Lizards

jdluvr06

Who knows about lizards? As pets that is. My nephew has said he wants a pet lizard for Christmas and my sister has okayed me getting him one. I'm trying to find a good beginner lizard.

ashley8918

I have no useful information, but I do have this.

lc07

Next time I find one in my house I'm calling you to come save me instead of my neighbor! 

natswild

iguanas are easy to raise, as long as you have a big enough aquarium, heating rock, etc.

CMGragain

Lizards do not make good pets.  They do not respond to human affection.  I think it is sad to see wildlife in cages.  Guinea Pigs are a better choice if space is an issue.

ashley8918

CMGragain said:

Lizards do not make good pets.  They do not respond to human affection.  I think it is sad to see wildlife in cages.  Guinea Pigs are a better choice if space is an issue.

jdluvr06

CMGragain said:

Lizards do not make good pets.  They do not respond to human affection.  I think it is sad to see wildlife in cages.  Guinea Pigs are a better choice if space is an issue.

It has nothing to do with space and everything to do with my nephew wanting a lizard and auntie jd spoiling him rotten.

ETA: FYI reptiles do respond to human affection. Not in the same way as a cat or dog but they do respond. 

paperpusher

H has a bearded dragon. We have named him Squishy.

I agree with @CMGragain that they don't make good pets. I'd say they are ok for adults or maybe even an older teen? Just because of the type of care that can be required and the money needed to support them in the terms of food, environment, maybe even vet bills. The initial setup is almost like an investment because of how costly they can be.

He can be a little stubborn shit sometimes, but I think that's just like any normal animal.

If you handle them regularly starting early on they can be friendly about it. I've heard of people just letting them roam about a room outside of their tanks for a little while. Have to be careful and not let them head towards tiny spaces where you won't be able to get them out.
They can become hostile and depressed if not cared for properly.

They will need a tank. Think fish tank. Not a cage. With a lid. Something big enough they won't be able to climb out of. They can get pretty big and you will want to make sure they have room to move around and take into account the size that they will become. It will also need to be big enough to allow for a hot area under a heat lamp. And a cool area were there's no heat.

A heat lamp is crucial. Sometimes even a heat pad that gets placed under the tank. Some owners have multiple heat lamps. One for the day that looks almost like a normal lamp. And another just for the night.
For Squishy we just have the single lamp that's on during the day. Approximately 12 hours? We have it set on a timer, which I highly recommend. If we didn't have a timer I don't know what we would do. Sometimes I leave before his light comes on. Sometimes I get home after it's shut off. I'm betting you I would forget to turn it off or on if it weren't hooked to the timer.

I'm not sure of all of the needs for the heat lamp, the one I found most important and has stuck with me is it is used for digestion. It helps them digest whatever food they've consumed.

Food: typically they eat worms, crickets, veggies like lettuce and tomatoes. Fresh spinach should only be given to them occasionally and as a treat. They supposedly eat every day, but ours eats every other.

Squishy has changed over time. In the beginning he ate all of the above. Especially liked fresh diced tomatoes. But now he doesn't like crickets. Their shells can be hard to digest and they are mean. They bite and can irritate the lizards. Which is why any crickets or worms left over after feeding time should be removed from the cage. And he doesn't like tomatoes much.

Water: this can be done a couple of different ways. There should always be some form of water source available for the lizard inside the cage. Whether it is a bowl with some water that is changed daily or a flowing source type or veggies that have a little moisture on them.
Because bearded dragons are more desert than tropical, if a flowing source is chosen you will want a humidity thermometer. If it becomes too much they can get sick.

Squishy refuses to drink from a stand still source. We don't have the money to buy a flowing source and the setup required for it. So what I do is make sure there are always fresh veggies that have been washed and leave moisture on them in his food bowl. Occasionally I use a spray bottle and give him a quick spritz. But H gives him a "bath" every couple weeks. We have a dish pan large enough to fit him comfortably. It gets filled with a gallon or so of room temp or slightly warmed water. And he places him in there for about 15-20 minutes. He drinks and moves around. I get the impression he enjoys it and doesn't like to leave the warmth created by it.

Other things needed will be bedding. Different people recommend different things. The options I know of are sand, ground shells, and carpet. I warn against carpeting because their nails can get caught in it. And I warn against the sand because it can get in their noses and mouths and they could get sick. We stick to ground walnut shells.

Some type of lounging item. In our tank we've got a couple pieces of drift wood that allows Squishy to get closer to the light if he wishes.
Other types of lounging items could be a rock or those fake stub things you can find at pet stores.

They live a long while and if taken care of properly you can become attached to them just like any other pet.

dolewhipper

I know a couple things.

Needs: Aquarium with a screen-like top, bedding (small rocks for dragons, moss for other lizards), heating lamp, rock/fake plants with branches they can climb, some kind of hiding place, a little cup (think a condiment cup at a restaurant) for water, something you can mist water with. This will not be a cheap gift.

