Ares, Athena, Gaia, Theia, Perseus, Andromedia, Bonsai, and Chi

[Brit G]

Ares - God of War / "Mars" the red planet (Roman equivalent to Ares) - First reptile. Love him to pieces!

He's smart and has this piercing gaze haha. I take him to work for radiographs at least once a year due to a Styrofoam-swollowing incident, which is monitored to avoid an invasive surgery - added bonus is keeping an eye on his bone density. So far, with changing out the UVB bulbs on schedule and dusting food with calcium d3 powder, no signs of MBD. Really interesting to compare over time.

He's a very satisfying pet. So gorgeous and such a distinctive personality.

Very god-like with his holier-than-thou attitude.



Hard to narrow down to best pictures! Tends to have dynamic poses with clear eyes that could damn you to hell lol. (Ares is super chill but his expressions crack me up!)

 

[Brit G]

Athena - goddess of wisdom and war strategy. Traditionally sister to the god Ares, which fits because for a while, Ares and Athena were my only reptiles.

Athena is a Bell Albino leopard gecko with a stubby carrot tail. I bought her as a young juvenile on sale because her tail had fallen off and was rejuvenating. It looks like a turnip now lol.



She's a very cute and inquisitive gecko. Will crawl onto your hand if you hold it out. Likes to "ask" to come out of her enclosure if she sees you in the reptile room, then seems to regret it 40 seconds after being out on your hand lol. She's always been like that and it's so funny. It's like she craves interaction but gets her 'fix' after just a few moments. I oblige every time. For years. And it's never changed.

 

[Brit G]

Theia and Gaia were purchased at a reptile expo. The breeder said they'd been living together in the same enclosure for their entire life, so considered them 'sisters.'

They hate each other.

Theia's previous name per the breeder: Bella. She's a Tremper albino. She was an adult - an active breeder - when I purchased her. Her name is associated with a Greek Titaness who gave birth to the sun god Helios, moon godess Selene, and god of the dawn Eros, as well as many others. Seemed fitting for a retired mom.

Theia is very calm and doesn't mind being handled, but prefers not to be so I tend to leave her be unless I'm weighing her. (Weigh all lizards 3-4x a year and record in a log for comparisons.)



Gaia is a dark bell albino. Name is associated with the greek earth Titaness, who gave birth to such gods as Kronos, who gave birth to the famous god Zeus.
Also a retired breeder.
Suspect she is a 'chocolate' albino ie incubated at a higher temperature which tends to cause a special, darker pigmentation to the typical bell albino trait.

Gaia is such a spitfire. Hates being touched or picked up. Will try to bite. Doesn't hide very often, just hates being picked up lol. Suspect she is used to humans but was not handled often by her original breeder. Of course, perhaps she just hates humans. After all, she and Theia were raised in similar conditions.



Although the breeder insisted these two could share an enclosure, they did much better alone in their own respective 20 gallon enclosures.

Hopefully they can both enjoy the rest of their lives, alone and undisturbed save for periodic weighing to keep tabs on their physical health over time.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Theia and Gaia were purchased at a reptile expo. The breeder said they'd been living together in the same enclosure for their entire life, so considered them 'sisters.'

They hate each other.

Theia's previous name per the breeder: Bella. She's a Tremper albino. She was an adult - an active breeder - when I purchased her. Her name is associated with a Greek Titaness who gave birth to the sun god Helios, moon godess Selene, and god of the dawn Eros, as well as many others. Seemed fitting for a retired mom.

Theia is very calm and doesn't mind being handled, but prefers not to be so I tend to leave her be unless I'm weighing her. (Weigh all lizards 3-4x a year and record in a log for comparisons.)

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Gaia is a dark bell albino. Name is associated with the greek earth Titaness, who gave birth to such gods as Kronos, who gave birth to the famous god Zeus.
Also a retired breeder.
Suspect she is a 'chocolate' albino ie incubated at a higher temperature which tends to cause a special, darker pigmentation to the typical bell albino trait.

Gaia is such a spitfire. Hates being touched or picked up. Will try to bite. Doesn't hide very often, just hates being picked up lol. Suspect she is used to humans but was not handled often by her original breeder. Of course, perhaps she just hates humans. After all, she and Theia were raised in similar conditions.

View attachment 250259View attachment 250257View attachment 250262View attachment 250258View attachment 250260View attachment 250261

Although the breeder insisted these two could share an enclosure, they did much better alone in their own respective 20 gallon enclosures.

Hopefully they can both enjoy the rest of their lives, alone and undisturbed save for periodic weighing to keep tabs on their physical health over time.

They’re adorable! Glad you separated them. I moderate another reptile forum type site, and you wouldn’t believe how many geckos we’ve seen attack each other there. We definitely tell people not to keep solitary reptiles like leopard geckos together, lol.

 

[Brit G]

Perseus: "creamsicle" leopard gecko. Little sister's pet so not many pictures. He's always been on the skinny side to my eyes.
Have taken him to the vet several times, including one that I don't work for for a second opinion; been treated for parasites. No other symptoms. They said he's just a 'lean' young male specimen. Raised from young hatchling.

Regardless, 'Percy' is such a goofball! He's constantly moving and being a dork. Not shy in the slightest!

 

[Brit G]

No kidding! Took all of 20 minutes for them to adjust to their new enclosure in my home and then Gaia began bullying Theia. I should not have just taken the breeder's word for it - glad nothing serious occurred. Gaia began lunging and chasing Theia open-mouthed, little devil.

Had a spare enclosure on hand so separated immediately.
Hate to wonder what may have happened.

At least I have a personal anecdote to share when clients ask why it would be a bad idea for leopard geckos to share enclosures!

They’re adorable! Glad you separated them. I moderate another reptile forum type site, and you wouldn’t believe how many geckos we’ve seen attack each other there. We definitely tell people not to keep solitary reptiles like leopard geckos together, lol.

 

[Brit G]

Glad you give out good advise. Sad that you've had to see horrible things. What is that forum if I may ask?

They’re adorable! Glad you separated them. I moderate another reptile forum type site, and you wouldn’t believe how many geckos we’ve seen attack each other there. We definitely tell people not to keep solitary reptiles like leopard geckos together, lol.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Glad you give out good advise. Sad that you've had to see horrible things. What is that forum if I may ask?

There’s an app called “Amino”, where there are a few thousand different communities. If you search “reptiles” and pick the one with almost 20,000 members, that’s us.

I’ll warn you, if you choose to join, it’s mostly little kids and there’s a lot of drama at times. My username there is Lucky The Tortoise.

 

[Brit G]

Gotcha. Thx!

There’s an app called “Amino”, where there are a few thousand different communities. If you search “reptiles” and pick the one with almost 20,000 members, that’s us.

I’ll warn you, if you choose to join, it’s mostly little kids and there’s a lot of drama at times. My username there is Lucky The Tortoise.