My very long introduction!

[Cherbear]

Hello everyone!

I've decided to introduce myself and hopefully become a more active member here.
I previously bred cockatiels. I was fascinated by the genetics and combinations you could make from the age of 11. They were great pets, however when I left for college the time for them dwindled. I began working while going to school full time and it became impossible to properly care for dozens of birds while hand feeding numerous babies. I had to make the difficult decision to find them homes.. So I sold my emeralds, silvers, yellow cheeks, pastel faces, etc.
I've always loved reptiles but wasn't an avid keeper. My brother had iguanas, pythons, etc when I was little. I used to love catching garter snakes and turtles when I was only a few years of age. My real passion for them developed only a few years ago when I got my first red tail boa. I then bought a pair of beardies.. And the collection has grown since. Between working at a pet store and my personal pets I've gotten to know many different species and developed a fondness to a few special ones.
I was extremely interested in ball pythons- especially the HUGE world of different mutations that have developed, however the extremely crowded market has pushed me away from exploring them further. I do plan on keeping a few of my favorite ball pythons as pets. These include my het pieds, albino, spinner, spider, and orange ghost.
Then there is my favorite little snake with a huge personality.. The western Hognose! I bought my boyfriend a green phase male het albino over a year ago and deeply regretted not keeping it for myself. I love the little bluffers! I now have two het albino females and a pair of a conda het albinos. Its amazing how each of them have completely different personalities.. and how NOT picky they are about food!

Then there comes the lizards.. I have 5 adult and older juvenile dragons. These include hypos, leather backs, and red trans. I have always been fascinated by beardies ever since I was in highschool. Leaving home and working at a pet store then gave me the opportunity to keep them. After lucking out with a gorgeous hypo male and leatherback from my job I ended up purchasing the multi gene females from a great breeder. I now have my first ever clutch of reptiles.. 12 gorgeous yellow hypo babies!

As for the more relevant type of lizard.. Over a year ago something hit me about getting a blue tongue skink. I've heard about them but they aren't widely available around me. I almost purchased one from one of those wholesale sites, but after someone advertising they would have one at at upcoming reptile expo I decided to wait. He showed me the merauke he had available.. Then his buddy pulled out two northern blue tongue skinks from behind the table. I took to the northerns and decided to bring one home.. That is how Jabba the hut became to be! Although a complete noob I really lucked out on coming across a breeder who was actually knowledgeable. Since then every other skink I've seen at an expo was a cross or completely mislabeled.

I am now completely in love with this lizard.. Their personalities, feeding habits, and ease of care make them such a wonderful pet. This caused me to purchase my second BTS, Nugget, from James Wilson. Although it took him a little whole to warm up.. He now tolerates my kisses I plant all over him.

And number 3 arrived this week! Chip, who I got from Andrew Seike is a very dark little guy. Although completely bitey at the moment, I do have complete faith that he will warm up soon enough.
Although my collection is very small right now, I feel beyond lucky and privileged to have been able to start building my collection with the babies of some of the most wonderful breeders.

I thank all who were able to get through this long introduction. I look forward to making new friends and sharing the joy of this hobby.

Aside from the critters that I listed above.. I have my red tail boa, two corn snakes, a leopard gecko, a shiba inu, a cat, and numerous fish.. Including saltwater, cichlids, and goldfish... Oh, and a boyfriend.

As you can tell- this is a household that loves the scaled ones.


-Cheryl

nugget.JPG

Nugget

jabba.JPG

Jabba

chip.JPG

Chip

[SmaugTheBluey]

Welcome to the forum the guy in the middle has something about him, he's like eye candy. make sure to post more pics; forum rules

[Seadation]

Welcome! Those are some nice looking Northerns. We love lots of pictures so don't be shy.

[splashy07]

Welcome! Gorgeous bts, I am also in love with the middle one....
I've got a 3 year old from James and she is an absolute sweetheart, I favor the Indo species but you cannot beat
a Northern for personality! There is not a better pet reptile out there for those of us who like to interact with our scaly friends. I also keep and this year bred Trans Hypo leather beardies, and way too many Ball pythons and dwarf boas to list, don't want to bore all the skink people! My bt's are 2 Halys and a Northern. Good luck with your new guys!!