterosaurs are ecto or endothermic, and they haven't proven that dinosaurs are cold-blooded. According to my textbooks from class, there is more information to support a warm-blooded creature - though there still is plenty to support cold-bloodedness.

Also - in addition to my earlier statement of an Anaconda, yeah I want an Alligator too..:P

A dog-tame komodo that I could REALLY trust....if we're fantasizing. XD

I could also go for a bp with so many morphs in it that it's ridicuously expensive. Also a nice riding dragon would be cool

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Originally Posted by Xotik

Yes. Yes I did confuse them. I just got done my finals for my Dinosaurs class for this semester, I guess its a good thing I did my finals on Ceratopsians.

They do need to rethink the entire tree, but they still haven't proven whether or not pterosaurs are ecto or endothermic, and they haven't proven that dinosaurs are cold-blooded. According to my textbooks from class, there is more information to support a warm-blooded creature - though there still is plenty to support cold-bloodedness.

Also - in addition to my earlier statement of an Anaconda, yeah I want an Alligator too..:P

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It's actually a done deal that dinosaurs were endothermic--only warm-blooded animals need insulation. It's detrimental for ectotherms to be insulated, so when you see insulation, you know you have an endotherm. That means both pterosaurs and dinosaurs were endotherms. Sometimes scientists appear to be a bit too myopic to use common sense. (Then, too, the metabolism of flying animals is tremendous, no ecotherm could sustain it--you find only gliders in the reptile class).

Personally, I agree with Bakker--endothermy probably arose in the era of the pseudosuchids and the proto-mammals. Not just dinosaurs and mammals, but their immediate ancestors, were also warm-blooded animals. The shift in skeletal design to an upright stance probably accompanied the ability to produce heat internally. They didn't necessarily produce it well, but they did produce it. (Again with logic-- modern crocodilians are able to produce some heat internally, and hedgehogs produce heat poorly, but of course, are still endotherms--the oldest placental mammals (oldest order, anyhow) and the most modern reptiles are probably representative of the animals that arose in that time).

Still, there's little reason left to believe that dinosaurs were truly reptiles, or that pterosaurs were either, for that matter. (At least, if ectothermy and scaley hide without feathers are necessary for an animal to be considered a reptile--if not, then birds are clearly reptiles. ;)

I prefer to stick to pets that cannot kill me either accidentally or deliberately.
I like Chamaeleo quadricornis, always have. I wouldn't mind having some other species of chameleons as well.
I also like black roughneck monitors, and blue and green tree monitors.

My dream reptiles in a categorized list. (all tame and none would hurt or kill and/or eat me) Fictional: Indominus Rex and Indoraptor from Jurassic World(depending on sentience, they might be more like adopted children than pets), a deathclaw and a one of those bipedal geckos from Fallout, a pack of raptors from Jurassic Park, a dewback,a krayt dragon and a dragonsnake from Star Wars, The Dragon Viper from a ATLA fanfic i once read, Zilla jr, Godzilla, and a ridable six limbed(4 legs 2 wings) fire breathing dragon. Extinct: Titanoboa, Allosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Utahraptor, Velociraptor, Iguanadon, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Carnotaurus, Baryonyx, Suchomimus, Any predatory marine reptile that could kill a megalodon one on one,a Nothosaur,Pristichampsus,Postosuchus,a Gorgonopsid, Purussuchus(i know it's saurus but i hate that saurus was used when it should've been suchus), Any of the giant crocs from the dinosaur age, Simosuchus(who wouldn't want a plant eating pug-croc?), Baurusuchus, Armadillosuchus, Araripesuchus, Tanystropheus, Dimorphodon, Pannoniasaurus, Meiolania, Megalania, Trilophosuchus, Quinkana, Kaprosuchus, Wonambi, Kawekaweau, Archelon, a Plesiosaur that could thrive in the frigid waters in Scotland(if there's no Nessie then i'd have the next best thing) and a Mosasaur that i would use as travel between tropical islands, a getaway mount after robbing yachts and cruise liners, to steal hot chicks from creepy rich pricks and d-bags and to scare random tourists for the heck of it. Cryptids: Loch Ness Monster(plesiosaur or water dragon), Bear Lake Monster(mosasaur with legs), Buru, and a Tsuchinoko. Living but otherwise Endangered or Dangerous or Expensive: American Alligator, Saltwater Crocodile, Nile Crocodile, American Crocodile, Black Caiman,Cuban Crocodile, Green Anaconda, Black Mamba, Egyptian Cobra, King Cobra, Monocled Cobra, Diamondback Rattlesnake, Jararaca, Camroon Bush Viper, Mangrove Snake, a very big Mainland Reticulated Python, African Rock Python, Indian Rock Python, a Tuatara,European Adder, a Sea Turtle, Galapagos Giant Tortoise that i can ride on, and a Komodo Dragon. Reptiles that are already pets: Burmese Python, Reticulated Python, Corn Snake, Japanese Rat Snake, Gopher Snake, Pine Snake, King Snake, Milk Snake, Mandarin Rat Snake, Dumeril's Boa, Any Type of Boa Constrictor, Any type of Carpet Python, Rosy Boa, Kenyan Sand Boa, Woma Python, Hognose Snake, a Turtle, a Tortoise, Blood Python, Angolan Python, Any type of lizard and last but not least a Ball Python that could turn into any morph imaginable.

Well, hello there ridiculously cluttered reply to a 7 year old thread...
I'm not even going to try to read that, my eyes hurt after just a glance...

The obvious short answer is ....

A SNAKE ...

Close thread :)


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