Buying a lizard

[Louisebabe]

I have let my 2children talk me round to buying them a lizard! Does anybody know the best one to buy. My son wants a bearded dragon, but my daughter wants an Iguana. Any suggestions please?

[Topsie]

Bearded dragons are good to start with as they are quite good tempered useually.  I would certainly not go with an iguana for a first one as they grow very large and I have heard some have problems with women at that time of the month (however i dont know if this is true or not)

My first lizard was a leopard gecko he was fantastic and very very good temprement.  Though they dont grow very big but they are beautiful lizards.

But honestly I would steer away from Iguanas if it is your first lizard.

Good luck let us know what you get. 

Rebecca

[Pictus]

For one�s first lizard, I would suggest the Bearded Dragon. They grow to sustain a fine � if not social temperament, and some actually enjoy being handled. Iguanas are a bit unpredictable in terms of disposition. A �general comments� by way of a Green Iguana website says it best:

�An adult iguana can inflict serious harm. They should be kept away from small children and domestic pets. Because many if not most iguana pet purchases are "impulse" or incompletely researched as to long-term care requirements, countless new iguana owners don't know what they are getting into. Many owners are unable to or simply don't want to care for their pet when it grows too large. As a result, reptile adoption agencies are overrun with homeless iguanas. Due to the popularity of these reptiles, the retail price for them has dropped very low. This is unfortunate because many people are buying them without any knowledge of their care.�

An Iguana is not a vicious deadly creature that should be avoided by all � they can be marvelous critters � but I wouldn�t recommend them for the novice lizard keeper.

Here are some links to help you along the way:

Green Iguana:
http://www.tetra-fish.com/fauna/greeniguana.aspx

Bearded Dragon:
http://www.tetra-fish.com/fauna/beardeddragon.aspx

[Laura-sakura]

I don't want to put you off too much but in general reptiles do not make good childrens pets. From my experience reptiles do not enjoy being handled at all. Perhaps they enjoy your body heat but that is about it. The best beginners lizard would be a leopard gecko simplybecause they are such hardy lizard and, they do not require UV light. They are insectivorous you will need access to a pet shop selling crickets and you will need to dust the live prey with vitamins to keep your lizard in good condition. I found my bearded dragon was a very aggressive critter, bear in mind they will need UV light in order to synthesise vitamin D. I hope you make the right choice and do plenty of research before making such a commitment. Good luck!

[woofgang]

Louisebabe, how old are the children? Under 16, they can't buy animals. If they are little kids then that lizard is going to be YOURS, yours to feed pay for, clean out and generally look after. If you want a lizard, that's great, do your research and go for it. If not, then please have a good think about this.

PS I would give the same answer if you had said gerbil, cat , stick insect etcetera!!

[Louisebabe]

Thanks for the advice everyone. My children are 10 and 12 by the way, My sister in laws boyfriend has a bearded Dragon called "little fella!". My kids love going round and watching him, handling him. He even has his own little "harness" incase he takes him into their garden. He has lots of books etc, so dont worry, i will do my research thoroughly before buying one. I want everything to be perfect. Cheers everyone! 

[londondave]

We have a bearded dragon now 8 years old, they need a lot of care! Sebastian has a 4ft tank with a heat lamp inside and also a vitamin D3 light to keep his bones strong. They eat live crickets which also need to be fed with fruit and veg and most left overs, this ensures quality for the dragon, feeding them unfed crickets is pointless, You can also get calcium powder to dust crickets with before feeding. Ours also likes various fruit/veg too.

One end of sebastians tank is always slightly open and he jumps in and out as he pleases and has the run of the living room, they are quite laid back lizards and tolerate a lot. All the things said here about iguanas are true.

My girlfriend is a exotics specialist veterinary nurse.

[chelsea25]

I had a leopard Gecko, but make sure you get some good advice on keeping lizards. I was told by my local pet shop on what to keep him in and how many crickets to feed him. I then decided that I couldn't keep him anymore because the wooden home he was in was a pain. I then sold him to another pet shop who told me he was underweight and the home he was living in was no good at all. I felt terrible but I didn't know! Lucky I sold him, being properly looked after now.

He was easy to look after if you don't mind feeding him LIVE CRICKETS! good luck xx

[Louisebabe]

Chelsea, my son cant WAIT to feedit live crickets! Im definately going to think long and hard about this, and not jump in feet first. I want my "little fella" or "little lassy" to be well looked after!

[pelican]

Definately go with a Bearded Dragon.

They are very entertaining and relatively easy to keep, our daughter bhas had a beardy for nearly 6 years now however, how are you with feeding them live crickets?????