Picking the right Lizard

[Avarice29]

I've been a member for a while.. I own 2 torts and 3 water turtles.. I love my lil guys but... lately whenever I go to my local pet smart/ petco stores... I find myself observing lizards.
I saw this white bearded dragon.. and I wanted to buy it.. but I am a complete novice with lizards. Here is a picture of one that looks like the one I saw at the store.

I was wondering... if anyone has experience with lizards. Are bearded dragons a great starter pet?
I'm looking for a user friendly lizard that has excellent personality.
One that isn't too shy and wouldn't mind climbing up my arm...

Any advice? All advice is welcome of course.

 

[JeffG]

Bearded dragons make excellent pets. Very easy to care for, and most tolerate handling well. The main negative to them in my opinion is the need to feed live insects. Crickets are a pain to deal with and can get pretty expensive.

Other than that, I think a BD would be a great choice for your first lizard. I am a bit biased, but I think bluetongue skinks are even better though.

 

[Tim/Robin]

Agreed. The big question is, crickets/roaches or lettuce/salads?

 

[Avarice29]

Ahh well thats good to know
I... don't think il be comfortable picking up roaches... crickets are fine but not roaches >,<

Are bluetongues smaller than BD, or approx same size? I'm trying to get a small lizard for now.. i know it will grow but atleast for now i am wanting a smaller lizard

 

[wellington]

Agreed I loved having my beardie. However, the live food is a pain. But they can eat crickets, roaches and all the worms they usually sell at pet stores. The lettuce doesn't come until they are older, but still needs the live food.

 

[Tom]

Bearded dragons make excellent pets. Very easy to care for, and most tolerate handling well. The main negative to them in my opinion is the need to feed live insects. Crickets are a pain to deal with and can get pretty expensive.

Other than that, I think a BD would be a great choice for your first lizard. I am a bit biased, but I think bluetongue skinks are even better though.

Ditto. Just ditto.

 

[Itort]

Ahh well thats good to know
I... don't think il be comfortable picking up roaches... crickets are fine but not roaches >,<

Are bluetongues smaller than BD, or approx same size? I'm trying to get a small lizard for now.. i know it will grow but atleast for now i am wanting a smaller lizard

Bluetongues and Bearded Dragons are about the same size and require the same size enclosure (40L or larger). The advantage of a bluetongue is live food not required. There many good breeders of bluetongues out there (one is a member of this forum).

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Ditto on the blue-tongue skink. They are awesome, and little omnivorous garbage pails that eat a lot of stuff and do not require live foods.

Here is "Baby Sinclair" the last BTS we had.

----------------
Also consider Uromastyx lizards, mainly Malis and Saharans (often erroneously sold as Nigers). Very similar to bearded dragons, but completely herbivorous.

Other options are plated lizards or desert iguanas.

 

[Tom]

There are a lot of choices for smaller lizards. It just depends on what interests you and what appeals to you. The vast majority of smaller lizards are going to be insectivores and this means you will need to deal with a variety of bugs all the time. Many people initially think roaches are "yucky", but Blaptica dubia is really not too bad. They are relatively slow and easy to handle. They don't stink, make noise or jump like crickets. They don't suddenly die off for no reason like crickets. They are easy to breed and therefore you don't have to buy them all the time like crickets. They won't live if they get loose in your house, unless you live in South FL.

Anyhow, look at collard lizards, schneider skinks, fire skinks, all sorts of agamas, chameleons, red or yellow ackies, Mountain Horned dragons... the possibilities are endless.

Try to find a local reptile show to go to. Take a look around at the huge variety and see if something strikes you.

 

[Itort]

Another type you may be interested in are the crested and gargoyle geckos. They are smaller then both BDs and BTs and are fed on a propared diet such as Repashy diet. They thrive at room temp (mid 60s to 70s), don't need basking or UVB lights (nocturnal) and tolerate moderate handleing.

 

[Avarice29]

Housing shouldn't be a problem.... I can try and get a decent sized tank at this expo this weekend.
Handling crickets and some worms should be no problem... but roaches I simply cannot stand. I see one and well.. I know it may be mean or cruel but I stomp on them >,<. If I get an insectivore, can I go without feeding them roaches and only feed them crickets and worms?
Bluetongued Skins look real neat!
Whoa, I didn't know there was so much variety when it came to lizards.
So many neat animals in the world...

Thanks very much guys! I will let you guys know which pet will be my new companion come this weekend ^^
Really.. thanks guys. I really appreciate everything. All the help and advice.. I am really grateful <3

 

[Floof]

If you go with a bearded dragon, keep in mind they grow FAST when cared for properly. With a bearded dragon, your little lizard will not stay little for long! They're also a lot higher maintenance than some of the other beginner lizards. Hands down, my skink is easily 10x easier to care for than my beardie.