Good lizards to consider: bearded dragons, green anoles, leopard geckos. I'm not a fan of iguanas, personally. Dragons are my favorite just because they're cool looking and don't need much fuss.

Make sure there are places around his town that he can buy live crickets for it to eat. He will have to feed it every week or every other week depending on size and type.

dcbride86

My brother had 2 when we were little.  One of them got some horrible tumor or something.  I will never be able to unsee the growth coming out of that poor, dying lizard.

blabla89

I had a green anole lizard when I was a little kid. I'd say that's a "beginner" lizard, if there is such a thing.

You have to get the whole set-up including the cage, gravel, stuff to climb on, heat lamp or rock, little dish of water, etc. Feeding it live crickets is kind of a PITA because you have to go to the pet store every week to buy them (it's not like dog food that you can buy in bulk) and keep them in a separate cage. They smell kind of funky, and they chirp. So you may want to make sure your sister is aware of all this before you buy it.

novella1186

I've had lizards my whole life. Chameleons: NO! They're cute but extremely high maintenance, they can die from stress (and literally everything causes them stress), they have a ton of environmental requirements that are expensive, and their little scrawny legs can break if you pick them up too fast. 

Iguanas: nope. They tend to bite and some can even be aggressive. Because of the bacteria that's naturally in a lizard's mouth, a bite can be bad bad bad news. Plus it fucking hurts. 

Anoles: Nope. Not for a kid. (We actually have 3 of these right now). They're fun to watch BUT they're really fucking fast and escape easily. The kid will inevitably want to hold it, will most likely end up ripping its tail off (very common) and that sucker will be gone for good in an instant. 

Bearded dragons: This would be the best recommendation. They live in desert climates so you're going to have to set this guy up with adequate heat and the right type of lights, including a special basking light. They eat live crickets (as do all the lizards mentioned above) so this is an on-going thing the kid is gonna have to deal with. However, they're very mellow and typically never bite unless they're super provoked. I had my bearded dragon (his name was Osiris but my mom called him liz for lizard) for 12 years. He was a cool guy. He'd sit on the couch with me, stroll around the room, etc and was always very laid back. Never bit anybody, never tried to escape, never had any issues with him. Plus he looked cool. And he was a little easier to care for and set up an environment for than most other common types of lizards. For example, anoles can't drink from standing pools of water. They need to drink dew drops off of leaves, so you either need to get them a misting system and keep it filled and running, or spray-mist their leaves multiple times a day. Bearded dragons can just drink out of a water dish. .

Any lizard you get is going to have very specific requirements for space, temperature, lighting, hiding spots, basking spots, food, water etc, so above all just make sure you get the right set-up for him or he won't last long.  

futuremrsr2015

FI and I had a Chinese Water Dragon for awhile.  It was a lot of work and money to get everything set up and working properly. Then all the vet bills, she got an infection and had to go to the vet every two weeks for a few months.  She needed a huge tank (we had one that was 6'x2'x2 1/2'), lights, heaters, water filter and all the decorations. 

She was awesome when she was healthy and once everything was set up it was good but before we had all the automatic lights and filters we couldn't leave even for a weekend without someone coming to the house to take care of her.  She had her own personality and her and the cat would entertain each other through the glass of her tank.    If all the equipment didn't take up so much room I'd get another but I also don't want to go through a sick lizard again.

My advice is to get as much information as possible and make sure he knows exactly what taking care of a lizard means (ours was higher maintenance than the cat) and that some of them need huge terrariums.  It's also a big commitment ours was supposed to have a lifespan of 15-20 years. 

I know most of this sounds negative but we were told by the pet store that the tank she was in was fine then we got home and found out we needed a lot more stuff and time to take care of her.  Best of luck and I hope everything works out.

loveislouder

I told my FI I was a lizard the other night because I couldn't warm up... so the only logical explanation was that I had turned into a lizard and was cold blooded.  I may or may not have had a half bottle of rum by then, though.

ETA: Words

levioosa

I think a Bearded Dragon would be the best bet.  

jdluvr06

Thanks everyone. I was leaning towards a bearded dragon. Actually after I posted this I talked to my sister again and it turns out my BIL had different sorts of lizards until he went to college so he knows what he is doing. My nephew is pretty young but he already helps take care of the hamsters, frog, and parakeets. I think he is starting to feed and water the cats and dog too. Yeah my sister has a zoo.

novella1186

jdluvr06 said:

Thanks everyone. I was leaning towards a bearded dragon. Actually after I posted this I talked to my sister again and it turns out my BIL had different sorts of lizards until he went to college so he knows what he is doing. My nephew is pretty young but he already helps take care of the hamsters, frog, and parakeets. I think he is starting to feed and water the cats and dog too. Yeah my sister has a zoo.

Lol I don't judge that. We had a zoo when I was growing up: dog, cats, lizards, mice, hamster, chinchilla, salamander, snakes, parrot, parakeet, finches, love bird, frogs, fish, hermit crabs, tarantulas, ant farm... 

Right now FI and I have some lizards, 4 tropical frogs, and 2 dogs.