Whats a good starter lizard?

Question

I want a good starter lizard other than a leopard gecko or a beardie. Ya i know that those r the 2 best starter lizards but i cant have anything bigger then a 20 gal tank so i cant get a beardie. And im prob gonna get a leopard gecko but im open to all suggestions. Oh and i have a ball python so its not like i don't know anything about reptiles!

Answer 1

If you're limited to a 20g tank, your only choices are geckos or anoles. Of those, I would go with the leo gecko. You can't really handle an anole at all, but you can interact a little more with the leos. Of course, that depends on if you want to interact with the pet, or just watch it.



I would rather have another ball than either, but that's just me. :)



Or look into other exotics like tarantulas, scorpions, or madagascar hissing cockroaches.

Answer 2

Good Starter Lizards

Answer 3

I would highly suggest getting the common green/brown anole. With the right housing, they can live up to 7 (mine, surprisingly lived to be 8 and a half years). They're generally low-maintenance and can be trained to be hand friendly. They usually don't get over a foot long from head to tail and they're not expensive, either. If you want one that gets bigger than a foot, I would also suggest getting the cuban knight anole. Unlike the common green anole, where you can have more than one in a tank, the cuban knight anoles are very territorial. They get about two feet in length. They're the largest of the anole species. A fun fact about the cuban knight anole: if you have issues with common house roaches, you won't have to buy many feeder crickets. Most cuban knight anoles, when big enough, will chow down on those suckers. They're a great joy to have. There are other lizards that are smaller than a bearded dragon, but the majority of them that I can think of are extremely expensive. Frilled dragon, uromastyx lizard, the spiny tailed lizard--expensive. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I would have to say either an anole or a leopard gecko. an anole you can buy at a petstore or on rare occasions you might be able to go out and catch them if the area isn't too dry. Anoles don't live as long as you would expect them to but mine got a hernia, and sick so we decided it would be best if we put it out of its misery and i didn't want to see it so my dad took it outside and smashed its head with a rock and killed it with no pain exept for the pain it was already in. leopard gecko's on the other hand live long, the longest around 30 years, tending to live longer in captivity than in the wild,Leopard geckos are hard to sex when they are younger. Most can be sexed properly at the 6-9 month age. Males will have pronounced large bumps near the base of the tail with smaller bumps in a "V" like formation; females will not be so pronounced. These smaller bumps are called "preanal pores" and the larger are "hemipenal bulges." They are mostely active during the night. Leopard geckos do not require special lighting, or any UVB lighting specifically, although this does not hurt them. You can use a night heat lamp in red, blue, purple or black 24/7 for both heat and light. Make sure it does have a good day/night cycle, keeping them in a room with sunlight or a light on during the day. Do NOT put your cage near a window, however, as your cage can become like an oven and cook your Leo from the excess heat.

Leopard geckos are nocturnal animals, and are able to see without lighting at night. Some leos will be out during the day, and it is not anything to worry about.Leos are strictly carnivorous animals, and prefer live prey. Crickets, meal worms, silkworms, and lobster roaches are all good staple diets. For adults, you can also use super worms (not super meal worms). Leos do not and should not have fruit or vegetables available at all. Wax worms can be offered occasionally as a treat, but it is not recommended to offer more than 3 a week, as wax worms can cause fatty liver disease if fed as a staple.

For impacted or sick Leos, you can use a mixture of chicken or veal baby food, calcium powder, pedialyte and water fed from a syringe. It is not recommended to try to force feed a Leo unless shown how by a veterinarian, as Leos can choke or aspirate (food goes into the lungs) and die. A drop or 2 of mineral oil/olive oil in the mixture is good for impacted Leos to help pass the impaction. Medications may be appropriate for impaction, and are necessary for parasites. Another good supplement for sick or impacted Leos is ReptiAid or Jumpstart, which can be found at most pet stores or online. It is recommended to keep some around just in case. You can also get Critical Care mix from your veterinarian to help with appetite stimulation and adding weight.

they can stop eating a few days before and after shedding, as they eat their sheds for the protein. If a leopard gecko does not eat for a week, you should arrange a vet visit to check for any issues. Once it goes off of live food, it can be difficult or impossible to bring it back to live food.

Answer 5

Bearded dragons are AWESOME.

I ADORE my beardie. But since you only have a 20 gallon tank, a leopard gecko would be better.

The only downfall is if they get stressed or very scared, their tales fall off.





My beardie is the laziest lil creature. :] But i love him anyways and he enjoys being handled and has never attempted to bite me.

Answer 6

Anoles. They're WONDERFUL starter lizards. They're hardy, but still fun to watch!!!!

Answer 7

I totally go with Sierra. BEARDED DRAGONS!!! I know that they may be expensive, but are the greatest things.