Skinks are awesome. I've only met one Blue tongue so far, and I have a Schneider's skink currently. I love my Schneider's! S/he is very personable and easy to work with. They're omnivores, and do need live feeders, at least from all that I've read so far. They need UVB and do best in at least a 40 gallon breeder (though some sources say they do fine in a 20 long--wouldn't know whether this is true, as I haven't tried it).

Here's mine, back when I first got her in June. She's filled out since then, and gone through a couple sheds so her scales are in better shape. That's the one pitfall of Schneider's... Seems like most if not all are wild caught.

Crested Geckos and Gargoyle geckos are both insanely cute, small, and super easy to take care of. GREAT first lizard pets. Both are generally regarded as very docile, as well, though you do get the occasional wild child (my roommate had an adult male Crestie who absolutely hated being handled) and they do have a habit of jumping while being handled.

As has already been said, Blue tongue skinks are also excellent lizards. I'm biding my time til I have space for another 4 foot viv so I can get one--personally, I love the Merauke subspecies (locality?).

There are many smaller species of lizard and gecko that can all make great beginner lizards. A great thing for you to do would be to go through the expo and write down what species catch your eye. Talk with the breeders a bit and get an idea of what would work for you, then go home and do some research before you make your decision. There's nothing more annoying than spending a bunch of money at the expo and bringing home your new pet just to find out you got some integral part of their care drastically wrong... So be sure you know how to care for the animal you get before you actually bring it home.

As far as feeder bugs are concerned... Most of your pet store options aren't very good. You have crickets, which are riddled with parasites and just plain obnoxious to deal with. Superworms and mealworms, which have crappy nutrition content overall. Waxworms are only good as a now-and-then treat, as they're very, very fatty... That about sums it up.

There are other options--silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms, and butter worms are all excellent feeder options (butters are like waxworms, treat only, but have more nutritional value than just being fatty), but feeding a lizard on just these gets very expensive, very fast.

Roaches are both superior nutritionally and affordable and easy to work with. I know... Roaches, ew, creepy. Dubia roaches, however, are not at all difficult to deal with. Most expos will have at least one person selling Dubias... Maybe while you're there you can ask a vendor to let you hold a Dubia? That way you can see what they're like before you make your final decision regarding feeders.

Geeze, long post. Sorry... I'm very good at being long-winded. Lol. Good luck with your decision, and be sure to post pics!

 

[Tom]

Housing shouldn't be a problem.... I can try and get a decent sized tank at this expo this weekend.

Where are you? I'm planning on hitting the Anaheim show this weekend. Is that the one you are headed to?

 

[Avarice29]

@ Floof
She is gorgeous!! I normally don't see skins where I live.. like at my local pet stores but theyre neat .
I've written down a few cool pets that I've seen and I do plan on asking some of the breeders about their pets.
You have a good point. When I make the choice.. I want whatever is best for my new friend.
I thought crickets were good enough and worms on occasion but roaches... hmm.. I wonder if the venders of dubias could teach me the proper way of holding a roach and then feeding it... I will ask for sure though


@ Tom
Yep thats the one
I plan on going Saturday, I wish I could go on Sunday... wedding but I should be at the EXPO from noon until they close .
Hope to see ya there

Since I'm a newbie, do you guys think a vendor would let me hold their pet? I know it's a bit weird, but I'd like to atleast try to hold it to know the feel. I've hardly ever handled reptiles. Only.. tortoises

 

[cristal redfoot]

Chinese water dragons are wonderful and beautiful lizards

 

[Floof]

Crickets are okay if you gutload and supplement them, and test/treat your pet for parasites regularly. Roaches are superior, by far, in all ways, but that doesn't mean you can't just use crickets.

For sure, ask a roach vendor. They should be plenty willing to tell you how to care for them (super easy!) and let you hold one.

There's nothing wrong with asking a vendor if you can hold a pet you're interested in buying. Make sure you hand sanitize before and after touching any animals.

 

[Tom]

@ Floof
She is gorgeous!! I normally don't see skins where I live.. like at my local pet stores but theyre neat .
I've written down a few cool pets that I've seen and I do plan on asking some of the breeders about their pets.
You have a good point. When I make the choice.. I want whatever is best for my new friend.
I thought crickets were good enough and worms on occasion but roaches... hmm.. I wonder if the venders of dubias could teach me the proper way of holding a roach and then feeding it... I will ask for sure though


@ Tom
Yep thats the one
I plan on going Saturday, I wish I could go on Sunday... wedding but I should be at the EXPO from noon until they close .
Hope to see ya there

Since I'm a newbie, do you guys think a vendor would let me hold their pet? I know it's a bit weird, but I'd like to atleast try to hold it to know the feel. I've hardly ever handled reptiles. Only.. tortoises

I'm a dubia vendor. I'd be happy to tell you everything about them. At one time I had over 200,000 of them. I've sold probably a million of them.

If you want to try to meet up at the show, shoot me a PM and we can figure something out.

 

[tort man20]

Leapherd geckos are great little lizards there fun and easy to handle. They only need about a 20 long for adulthood

 

[jtrux]

Well did you get something?