What is a great pet for a 10 year old girl...a chameleon or a leopard gecko??

Question

What is a great pet for a 10 year old girl...a chameleon or a leopard gecko??

Answer 1

I suggest you a kitty too.

your girl will love it very much .

Answer 2

A chameleon is very hard to look after, they are considered expert level of reptile care. Do not buy a Chameleon if it is to be your first lizard! Leopard Geckos are pretty but can be fragile and delicate, dropping thier tails if they get nervous. Leo's are also nocturnal so it may be a fairly boring pet to look after. Both of these lizards require an insectivorous diet and bugs can be expensive.

The best animal I can think of for a ten year old is a rat, they are awesome, a bit different and completly affectionate pets. Cleaned once a week, they don't even smell. People seem to think Lizards don't smell... They do if you don't clean their stools out everyday!!

Have you thought about vivarium sizes, heat lamps, substrates etc? Humidity is also a huge need to keep your lizard happy.

Good luck with your descision of pet.

Answer 3

reptiles for a little girl?!

I would say something fluffy would be better, like a hamster

Answer 4

leopard gecko. They lose their tails if they get scared though...so be careful.

Answer 5

a leopard gecko very easy to look after and are reluctant to bite just make sure u read up about them before getting one

Answer 6

I think I would give her a kitty,

but

the leopard gecko sounds better out of those choices

Answer 7

I would recommend that you get a leopard gecko. Chameleons are more of a reptile for people that have had alot of experience with reptiles as they do require everything in their habitat perfect otherwise they can get ill pretty quick. Leopard geckos are a great first time reptile and can be handled more than a chameleon. They also come in alot of pretty cool patterns. I would also say to take her to wherever you are going to purchase it and have her hold them. When my daughter wanted a leopard gecko, I got her a book first and told her that she had to read it prior to us gettin her one so that even though we would be the primary caregivers to the gecko, she was going to have to also help care for it.

Answer 8

Congrats on thinking outside of the warm & fuzzy box!!  So many people seem to think that only a mammal can be a pet.

Given that you have only offered 2 options, I would choose the gecko as a pet.

The gecko is a much less demanding animal, easier to feed and to care for, less tempermental, less likely to bite (with the exception of the Tokays), and generally more forgiving if you make mistakes. Leopard geckos are very popular pets. They come in a wide variety of colors, or "morphs", and being relatively easy to breed, are more readily available and less expensive than chameleons

They idea that they "drop" their tails when frightened is a bit far fetched. They store fat in their tails in times of abundance to prevent starvation during times when food is harder to find.

Like many lizards their tails can break off if they are roughly handled, as if by a predator, but the tails don't just fall off. Also they can regenerate, or regrow, a lost tail over time, if given plenty of food and clean water.

With chameleons the margin for error is much narrower, in that they have very specific food and habitat requirements if they are to thrive, they tend to be less fond of handling, and are more likely to take a nip at you if they feel in any way threatened. They are definitely an animal better suited for a more experienced reptile handler.

If I might expand your options just a bit, have you considered a terrestrial turtle or a snake as a pet?

Box turtles and some of the smaller tortoise species make great "low intensity" pets. They are generally herbivorous to omnivorous browsers, and can thrive either indoors in a terrarium setting, or outdoors (climate permitting) in a screen or wire enclosure.

If a snake is an option I would recommend starting with a corn snake. They are relatively inexpensive, come in a staggering variety of colors, are normally mellow tempered and easy to acclimate to human handling.

Another option might be one of the smaller python species, like the ball python, the spotted python, or the aptly named children's python. Ball pythons vary widely in pattern, if not in color, while the other two species are fairly uniform in appearance. All three species are fairly inexpensive and are calm and easily handleable.

The only down side to keeping snakes is their diet. They are uniformly carnivores, and each of the species that I have suggested will require an appropriately sized rodent prey item an average of once per week.

Reptiles make fantastic pets if properly cared for. They don't have fleas. They don't leave hair on the furniture or messes on the carpet or the lawn. They are generally "lower maintenance" pets, however they do require proper care.

Thankfully there is an abundance of information available regarding reptile keeping, both in print and online. A quick internet search will give you access to care instructions for practically any species you desire, as well as introducing you to species that you haven't even thought of yet.

Good luck with your search, hope this has helped!!