Social Herps

So, I love my bps to pieces, buuuut I feel like I'm missing something from them. I can interact with them for short periods of time, but I know they basically just tolerate me, and would rather be left alone.

On to my question;
What herp (snake/lizard/monitor/gecko) do you think is the most social with humans? Is there even an option? I would love to find a pet herp that wouldn't mind or even enjoy (I know, that's a stretch) interacting with me.

Care is always an issue, but I'm open to most levels of husbandry at this point, as I'm just brain storming. Some of the species I've been entertaining have been BTS and black and white tegu. Now, I know bearded dragons are at the top of everyone's happy herp list, but I don't think I'll be getting any bds. I had my girl for 5 years, and when she passed away it killed me. I just can't bond with another BD so far (I've tried, and it didn't work :( ) so, anything except Bds please.

Thanks everyone for your input! I'm open to ideas, pros and cons etc :)

A BCI for sure.

EDIT: Why, you ask? Because DooLittle said so, thats why. She's never wrong. :gj:

Corn snakes are more on the social side....plus they are diurnal so you can interact with them during the day.

My partner wanted something we could interact with better, so I searched around and we decided on a northern blue tongue skink. He's young right now so he could be a bit fussy getting him out of the tank (I'm working on building a cage that will open from the front so it won't stress him coming in from above).
But, once he's out he's very curious and tame. They burrow, so when I let him out I bought him a blanket he can dig in and hunker down. Sometimes he digs into my shirt and curls up there, or the crook of my arm. I can rub his head and he leans up into the touch, or falls asleep under it, so I'm pretty sure he finds it pretty pleasurable. XD
His care is really nice too, which is half the reason we choose him. My only con is....getting veggies and keeping them fresh. But, mostly I just need to think of a way to incorporate the extra veggies and greens into our own meals so we don't waste. lol. Other then that...I haven't had another con with him yet. He only bit me once when he got curious with my toe, lmao. But it wasn't really a bite, he was just investigating it and mouthed it. We hand feed him some treats sometimes when I take him out to associate us with good things. So...I really dig the interaction and seeing him respond to it.

Aww. I have a BP that begs to come out when I go in the room.
All my Kings love to watch me but not really social.
Frogs and toads always want to jump away.
Lizards, maybe a Crestie. I hear they can be social.

Snakes, I would go with a boa of some type. Mine are pretty calm and seem to settle in after a bit.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

A BCI for sure.

EDIT: Why, you ask? Because DooLittle said so, thats why. She's never wrong. :gj:

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Well then! I guess that's that ;)

The *ONLY* thing that keeps me from BCI's is well...I just got my husband on board with snakes. He is happy with our big girl, but has stated quite a few times he doesn't know if he could handle one much bigger. He liked the looks of all the BCIs at the shows we've been to, but he's still a bit leery of them. I'm trying my best to *not* freak him out with my herpaholic tendencies. I was looking at BRBs, as they are smaller and more slender, they're on my "maybe" list as well.

Luckily, it will probably be a good year or two before I get my "play" herp, so I have time to figure it out!

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Originally Posted by Vesper

My partner wanted something we could interact with better, so I searched around and we decided on a northern blue tongue skink. He's young right now so he could be a bit fussy getting him out of the tank (I'm working on building a cage that will open from the front so it won't stress him coming in from above).
But, once he's out he's very curious and tame. They burrow, so when I let him out I bought him a blanket he can dig in and hunker down. Sometimes he digs into my shirt and curls up there, or the crook of my arm. I can rub his head and he leans up into the touch, or falls asleep under it, so I'm pretty sure he finds it pretty pleasurable. XD
His care is really nice too, which is half the reason we choose him. My only con is....getting veggies and keeping them fresh. But, mostly I just need to think of a way to incorporate the extra veggies and greens into our own meals so we don't waste. lol. Other then that...I haven't had another con with him yet. He only bit me once when he got curious with my toe, lmao. But it wasn't really a bite, he was just investigating it and mouthed it. We hand feed him some treats sometimes when I take him out to associate us with good things. So...I really dig the interaction and seeing him respond to it.

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I've heard this often about BTS, they seem really great!

The veggie thing is a pain, I really don't miss that from BD's lol.

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Originally Posted by RoseyReps

I've heard this often about BTS, they seem really great!

The veggie thing is a pain, I really don't miss that from BD's lol.

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I am having tons of fun with him, and it's getting my partner involved as well. She loves him and it's making her open up more to learning about herps. So, win win. ^.^

Get a Hog Island Boa then. Its a BCI in a smaller package! :gj:

I'll have to check them out! Thanks :D

Dumeril's boas are also a lot of fun to handle without having much of a sketchy feeling. My small dumeril's girl I have to be careful taking her out cause she's such a chow hound but once she realizes there's no food shes a sweetie. And my friend has a huge dumeril's girl that is very interactive but also not edgy when handling.

