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#485933
Perry
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 First lizard…
I was wondering What would be a good beginner lizard for me, I’m 13 years old and take good care or a 2½ year old cat and a 1 year old fire-bellied toad. I was thinking about getting a bearded dragon but then realized that might be to challenging, thanks
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09/21/05 03:03pm
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#486023
KrazyKelli
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Message To: Perry In reference to Message Id: 485933
First lizard…
Hello again. ^^`
The three beginner lizards are the Leopard Gecko, Crested Gecko, and Bearded dragon. The easiest of them is the Leo. It really all depends on how much you want to pay and how much you wanna fuss with it.
Bearded dragons cost the most, but are the most cow-like and docile. Downside is that they grow about the lengh of your arm and need the more costly tank equipment.
Leos have the lowest cost, but as far as I know sleep the most.
Crested geckos are a step up from the two in challange, are about as cheap (I’m still talking over a hundred dollars here) as the leo. And Cresties can climb up the walls of the tank.
All are handlable, but I don’t recommend holding them (at least the geckos, anyway) long that 2 times a day, 20 minutes a time.
As for kitty prevention, have a lid on the tank you get and, if you can find them, clamps for the lid. This would most definately prevent cat entry. Same with putting the tank in a more secluded room.
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09/21/05 04:03pm
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#486025
KrazyKelli
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Message To: KrazyKelli In reference to Message Id: 486023
First lizard…
Correction on my last post.
I don’t recommend holding the future lizard longer than 2 time a day, 20 minutes at a time.
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09/21/05 04:05pm
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#486048
Perry
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Message To: KrazyKelli In reference to Message Id: 486025
First lizard…
How much do you think it would cost for a complette setup for the beardie?
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09/21/05 04:29pm
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#486180
KrazyKelli
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Message To: Perry In reference to Message Id: 486048
First lizard…
Well, every petstore and petshop is different. The beardie, vet visit, and setup would be probably 250 to 300 dollars. and that’s in the beginning. The tank would Have to be enlarged at some point as the beardie grows.. which throws on an extra hundred + unless you build your own cages/tanks.
And don’t spite me on that. I say ask the people in the beardie forum.
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09/21/05 06:24pm
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#488890
The Reptile
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Message To: KrazyKelli In reference to Message Id: 486180
First lizard…
A good first lizard is always a small one, you don’t have to take as much care of it than a larger one.
My lizard; Berber skink is a pretty good first lizard and easy to handle. If you have cats it is a very good idea to separate the lizard into a different room.
When i had a cat it slept on my lizard cage!
Hope this helps!
The reptile
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09/24/05 09:56am
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#489104
Ferndalezoo
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Message To: The Reptile In reference to Message Id: 488890
First lizard…
How’s that? How is a smaller lizard something you have to "take less care of"? Our cresties (8" max) are no less work than our beardie (18"). He’s just......... bigger.
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09/24/05 01:57pm
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#491360
Ulrik Olson
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Message To: Ferndalezoo In reference to Message Id: 489104
First lizard…
kid do you have any previous experience with something other than your toad,do you have friends or family that would help you...at all,do not i repeat do not neglect your pets,ive seen too many of my friends beardies and leos die because there attention span just wasnt enough.
If you want to get a begginner lizard then id say get the beardie,and get a hyper one .or perhaps a green or brown anole.maybe yor beardie will have a pimp wave my friends does its freakin sweet!
Pleez post more on the situation...
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09/26/05 01:28pm
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#491538
The danster
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Message To: Ulrik Olson In reference to Message Id: 491360
First lizard…
oh he will pay lots of attention to what lizard he gets..ii know him reallly wel..trust me...but i think he wants to get some type of skink now...
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09/26/05 04:43pm
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#491567
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: The danster In reference to Message Id: 491538
First lizard…
I would say get a crested gecko. They are one of the most active lizards i have seen or taken care of, even though they are nocturnal. They stay relativly small so you don’t need a large cage like a BD. You can get a nice looking crestie for about 65-75 dollars. A small juvie crestie plus the tank set up would be around $200 max. Depending on how expensive the crestie is.
Here is a pic of my setup. The whole thing minus the 10 gallon tank was about $75.
It is only a 10gallon so eventually it will have to be upgraded to a 20 gallon tall or larger.
And smaller lizards are no easier to take care of than larger lizards. Anoles are very challenging compared to bearded dragons and other lizards of similar size.
But BD, leos, cresties, pictus geckos are probably your best choices.
