Lizard as a pet

Thinking of getting my son a lizard for Christmas. Preliminary research seems to point to a Bearded Dragon. Anyone have experience in this area?

 

Yep, my son has 2. We got them as babies and now they are fairly large. Good first lizard because they accept handling and eat pellets and veggies if you aren't into the cricket thing. My son is a little young so yours truly gets to really take care of them but he loves them and is learning responsiblity. Get yourself an exo-terra habitat and a good book on bearded dragon care for him to read and you should be fine.

 

Green Iguanas are also pretty robust. I had one for 9 years before he passed on. He had a great personality and was potty trained.

 

My sons had a pair of spotted leopard geckos.
They got pretty big after a few years.
Fed them crickets from the pet store.
Fairly safe to handle but they do bite.

Worst bite was my son had the lizard in his open hand (lizard is about 5 inches long at this age) and it decided to jump off his hand for the floor. Halfway to the floor, my son reached down and grabbed him in mid-air. Lizard did not like that and bit into his hand as hard as he could. Lizard let go pretty quickly. We couldn't really blame the lizard - the quick grab probably was too firm and maybe even hurt the lizard some.

They mostly tolerate being handled and are easy to catch if they get loose in the house.

 

Thanks for the info. I always thought the Iguana was a higher maintenance reptile. I may stop at a pet store and look into it a bit more.

 

I have had both and the iguana grows far larger and can be a hit or miss on taming. bearded dragons are much better for a first lizard and leopard geckos as mentioned above are fragile but are fairly easy to take care of and they stay small. They are nocturnal so not very exciting to watch. How old is your son?

 

We had Leopard Geckos when I was younger. They were always pretty calm which made them ok to handle, but not very exciting to watch. Then again we also had snakes and turtles as well.

 

this far in the thread and no sexual pejoratives?

What gives...

 

My son had a bearded dragon from a tiny 3" juvenile up to about 24" long, then he resold it to a Pet Store...

Very docile, no troubles I recall..........

Wash hands carefully after handling, and you'll get good at keeping crickets alive!

He had newts and geckos and all kinds of stuff...the bearded dragon saw him from a young lad all the way thru Hgh School graduation.

 

Get him a Komodo dragon!! LOL jk...how old is your son?... I had a bearded dragon a few years back and they are great lizards to have ...very tame and friendly pretty easy to take care of too....Like Tex said, wash hands after handling as they can carry salmonella.

 

Used to own an exotic pet store so this is what I would tell any first time lizard seekers.

Absolutely no to the iquanas. They get large and go through teenage years where they will tailwhip the snot out of you. You may get lucky and get a very docile one, but more than likely, you will have your hands full at some point. Once you get to be afraid of picking the iquana up/interacting, then it is all down hill from there. Not a good choice for beginners.

Beardies are a good choice as they are usually very tolerate of handling. They do grow to a foot or more so you will need to think about the enclosure you keep them in and you also need to be able to provide a warm and a cool side for the lizard to thermoregulate (that goes with all of these guys).

Leopard geckos are good as well. They are hardy little guys and require less space in the long run than a beardie. They do, however, drop their tails more readily than some other species. They don't need lighting which is sometimes a plus as far as cost, burnt carpet, etc

Crested geckos can be good pets as well, but they like to jump out of your hand or off of your shoulder. These guys are my personal preference. No lights as well.

The best thing you can do, IMO, is to read up on everything and visit your local pet stores to actually handle some and talk to the workers about everything. I suggest finding and establishing a good relationship with a good pet store as you will need their assistance from time to time.

Just like looking for a Ferrari, your research will make the cost of ownership less painful, even if we are talking about lizards!

 

Chick love hearing...do you wanna pet my lizard

 

I have kept lots of exotic pets including leopard geckos, bearded dragons, several pythons, an american alligator, and normal and albino iguanas.

The bearded dragon is a great option. The size is always manageable, diet easy, good activity, etc.

Green Iguanas can easily get too big for anyone but an adult man to handle. A 6' long 30 lb lizard can mess a kid up and like an earlier post said, make them scared of it at which point it is all over.

If he was like me as a kid, he may really want a snake and you may view the lizard as a compromise. The snake is probably easier to care for and carries less of a bite risk in many cases. Just a thought.

Good luck with the search. If I can help feel free to PM me.

-Ed

 

Iguanas can whip the crap out of you..

My first wife grew up in S.A. and told tales of her Golden Retriever doing battle with them.

After he won, her chiwawa would boldy rush up and claim the kill, over the carcase...

 

My boy is 9 and is really pressing for a pet. I thought Iguanas were more advanced than I wanted. He is a real animal lover and decided he couldn't get a snake because he didn't like the idea of feeding it a mouse. Lol. I think we are going to the library this weekend and to a few pet stores too. I want him to reach into a tank and pick one up on his own first. Not an easy thing to do for the first time. It won't be much of a surprise but I don't want to get this wrong.

 

Funny!

 

Sucks that all I got was an ant farm as a kid!

 

I guess I had a docile one !

 

From a father that has to go buy crickets all the damn time you may want to rethink that mouse once every three week thing! Especially now that PetSmart sells frozen ones! A little king snake or milk snake would be a great choice.

 

I wanted him to go with a ball python. I had one very briefly and liked it. I think he would have been okay after the first couple times but not sure mom would.

 

I had one but he got loose.

RMX
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If you are thinking snake at all, please feed them more often than every three weeks. They really should eat about once a week.

Kingsnakes and cornsnakes are good starter snakes as well as ball pythons. I started with a Tarahumra (or Chihuahua or Mexican) Mountain King and they are great. IMO, ball pythons are a bit more sluggish and not usually as active. The interaction is higher with the king or corn. Milksnakes tend to be a little spastic when they are small so I wouldn't recommend them as starters.

 

You know I just saw one like that in Tokyo. Where did you lose it? Some homeowners may want to talk to you.

 

Not gonna be a snake. I fed my Python about every week. Sometimes that poor mouse would be in the cage for a few days and think that was his new home then WHAM! Done.

 

Most snakes will eat frozen/thawed mice. Also, if you do get a stubborn feeder that will only eat live, please don't leave it with the snake for more than 30 minutes or so. If the snake doesn't eat it by then, then it isn't going to for a while and the rodent can actually kill the snake since the snake can't get away like it would in the wild. Nothing like opening your snakes cage to find it chewed up by a starving mouse or rat.