Ive been incorporating leopard geckos for a little while now and was surprised how interactive and social they can be. I like them because the care is super easy, they dont need lights, can stay in racks, if they bite it doesnt hurt at all,they stay small and come with stunning paint jobs.

If you're looking into something of the 'legged' variety, go for an Ackie monitor. I'm awful at interacting with things with legs, but the few times I've held Ackies I absolutely fell in love. They seem much more interactive than my legless children. With some socialization you're going to have an awesome pet. At least, that's what my first lizard is going to be. :)

I'm surprised that no one has said tortoises yet. They are very social and I've known people that had tortoises that would actually come when their name was called! I'll be getting a sulcata once I'm home from Afghanistan.

If size is an issue look into the dwarf boas. Central Americans. Tarahumara mountain boas, corn island boas, etc. then just get a male. 4-5 ft and there ya go.

My box turtles were very social. I had them in an outdoor enclosure and they would come from their hiding spots to beg for food if they heard/saw me out. I would love to have some again when I get a yard.

Our Hog Island is definitely different than the balls. Much more alert and attune to things going on. She is a lot of fun to have out and just appears more intelligent. She is about 5' now and very easy for me to get in and out of the cage and handle. She is definitely strong, but not overpoweringly so.

Our red blood is also a total sweetheart who is very different from the boa or balls. She appears to be more intelligent than the balls as well, but not as busy as the boa.

If you are coming up to Gainesville, you are welcome to stop by and handle my guys.

Without a doubt, one of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvoV2qZQtdo

Second choice would be a blue tongue skink.

BTS's are awesome pets! They have very clear individual personalities. I've kept leopard geckos, chameleons, bearded dragons, snakes, etc., and both my reptile-reluctant boyfriend and I favor our two skinks.

In terms of care, BTS's do require a varied diet, but you can pick most of it up at a grocery store alongside your own food shopping. I find it much easier than going on cricket runs all the time (no space to breed our own in our apartment). The other "emotionally intelligent" lizards tend to need a similar degree of maintenance anyway (like bearded dragons and tegus).

This is our little rescue, Barnaby.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/14/y3eve8av.jpg

And our Irian Jaya, Tiberius.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/11/14/uge2ena7.jpg

My vote goes for a Red Ackie as well. They have the large lizard brains in a small package, super smart, incredibly calm, and no veggies.

my leopard geckos are very social. they are content to come out and be handled for long periods of time. they will sit on my desk and hang out while im playing online or watching tv. they are very curious and come out of their hide whenever you enter the room too. plus easy care. same for my crestie. shes small right now so shes a bit jumpy but shes chilling out fast and is pretty interactive. my box turtles also will come right to me when taken out and sit on my chest for hours watching tv.

+1 on the tortoise thing. ive seen sulcatas that learn their name and even learn to come when called just like gsarchie says.

another option is a big tame beardie. they are down for whatever.

Tortoises!

I never even thought of a tortoise! I had no idea they were social. I guess I always pictured them as serious pet rocks lol.

I think I'm leaning towards the BTS, I love ackies, but I think a BTS would fit better for what I'm looking for.

I still want a boa, just have to figure out which species.

Hmmm decisions decisions!

Side question... My daughter (2 months shy of 4yo) just asked me for a purple lizard. Any ideas? Lol (no, I'm not going to go buy her a lizard because it's a certain color, though it would be awesome if bts had a lavender coloration. Ha)

That is another quality I'm looking for, that I think the BTS has, is children interaction. (Always supervised of course) obviously if my little ones were squeezers or pokers I wouldn't let them near anything, but both have been raised with animals and have known for a long time how to be gentle. They do great with the bps (well, somewhat handling, they sit on the couch next to me and I lay the BP in their lap for a few minutes)

And thank you Angela! That is very sweet of you! I might have to take you up on that one day :D

BTS are very solid and not so prone to squishing. They don't bounce well, however.

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Originally Posted by aldebono

BTS are very solid and not so prone to squishing. They don't bounce well, however.

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I know this is terrible, but that made me chuckle a bit. I just envisioned a bouncing BTS, boing boing boing

I'm not too terribly worried about either of my girls dropping them, we only do handling sessions with them while they are seated either on the couch or floor.

Bonus, talked my youngest out of a purple lizard. She said lizards should come in purple, but that's ok. She likes the blue tongues too ;) She said they were cute, but wished their tongues were purple. (What can I say...the girl likes purple :D )

I don't imagine that her love for girly colors come from you, does it? Nice pink dancing elephants in the sig. ;)

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

I don't imagine that her love for girly colors come from you, does it? Nice pink dancing elephants in the sig. ;)

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Funny enough, my favorite color is actually blue :O But I do enjoy the girly colors too!