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09/26/05 05:05pm
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#492106
KaRbINe
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Message To: Sobedrummer007 In reference to Message Id: 491567
First lizard…
i recommend a crestie....just get a couple hides for them and a water dish then go out side gather some sticks....wash them...cook them in ur oven and then put them in ur tank....so after that..including substrate would probaly be like 50 dollars...and i am talking a 20 gallon high...as for the crestie my pet shop sells them for 50$....also cresties eat baby food and not that many crix...some beardies eat 100+ crickets a day...so that alot of money just on feeders
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09/27/05 12:16am
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#492590
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: KaRbINe In reference to Message Id: 492106
First lizard…
One bearded could not eat a 100+ crix in a day.  More like 20-50 depending on size.
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09/27/05 05:45pm
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#493439
Curly_Tails_Rock
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Message To: Sobedrummer007 In reference to Message Id: 492590
First lizard…
hello  My name is Jenn . i would suggest a cresty cuz they dont need a heat lamp, they prefer to be cool. like well... i live in canada so prices are different up here, but i have a curlytail lizard and he was 25$ and his 15 gal. tank was about 27$ and the sand in his tank was 14$ and then u need all the accesories so they dont get bored.. haha.. and plus the heat lamp, u have to get he bulbs everytime they run out, and up here they are about 7-16$! plus the hydro bill, so a crestie is a lot cheaper. my opinion
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09/28/05 02:22pm
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#493849
TutThePlatedLizard
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Message To: Curly_Tails_Rock In reference to Message Id: 493439
First lizard…
i would suggest either an iguana or plated lazrd, from my expereince. both are relatively cheap, i paid $150 tops for my platey and his cage, etc. plateds are omnivores, so if u cant get to the store for worms, u can feed them veggies and fruits. they get about 2 1/2 ft long and require about a 20-50 gallon enclosure. most say u need a bigger tank than 30, but mine is quite content in his 20 gallon. iguanas are also great pets, the only bad thing being their eventual size. thy eat fruits and veeggie and need around a 20 gallon in the beginning, with lots of climbing stuff. they are very sweet and tame. if u want super handablity, go with an iggy. if ur looking for a bond and awesome intelligence, go for a platey/ plateys are similar in shape to skinks, but are rougher and have a hard-ish time shedding. but both are great, cheap, hardy first lizards.
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09/28/05 07:56pm
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#493917
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: TutThePlatedLizard In reference to Message Id: 493849
First lizard…
No, do not get an iggy. Sure they can be great pets, but for a person who is looking for a good first lizard it is a horrible pet. I don’t know alot about plateys, but i have never seen them on any good beginner lists.
Like most everyone has said. Your best choices are.....
1.Bearded Dragon
2.Leopard gecko
3.Fat-tail gecko
4.Crested gecko
5.pictus gecko
6.Blue tongue skink
Do your research on these, and narrow down what you like.
I would recommend a crested gecko or a pictus gecko, but it is up to you.
Good hunting Perry
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09/28/05 08:44pm
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#494777
Herpman12
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Message To: The danster In reference to Message Id: 491538
 First lizard…
the anwser to thet is in what city do you live? if you live in miami like me i would go for the brodheaded skink but they have a nasty bite. as juvs they have a bright blue tail and a dark blue upper body. also the mole skinks are long and skiny. theyare prety mellow
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09/29/05 05:32pm
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#495052
TutThePlatedLizard
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Message To: Herpman12 In reference to Message Id: 494777
First lizard…
well lateeda, my first lizard was an iguana when i was five and it was a perfect first lizard. dont have to go to the store all the time for mealworms, extremely hadleable, i dont kno why u think its a bad choice. and the only reason u havent seen plated lizards as firsties is b/c they arent well known and only come in shops occasionally. gckos arent the best first lizards either. their skin is thin and easily rips plus they are nocturnal and not really handleable. usally a fist tim lizard owner want somthing they can hold, not just stare at. plus geckos are masters of escape, plateys and iggys are usually too lazy to escape plus they can climb glass. BT Skinks are awesome but expensive and they get big too. i still say go with a platey, they are awesome
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09/29/05 09:26pm
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#495084
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: TutThePlatedLizard In reference to Message Id: 495052
First lizard…
You obviously haven’t done any research on geckos. Almost all geckos can be handled on a regular basis, only a select few have such delicate skin that you can’t hold them. Plus Iggies can get extremely large, too large and then a person decides he/she no longer has enough room to house it anymore and wants to get rid of it. They need almost a 6-7 foot tall enclosure, and fairly wide and long too. And iggies can be great pets, but they can be really tempermental. One of my friends had an iggy that was real tame and it would watch tv with you and stuff, and then one day it just became really for lack of a better word agressive. Just because most geckos are nocturnal doesnt mean they aren’t active during the day either. My crestie is the most active lizard i have seen or taken care of. Day or night. And you are right most geckos are really agile and are great escapre artists, but if you just use common sense, you won’t have to worry about it.
