When students go into a pet store they can find the common pets for sale like cats, dogs and goldfish, but these Tompkins students took home, found three unusual pets. These three students walked right past the cat, dogs and goldfish and straight into the reptile section.

” Zaire and Mila are my two Columbian Red Tail Boas. They are easy to handle, especially when they are out together and it’s always cute to see them cuddling together. My favorite thing is when Zaire’s teeth pop out when he yawns and he gets really confused about it,” said junior Alyssa Brim.

Brim’s mom was the one that sparked her interest in snakes, Zaire and Mila were presents from her mom. Like Brim, Remi Pattyn, sophomore, has a close relationship with his Leopard Gecko, named Ying. Pattyn got Ying from Petsmart because she seemed to be an interesting pet, but was also easy to care for.

” I named her Ying because she is Albino. We enjoy staying up late together and she seems to like watching me finish my homework,” said Pattyn.

Like Pattyn, senior Tony Cipresso, had an interest for the lizard family, and decided on an Iguana. The iguana does not have a gender yet so he just calls it Iggy. With a vegetarian diet, heating and a tank that it can grow big in, Iggy has all its basic needs taken care of.

” I really wanted a reptile, so I chose the Iguana because of its easy to handle and will grow old. The coolest thing it does is whips its tail,” said Cipresso.

No matter what type of reptile these three chose, they love and care for the animals. Snakes, geckos and iguanas all have the same basic needs, but can be great pets.