Thanks for all the replies. I've technically been dealing with reptiles my entire life of going on 40 years. Grew up in the deserts of norther NV. I'd spend all my free time as a kid in the desert catching leopard lizards, horny toads, western whitetails, collard lizards, sagebrush lizards and western fence lizards. Lots of snakes as well. It wasn't until I was about 15 that I actually kept my first pet reptile, a Columbian red tail boa and a green iguana. I will admit I had little to no idea what I was doing back then and info was sparse, no internet. I killed the iguana by not understanding its humidity requirements. The boa lived to with me for 5 years before it died. I got it full grown at 7 feet already so I have no clue how old it was really was. Once I turned 18 and moved out on my own It was I like donkey Kong. I started out with mostly snakes, Kenya sand boas, Brazilian rainbow boas, blood pythons, and of course balls. I got my first lizard other then the failed iguana in my early 20s, an absolutely wild water dragon. My dad ended up bonding wi5mth the water dragon so I gave it to him and started rescuing reptiles, this is where I first came across bearded dragons, and not just one. It seemed like every day or 2 their was a new post about some unhealthy beardie needing a new home. It was about a year into rescuing that I realized snakes are so boring, pretty yes, but damn boring when compared to lizards. Stopped getting more snakes by my mid to late 20s. And focused solely on lizards, most monitors. It was in my late 20s I first encountered a tegu and I knew this was my dream pet. I waited years and years until my 16 year old nile monitor passed away, sad sad day, but also filled with joy as I knew I now had space for my dream tegu...or 2 lol
) If you do have any questions or concerns please dont hesitate to ask, everyone here is great and helpful.