Quote: BT Skinks are awesome but expensive and they get big too And an iggy is not too big?
Quote: plateds get about 2 1/2 ft long and require about a 20-50 gallon enclosure. most say u need a bigger tank than 30, but mine is quite content in his 20 gallon What?!?
I am not saying that iggies and plateys are not good pets, i like both of them. I am just saying they are not good BEGINNER reptiles.
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09/29/05 09:47pm
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#497217
TutThePlatedLizard
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Message To: Sobedrummer007 In reference to Message Id: 495084
First lizard…
first off, the reason my platey is content in a 20 gallon is b/c he hasnt reached full size yet, he’s only about 3 yrs old (they can live to be 30). Second of all, a person that does their research if they are considering an iguana would find out that they get big, and if they were responsible, as the kid souns, make future plans for what they will do once their iggy really starts growing. only an irresponsible herp owner wouldnt find out important facts like that. I definately knew what i was getting into with my platey. i knew he’d be around for college and probably even my wedding. i’ve made plans for this, as any good owner would do. personally, with all the iggies i’ve been around, none were aggressive, and i’ve handled around 10 or so doing various jobs volunteering and such. every1 i’ve been around has been calm and tame. u cant make an assumption about an animal b/c of one of them. u can however, make a fairly good decision after handling many of them. if everyone went by assumptions b/c of one animal, there’d be a lot more of unwanted pets in our world. i wouldnt have the awesome cat i have today, nor the dof i have today. common sense doesnt always prevent escape.geckos are quick, and if they want out, usually a gecko will get out.we have several that hang on our door at night an get in at least every 2 weeks. and if u would’ve ream the sentance CORRECTLY, u would of noticed that i said that BT skinks get big TOO, as in also, as in like the iguanas.... and i am saying ther ARE good beginner reptiles. its called an OPINION
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10/01/05 11:25pm
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#497738
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: TutThePlatedLizard In reference to Message Id: 497217
First lizard…
Well then i guess we have both stated out opinions so perry can decide.
And about the whole repsonsibility thing. Alot of beginner reptile owners, particularly young ones, have not researched at all when they ask q’s on the forum. That is why usually people give lists of good species to research on. Alot of people think that they can just ask q’s on here and think they have researched enough. I have seen it everyday. And i am sorry if i seemed like a jerk. I was just basing my opinions on my experiences, as you have yours.
Talk to you later 
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10/02/05 01:26pm
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#498976
TutThePlatedLizard
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Message To: Sobedrummer007 In reference to Message Id: 497738
First lizard…
presonally, i do not believe thirteen is that young. They are entering the high school world, and have to have alot of responsibility to get successfully get through it and get into college. i believe anyone who can manage to find this site and use it for help seems responsible enough. it all depends on maturity and your personal amt of love for herps. i got my iggy when i was...(wow...so long ago) im pretty sure i was 6yrs old. apart from cutting up Rocky’s fruits and veggies, my dad made me do everything (don’t trust a 6yr old with a knife! :P ). I was pretty good at it i guess, the only reason i ended up giving him away was b/c we had a fireman that would come talk to schools and ours, fireman jim, said he would never rescue a reptile, which totally upset me. i didnt want to risk not being able to get rocky out if something happened too the house, so i gave him to the lady who sold us our house. she ended up loving him and bought several others. she died a couple yrs ago, but i do not kno what became of my dear Rocky.
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10/03/05 10:03am
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#499749
CWDFreak
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Message To: TutThePlatedLizard In reference to Message Id: 498976
First lizard…
I think that you should get one of three lizards
1. Bearded Dragon
2. Leopard Gecko
3. Crested Gecko
The Beardie can get epensive but if money isn’t an option i would say that you should get that. the leopard gecko is also good. It is cute and not that big so its caging isn’t to much. The only problume is that they are nocturnal. the crested gecko isn’t to epensive and they a active during the day sso if you can’t spend tyo much money get the crested.
Hope this helps :)
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10/03/05 07:46pm
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#499852
Sobedrummer007
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Message To: CWDFreak In reference to Message Id: 499749
First lizard…
Crested geckos are nocturnal.
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10/03/05 08:47pm
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#504797
Flip
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Message To: Sobedrummer007 In reference to Message Id: 499852
First lizard…
Pictus gecko’s are great for beginners my first was a pictus ! If u find this species appealing pm me and I’ll answer your questions .
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10/08/05 09:24am
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