Beginner lizard?

Question

i live in florida. what is a good choice for a first lizard?

preferably raised from a baby...

and what else is required to raise/keep/breed lizard(s)?

i was thinking leopard geckos or a green anole ??

Answer 1

Being myself, I highly recommend bearded dragons. They are great beginner herps, and are fairly easy to care for. The following is a care sheet that I have made based on about 1 year worth of serious research and talking to experienced owners/breeders.

.:HEATING/LIGHTING:.

A bearded dragon will need to be kept in a minimum of a 40 gallon tank. The general rule of thumb is “the bigger, the better” (for adults). This needs to be more ground area than height. Put a UVA/UVB light across the back of the tank, and put a basking lamp on one end of the tank. Make sure the lights used produce enough UVA/UVB to help the beardie produce the vitamins/nutrients necessary to keep them healthy. Insufficient UV can result in the development of MBD, AKA Metabolic Bone Disease. This is much like Osteoporosis in humans, and can immobilize/kill the beardie. The basking temperature should be between 95-105 degrees F, and the opposite end ("cool down" or regular temp.) needs to be between 75-85 degrees. A good average is about 80 degrees. At night, you can turn off all heat/lights as long as the temperature will stay in the 70’s. Never let night-time temps drop below 60 degrees! Your beardie could freeze to death! Put a digital thermometer on each side of the tank and make sure it never gets too hot or too cold. The lights need to be on for 12 hours a day, and can be turned off at night if temperatures are above 65 degrees. buy a timer to do this for you. Do not use stick-on thermometers; they tend to be VERY inaccurate. To read temperatures, use a temp gun or, as I stated earlier, a digital thermometer. Make sure it can read the temperature within about 2 degrees of the actual temp. It is recommended that you allow your beardie to enjoy supervised time outside is natural sunlight, as long as the temperatures are appropriate.

.:SUBSTRATE:.

Substrates tend to be a huge topic amongst experienced owners; people argue that sand is good, that carpet is good, wood chips are bad, calcium sand is good, etc. Don’t worry about this; many owners simply avoid “particulate”, or loose, substrates. This includes sand, woodchips, and crushed walnut shells. Carpet can snag tiny claws, so don’t bother buying it. Put a baby dragon on paper towels or non-stick padded shelf liner, and if you want, move it to tile when it gets bigger. If you choose to use tile, get an “unfinished” tile that can help file down their claws.

.:FOOD:.

Bearded dragon food isn’t as much of an issue as you may think. First of all, babies need 20% veggies and 80% insects in their diet. You can give them crickets, phoenix worms, freshly molted meal worms, or small silk worms. Crickets need to be dusted with calcium. Phoenix worms, however, are naturally packed with protein and calcium, so they don’t need to be dusted. Do not feed your beardie anything that you caught outside, since wild-caught insects can carry illnesses or have ingested some level of pesticides. Never feed it anything larger than the space between the beardie’s eyes. Veggies can include kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and collard greens as staples, then some other things added to make a salad. This includes prickly pear cactus leaves (Nopales), bell pepper, occasional berries, and any type of squash imaginable.

Check out the color-coded nutrition guide at www. beautifuldragons. com for more food ideas and nutrition content.

Do not feed your beardie within 3 hours of bed-time, since it takes a long time to digest food.

.:WATER/BATHING:.

Many people choose to use a water dish in the tank. However, it is strongly advised that you DO NOT do this; the heat will evaporate the water, causing the beardie to contract a respiratory infection from the humidity. Most people choose to mist their bearded dragons instead of risking the respiratory infection. Mist it once or twice daily, and hold the misting bottle near its face, allowing the beardie to drink from a small stream of water. Don’t mist the entire tank; only the lizard. This is especially useful when it sheds. Buy a humidity gauge to monitor humidity levels. The in-tank humidity needs to stay around 20%.

Bearded dragons need to be bathed weekly; to do so, get a plastic bucket and fill it with shallow water (to the elbows for babies, and to the shoulders for adults. Let the beardie soak for 10-20 minutes once a week. This also gives you enough time to really clean out the tank.

.:BREEDING:.

*Note: It is recommended that unless you really know what you're doing (not to mention have alot of money!), don't attempt to breed, since it can end in disaster. *

First of all, females can produce eggs whether they have mated or not. These eggs are not fertile, and need to be disposed of.

.:OTHER:.

For basking purposes, beardies need a rock, log, or branch to sit on. The best idea is to buy a log half from a pet store so it has a basking area and a hiding place. Do not use heating pads or self-heating rocks because they will burn the beardie’s belly!!! The heat receptors are located on top of its head, so your beardie can’t detect high temperatures easily under its body.

Try to keep the tank as empty as possible; avoid crowding it with accessories, and allow the beardie enough room to move.

When you first get your bearded dragon, try not to handle it for the first 4 days. It needs some time to get used to its new surroundings. Remember to buy everything BEFORE you buy the lizard.

After the first 4 days, handle it for a couple minutes each day, until it gets used to you.

With these tips, you should have a fairly easy time caring for your new bearded dragon.

Answer 2

Leopard Gecko

Bearded Dragon

Answer 3

anoles are boring. we had them for three years and then we got bearded dragons.

bearded dragons are awesome. (: so much funner and easier to take care of. friendly and good for any age.

just google search them and contact me if you want more information. we breed them so im sure we can help. (:

Answer 4

i would go with a bearded dragon, uromastyx or blue tongued skink. research some of them and see which ones you like best

Answer 5

crested geckos make great beginner reptiles and can take more handling than a leopard gecko and is better suited for higher humidity area that you live in but heres a few caresheets to help you out

caresheets:

Leopard gecko: http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/906...

Crested gecko: http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/936...

http://www.pangeareptile.com/id52.htm

Answer 6

BEARDED DRAGONS!!!!!!!

i swear on it with my own life lol

they are great to raise and you build a really good relationship/bond with them if u put the time into it  =)

there is alot of research to be done but with the net it is soooooo easy coz there are so many care sheets and websites

u can even become a member of one of the websites...i like www.beardeddragoncaresheet.org...its full of beardie owners who know their facts and are there to help with any question...i really recommend these gorguz creatures  ....good luck   =)

xx

Answer 7

We have 5 lined skink that ran inside our house and has been with us for about 6 months. We leave water and a lamp out for it. Seems to be used to seeing us now. Still won't let us hold him (or her) though.

I think they'd be a great pet. This one has it good. We bring it bugs from time to time just incase he (or she) can't find them in the house.

Answer 8

i dont really like anoles, they are kinda boring to me, they are cool though. but i would actually go with a bearded dragon. they are very docile, and they are really fun. you should check into them :)

Answer 9

go with the gecko or a bearded dragon, they all have different needs, choose then look up the needs