Herp for display

I`m thinking of adding a display in my living room.
I have a BP but BPs are not good display snakes and I`ve been thinking of stepping up to BCI for sometime.
I have BCI, bearded dragon, and tortoises in mind ( advice on any particular tortoise species would be appreciated ).
At the same time, I prefer to have something that is low maintenance,
in a sense of requirements for lighting and supplements etc. so I`m leaning towards BCI.

1. BCI
2. Beardie
3. Tortoise

Other suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks.

Tortoises are fun to watch, when they move... :)


I think BCI is a great choice as well, although they don't move as much either.

Beardies are great pets! I miss mine sometimes, and I think they have the funniest personalities!

If I were you, I would go Beardie... They are awesome, and can watch you watching them with those eyes that say "What choo lookin at?"

Go for a BCI if you have a cage large enough... they won't require any special lighting.

I love beardies too and I forgot to mention that I had a beardie once.
He was a hatchling when I got him but died after 7 months due to calcium defficiency.
I was surprised cos everything went by the book husbandry wise, but that`s when I found out that beardies are unable to process calcium without
vitamin E. I`m a bit scared if the same might happen a second time.

I voted for the Bearded Dragon as well. You can't beat the life and personality that a beardy brings to a display.

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Originally Posted by TheDoctor

I love beardies too and I forgot to mention that I had a beardie once.
He was a hatchling when I got him but died after 7 months due to calcium defficiency.
I was surprised cos everything went by the book husbandry wise, but that`s when I found out that beardies are unable to process calcium without
vitamin E. I`m a bit scared if the same might happen a second time.

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If you have the proper lighting and suppliment the diet as needed, you should never have a problem with beardies. Get the husbandry correct and there is no such thing as 'calcium defficiency'.

i had a similar question, and most people told me to display the BCI, and thats what i'm going to do. I would say go with the BCI or the bearded, i voted BCI though.

Iv herd that ackies make great display animals. If you can house a BCI then im sure you could house one of them. Might want to check up with some one that keeps them though.

Whats a BCI?

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Whats a BCI?

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its a red tail boa. The abreviation is short for the scientific name (i forget what it is though) there are bci and bcc are both redtails, just different subspecies i think.

From your list I would go with the bearded dragon. I good display snake that doesn't get big and is easy though is a Jungle Carpet Python. Whenever I look in my carpets cage, she gets up and looks right back at me. Most of her time is spent on top of her hides unless she's just eaten, then I don't see her for a day or two.

I went with BD, but they are not that low maintenance, daily feeding and cleaning (Beardie poop stinks)
BCI dont make that great of a display animal IMO they can still spend much of their day in hiding like a BP.
As Topher said a JCP might be worth looking into mine never hide and was almost always on his branch enjoying the view.

I would go with a BCI Morph! But a normal wouldn't be a bad looking animal either! They are great though! I want to get one sometime here in the near future but I just don't have "that urge" yet to actually rush out and buy one!

Edit: ultimately, I would look them all up and base your decision on what you like the most. All of which are great choices though...and best of luck to you when you finally make your decision!

I'd go with a Beardie too. I am not too keen on seeing torts in glass enclosures, they like to roam around and do best with lots of room. You might be able to pull it off with a small land turtle such as a Russian and a turtle table. Russians get to like 8inchs long or something similar.

Thank you all for the replies.

I`m only experienced with BPs and beardies so far and from what I`ve read, carpets can be more temperamental compared to BCIs in general, hence my hesitation towards them.

I`ll probably be going with a beardie but this time will likely be getting a subadult just to be safe. I am fully aware of their husbandry requirements and there`s no problem really, it`s just that I work in shifts and that`s the primary reason why I`d prefer something that doesn`t require much daily attention but like I said, it`s not really a problem.

I keep my BP in a room and previously kept my late beardie in the same room, but thought it would be nice to have something in the living room.

My late beardie, Bobo - R.I.P, died at seven months. He developed abnormally formed bones at about four months and I was advised by the vet that it was because his system was unable to process calcium without vitamin E supplements, unfortunately he died even with extra supplements, otherwise everything was in order ie.heat,lighting, food etc.
I have a question, do hathclings require lighting 24/7? because the lights were switched off at night but temp never dropped below 75F though.

- I like it whenever visitors come and go wowwww.. does it bite, what does it eat, do you need a license etc. I just love it..haha

Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Whats a BCI?

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B.c.i. is Boa Constrictor Imperator. Its Just a Ssp. in the boid family. There are many other B.c.Ssp. that range from Mexico all the way down into most of South America and Some of the surrounding islands. Hope that helps a bit

I am such a boa geek...

I also voted B.c.i. since when they are situated, they do not REQUIRE a hide although many people still use hides anyways.

honesly i'd say get a GTP or a Jaguar Coastal if you want to go with a snake... and an ackie or other smaller monitor if you like lizards.
some of the BCI morphs can be really cool too though so that gets my vote out of the three you put up.

Thanks for all the input.

Think I`ll consider JCPs too and any suggestions on suitable sub species for a beginner would be highly appreciated but I don`t think I`m quite ready yet for GTPs.

To be honest, I`m also keen on monitors, especially Savannas but there might be a problem with the size of enclosure, would a 6ft x 2ft enclosure be large enough for an adult?

Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

I also voted B.c.i. since when they are situated, they do not REQUIRE a hide although many people still use hides anyways.

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Slight hijack: Is the general consensus that large boas and giant boidae don't use hides because they don't want to use them or because their owners can't provide big enough ones so we say "they don't use hides"?

I'm asking slightly rhetorically so don't feel obliged to answer. =)