What are the best reptiles for beginners?

Question

What are the best reptiles for beginners?

Answer 1

Well it depends i live in an appartment and i have hamsters,lizards, snakes the works some ones that are easy to take care of would be a vegitarion lizard not a carnivore lizard becasue the crickets get out. Or a Baby Ball Python they don't bite all they do is squeeze. My son is 10 and the snake got out 1 time and went right on his bed and didn't evan hurt him. If u get them while they are babys they will get used to humans. and just drop a rat or mouse in the tank 1 time a month and keep water in its dish it should get healthy mine is 4 feet 11 inches.......................yeah that big.

Answer 2

Anole lizards are pretty easy to take care of.  They only live about a year though.  Pretty good for children or people not looking to make a long term commitment.

Answer 3

anoles are super easy to take care of.  it was my first reptile. we fell in love with them!! they are cute and so easy to take care of! good luck!!

Answer 4

leopard geckos are really great pets. i had two of them. they are tame and they are real easy to care for. [:

snakes are also great pets.

Answer 5

spiny crevace lizard

leopard lizard

leopard gecko

bearded dragon

blue tongue skink

collared lizard

stay away from monitors, tegus, and chameleons unless you have some experience

Answer 6

Leopard geckos are the BEST beginning reptile. I have three and they are easy to care for. If you do get a leopard gecko, get a male so you won't have eggs.

Answer 7

Hello; as far as lizards go; I would recommend a Leopard Gecko, a Crested Gecko, a Viper Gecko, a Gargoyle Gecko, or an African Fat-tailed Gecko.

All are nocturnal so they don't need UV lighting, low maintenance, docile, do quite well with handling, small, hardy, interesting looking, and the African Fat-tails, Vipers and the Leopards in particular make great starter lizards. :)

Here are care sheets for all of the Gecko species I just named:

Leopard Gecko:

http://www.thegeckospot.com/shortleocare...

Crested Gecko:

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

Viper Gecko:

http://www.acmecritters.com/CARE_SHEETS....

Gargoyle Gecko:

http://www.pangeareptile.com/gargoylecar...

African Fat-tailed Gecko:

http://www.acmecritters.com/CARE_SHEETS....

As far as snakes are concerned; I would highly recommend a Kenyan Sand boa or a Rosy boa. :)

Both Kenyan Sand boas and Rosy boas are incredibly docile, two of the easiest snake species I’ve ever cared for, small, come in several different colors and localities, and all around are wonderful (albeit often overlooked) snakes. Here is a short general care sheet that I’ve typed out; hopefully this will help answer some of the questions you may have on these guys.

Temperament: They are usually very calm, slow-moving snakes, to the point where mine have been jokingly described by friends and family as 'the reptile world's answer to the teddy-bear'. ;) Generally quite docile, most are fine with handling, and they rarely, if ever, bite people. Mine have all been content to find a comfortable place on my hand, neck or lap and just hang out, unlike colubrids (like Kingsnakes or Cornsnakes); which always seem to have somewhere to go. ;)

A quick tip: both species enjoy burrowing, but Kenyans in particular spend quite a bit of time under their substrate. I've found that it is much faster, easier, and less messy to use a pair of smooth edged tongs that can be purchased for upwards of two dollars at a Wal-mart or Dollar store to gently sift through the substrate to find my snakes rather than to dig through it myself.

Life expectancy: When properly cared for, either species can live 20+ years in captivity.

Size: Male Rosys average 1.5-2.5 feet, females are generally 2.5-3.5 feet, some a tad larger, but never more then 4 feet.

Kenyans are smaller still, with male Kenyans averaging at 15-18 inches, and females averaging 2-3 feet.

Feeding: start babies on mice pinks, and build up to one medium/large mouse per week for adults. The general rule of thumb is to feed a rodent about the same in diameter as the widest part of your snake’s body. They are generally quite enthusiastic feeders; I have never had one that was a reluctant eater.

Humidity: Both Kenyan Sand boas and Rosy boas are really low humidity desert species. A small water dish is fine on the cool side of the tank, but misting is completely unnecessary for these guys.

Temperature: My Rosys have done best with a basking temperature in the high eighties, around 87-89 degrees, with an ambient (background) temperature of 77-80, and my Kenyans with a basking spot of 90-95 degrees with an ambient temperature of about 80 degrees. This can be achieved by use of under-tank heating pads, incandescent heat bulbs, or ceramic heat emitters. Under-tank heating pads are preferable; particularly with Kenyans.

Cage size: A 20 gallon long is ideal for a female of either species, and except in the case of particularly large Rosys; males of both species can generally be successfully housed in a 10 gallon for their entire lives. Just make SURE the lid of the cage is very secure, as these guys are amazing escape artists.

Substrate: Mine have done best on eco-earth by zoo-med, as long as it is COMPLETELY dry before putting it in my snake's cage. Aspen bedding, or even reptile sand or crushed walnut shells (as long as you feed your snake in a separate container to prevent ingestion) also work very well. With Kenyans in particular it is important to have at least two or three inches of substrate for burrowing.

For further reading on Rosys and Kenyans; I would highly recommend visiting http://www.rosyboa.com/care.htm and http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/snake... . :)

Some other good snake species would be Ball pythons, Corn snakes, Childrens pythons, and King snakes.

I hope this helps, and if you’d like any more information at all on the subject; please feel free to message me and I’d be more than happy to assist you. :)

Good luck!

Answer 8

easy to care snakes, like corn snakes, king snakes and ball p, um geckos are pretty easy and also i found my breadie is easy to care for, if you get a beardie dragon at a young age they grow used to you, very easy to handle.