What are the best reptiles for advanced owners?

Question

I am very advanced, any animal you can recommend i don't care the size, price, or anything i just want something different.

Answer 1

Being advanced what have you kept?  I've been keeping and breeding reptiles for 15 years and I don't think I'm advanced enough to keep some herps.  Here's a few advanced herps:

Snakes: Boelen's python, mandarin rat snakes, most venomous(don't keep these unless your extremely experienced, it's not a matter of if you'll get git but when), trinidad dwarf boas(very hard to get to eat, they are tiny as babies)

Lizards: Parson's chameleon, Brooksia sp. chameleons, Four-horned mountain chameleons, mountain horned lizards, some Uromastyx species, tree monitors.

amphibians: Dart frogs, malayan leaf frogs, caecilians

There are alot more animals than this.  These are just a few that came to mind while I typed this.  Most of these animals have a large price tag(one is at least $2500 for a well started hatchling) make sure you research everything you can.  

And as I stated earlier, venomous animals are for experienced keepers only.  Making a mistake could be deadly.

Answer 2

  Part of being advanced in the hobby is learning about all the different types of reptiles. I would study as many different types of them as you can, and pick out which ones interest you the most.

I have found that its not always the most advanced, or most rare reptiles that I enjoy keeping- its the ones that, for whatever reason, spark my interst the most. For example, most people overlook racers and whipsnakes, personally, I am facinated by them.

  If you arent facinated by the animal, then it wont be worth the trouble, no matter how hard or easy they are to keep.

Answer 3

If you want a real challenge try dendrobates.  Beautiful animals, all those colors to choose from.  From my readings they are only for the advanced and those who are meticulous about all the details.  The smallest oversight can cause a problem.  I still haven't made the venture into them, just waiting until I know I have all my bases covered.  One site I found very informative is: www.blackjungle.com

Answer 4

You don't care the price or anything?

Here's the way I see things:

When / how does a person become "advanced" when it comes to reptiles? I've been around various herps all my life, but there's still a lot of things that I don't really feel like a) spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on an animal that b) just by nature of the beast may not make it past being a juvenile (Haven't we all had hatchlings die for "no reason"?) for example the sailfin dragons that I'm hoping I can drool on at the Daytona Expo this weekend are AMAZING!!! I don't have $2000 to spend on a hatchling... as the price starts dropping a bit, I may start doing my research, but I'm a regular person living in today's economy... two grand is a lot of groceries...

Am I an "advanced" owner? You might not think so from this philosophy, but I wouldn't suggest crocodilians for anyone who's not "advanced", and there's three in my family's collection as of right now.

What do you LIKE? Are you a snake person? A lizard person? A turtle person? Yes, we all like herps, but we all like herps different... heck, there's even people around who like SPIDERS! *shudder*

Advanced as in big and potentially painful, or advanced as in small and tricky to keep alive? Oooo, I can just keep going. We all want something new from time to time, but only we can decide what we want. Go to your next local expo or to a shop that specializes in reptiles and where the employees know the animals they're selling... drool on a bunch of different stuff and see what you like best... maybe it won't be an animal for an "advanced owner", but who knows...

Edited to add:

Loren, eastern coachwhips are one of my favs! Get one of them to calm down to captivity... that's advanced. (Got a female black racer that we rescued from a back yard where she wasn't welcome... she's amazing, mellow enough to handle and throws me a clutch of duds every year for the past three years... I'd love to find a male that would suit her...)

Answer 5

What about a Tegu or Savannah monitor?  They require large living areas and experienced handling and feeding.  Iguanas are for more experienced keepers as well.  Some of the larger pythons and boas are nice also.  Just do a lot of research before acquiring an advanced reptile.  

Answer 6

Maybe a water monitor, tegu, burmuse python, any monitor really.

Answer 7

Nah savannas aren't too hard to take care of, they don't require anything too specialized.  Here is Bruno my Sav checkin out his new cage I built him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptHzlFIpC...

If you want something a little difficult to maintain try some chameleons, which are awesome but difficult, or I have heard that Red Eye Tree frogs can be hard to keep unless you have everything perfect.