My pink ele's are awesome :cool:

They have albino and melanistic BTS now too! I died a little when I saw.

Hog Islands tongues are purpleish :D

Uromastyx have great personalities. They have similar care as beardies, but no insects required. They are primarily a seed and veggie eater.

They also come in crazy looking colors and patterns depending on the species (i.e. neon orange on black, turquoise green and yellow, black and white zebra stipes, tropical blue, etc etc)

And Argentine black and white tegus are like dogs imo. Very docile and fun. They can also be litter box trained if you give it free roam time in the house.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by aldebono

They have albino and melanistic BTS now too! I died a little when I saw.

Hog Islands tongues are purpleish :D

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I'll have to check that out! Do you know what locale that has the albino and mels? (Ijs, northern etc) I love the prupley tongues on the boas :D

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Originally Posted by satomi325

Uromastyx have great personalities. They have similar care as beardies, but no insects required. They are primarily a seed and veggie eater.

They also come in crazy looking colors and patterns depending on the species (i.e. neon orange on black, turquoise green and yellow, black and white zebra stipes, tropical blue, etc etc)

And Argentine black and white tegus are like dogs imo. Very docile and fun. They can also be litter box trained if you give it free roam time in the house.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

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I really love the tegu, but I think I will have to wait for that until we have a bigger house / no dogs. Uros are cool, I've only ever dealt with juveniles, so I wasn't sure if they were flighty as adults.

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Originally Posted by roseyreps

uros are cool, i've only ever dealt with juveniles, so i wasn't sure if they were flighty as adults.

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uros that have been handled right are super mellow as adults. Big, fat, lazy happy things. Their care is easy too. Some veggies and some bird seed and they are good to go.

I am sure the albino and melanistic are expensive.

African Fat-tailed Geckos!!!!!!!!!! They are super chill and calm, like seriously, they will fall asleep in your hand within seconds, LOL.

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Originally Posted by gsarchie

I'm surprised that no one has said tortoises yet. They are very social and I've known people that had tortoises that would actually come when their name was called! I'll be getting a sulcata once I'm home from Afghanistan.

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I'm envious! Part of me wants one, and the other part of me says that something that'll likely both outlive me and rearrange my backyard to suit its desires is probably overkill for the moment :)

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Originally Posted by RoseyReps

I never even thought of a tortoise! I had no idea they were social. I guess I always pictured them as serious pet rocks lol.

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The folks I'm getting my BPs from also sell sulcatas, and have one at home. The wife of the equation adores it, the husband was somewhat resigned to the fact that he's building a new sulcata enclosure this weekend :) But their kids adore it! Its shell is over 12" diameter now from the last picture I saw.

(And this thread has made me want to expand my exploding herp collection even more, dangitall! You people are dangerous :P ) ;)

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Originally Posted by AmandaJ

I'm envious! Part of me wants one, and the other part of me says that something that'll likely both outlive me and rearrange my backyard to suit its desires is probably overkill for the moment :)



The folks I'm getting my BPs from also sell sulcatas, and have one at home. The wife of the equation adores it, the husband was somewhat resigned to the fact that he's building a new sulcata enclosure this weekend :) But their kids adore it! Its shell is over 12" diameter now from the last picture I saw.

(And this thread has made me want to expand my exploding herp collection even more, dangitall! You people are dangerous :P ) ;)

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That's awesome!

Yea, this thread has backfired on me...My list is longer and more expensive than ever now lol! So may lovies...so little room. I need a herp house next door to my house...hmmmm that house is for sale...hmmm :P

I am LOVING this thread. we've never had a herp and my 4 and 6 year old are asking for a snake, although I think lizards are an option too. If any of you have any other suggestions for super social animals for us please keep them coming! (allergies say we can't have furry pets anymore.)

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Originally Posted by Naomijoy

I am LOVING this thread. we've never had a herp and my 4 and 6 year old are asking for a snake, although I think lizards are an option too. If any of you have any other suggestions for super social animals for us please keep them coming! (allergies say we can't have furry pets anymore.)

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BTS! I'm 99% sure that's what my next non-snake purchase is going to be...I think my kids would really enjoy it :)

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Originally Posted by Naomijoy

I am LOVING this thread. we've never had a herp and my 4 and 6 year old are asking for a snake, although I think lizards are an option too. If any of you have any other suggestions for super social animals for us please keep them coming! (allergies say we can't have furry pets anymore.)

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Be sure, whatever you buy that it is captive bred. I have a BTS and it is very social. I think they make great pets.

I've been looking into russian rat snakes lately, and almost all accounts/care sheets I'm finding are saying they're on the upper end of the snake "social" scale. Coming to the enclosure opening to investigate, climb out on you, great with handling/feeding, etc. I'll be picking one (or two :P ) up this coming summer to try it out (if I don't get my savu pythons first, haha)