Celebrate Reptiles On Reptile Awareness Day (Oct. 21)
Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess
Holidays. Holidays. Holidays. If you’re a pet parent you will likely notice there are pet holidays galore! During our research and as part of the BlogPaws Editorial Calendar (see how I worked that into another post!?) we knew that October 21 is Reptile Awareness Day.
If you’re a reptile owner you know how much fun they can be.
Just as your dogs, cats and birds have unique personalities so too do reptiles. I speak from experience having lived with an iguana (years ago), Alice, our second bearded dragon, and our two geckos — a leopard and a fancy, Norbert and Daggett, they are both fun and sometimes a challenge. Why and how are geckos a challenge? When we first got them, they were babies and baby reptiles eat a lot! We were running to the pet store every day at first to buy them crickets. We eventually got down to the point where we now only buy crickets every other day — three dozen crickets — it is not an inexpensive endeavor.
Why did I decide to own geckos?
I was part of a PetSmart and petMD blogger program and I had the opportunity to become the owner of a reptile as part of the program. I read through the reptile care center on petMD and went to PetSmart to adopt my gecko. I had planned to only get one but when I got to the store, the two were in the tank together and seemed rather bonded — whether that was true or not, I don’t know, but I would have felt bad leaving one there all alone. Even today, they spend time in the cave together and are typically on the top of their log under the heat lamp together — it cemented my thought of having the pair.
My reptile history.
I became a reptile owner for the first time when my children won an iguana at a local carnival. Believe me, now many years later I see what a poor choice that was, in the carnival owner’s part — to give away a live animal — but we took him home and he lived with us until he passed over the Rainbow Bridge. We have owned anoles, turtles, bearded dragons and other reptiles while the kids were younger. They loved them and we have kept up with our love of them as well.
Our reptiles have unique personalities and appear to enjoy our company and that is good enough for me!
If you own a reptile and plan to blog about it to celebrate National Reptile Day, share your post with us in the comments below. We’d love to know what you love best about your reptile!