Heres some information



Housing:

The larger the better when it comes to enclosures for adult bearded dragons. Hatchlings can be housed in as small as a 10-gallon enclosure, but a minimum size for an adult is a 50-gallon terrarium. Rubbermaid tubs also work well for groups of young dragons. . Enclosures should typically be longer than they are high. Groups of adult dragons should be housed in larger enclosures with numerous logs for basking. Glass is a great choice for display of adult bearded dragons, allowing for optimum vision and brightness, but hatchlings often do better in enclosures that limit vision. It is also thought by many keepers that dragons display better color when housed in enclosures that they cannot see out of. Please be wary of housing young females with males. Dragons may mate at young ages and run into complications with egg binding.



Substrate/cage decor:

Although sand has been used for many years, I recommend strongly to my customers to use wheat bran for bearded dragons above 6 month of-age. We suggest housing young bearded dragons on newspaper or paper towels to prevent problems with impaction. With newspaper, be aware that crickets will hide beneath the paper. We suggest that you replace the old paper with new paper nightly, allowing hidden crickets to be removed or eaten for a late night snack. Left over crickets can harm young dragons, so be careful. If there are extra crickets in the enclosure, provide them with food, so they do not nibble on your dragon at night. Basking logs should be placed within the enclosure to allow your dragon to thermoregulate and feel secure. Decorative rocks and fake plants may also help to liven up the enclosure. Do not use heat rocks. Bearded Dragons sense heat and light using a detector located on top of their heads. They are not as aware of heat coming from below and can badly burn their bellies without knowing it. For this reason we advise to not use a heat rock or place rocks too close to the basking light. Use wood logs for basking zones instead. Live plants may also be an option. (But live plants must not be toxic, as they will likely be dinner).



Lighting/heating:

Bearded dragons like it HOT! The key to heating your enclosure is providing a temperature gradient from a hot basking zone, to a cooler area. Basking temps should reach well over 100 degrees F. The cooler zone should be around 85 degrees.

The brighter the light, the better. Dragons thrive under a good full spectrum UV source. We recommend active UV/heat or mercury vapor bulbs. These bulbs work double time to give your dragon quality UV and producing heat at the same time. You may also use fluorescent UV full spectrum tubes, although they do not produce the same UV quality. The colors and health of your lizard depend on good heat, bright light and UV. Your dragon will also benefit from natural sunlight and we recommend bringing your lizard outside in an outdoor basking enclosure. However the more natural sunlight you expose them to, the less supplements you should give, especially vitamin D3 (this may also be the case when using the active UV/heat bulbs). We also think that younger dragons may become stressed when taken outside, and therefore suggest holding off on outdoor excursions until your dragon is older .





Sexing:

Sexing dragons, especially young dragons, takes a lot of trial and effort. We personally feel it is not possible to 100% guarantee sex on young dragons. However there are differences between male and female dragons. Generally the male has a larger head, wider tail base, larger pores, and most noticeably, hemipenal bulges. Young male dragons have two bulges, with a slight space between them just behind the vent. Lifting the tail and twisting gently may allow for the hemipenal bulges to appear more pronounced. Females generally have one central or no bulges where the hemipenes would be. However its not uncommon for what is thought to be a female, to turn out to be an undeveloped (at the time of sexing) male, and vice versa.



Behavior:

Bearded Dragons are generally not aggressive towards people, but will attack other dragons, and many other species of lizards, frogs, etc. Never put a small dragon with a larger one, as the small dragon may end up dinner. Beardeds tend to spend the day running from one heat zone to the next, and often searching for food. A happy healthy dragon is alert, fast, and active. Young dragons can be kept in groups without too many problems associated with stress, but older males should be kept one to a cage. Breeding groups of 1 male and 2-5 females are not uncommon. Males will aggressively bob their heads at the females, while the females will wave their arms in circles back. Males and some females will also turn their beard jet black. These are part of the breeding rituals and territorial behaviors of bearded dragons. Adult Bearded dragons enjoy basking lazily on their logs. Your dragon may "vent" (open mouth breathing) while basking, this is very normal and not a sign of distress. It is also not uncommon to find a dragon sleeping at night in what appears to be the most painful position on earth.

Feeding/supplementation:

Bearded dragons are omnivorous and should feed on both vegetation and protein. Crickets, mealworms, superworms, and a salad mixture should be staple food sources. Never feed your dragon too large of a prey item. We suggest feeding prey 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the space between your dragons eyes.

Dragons require a variety of greens including collard greens, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, mustard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. Stay away from iceberg lettuce, large amounts of kale, cabbage, or spinach. We also suggest a variety of vegetables such as carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, corn, and fruits offered in small amounts. Other specialty additions can include cactus fruit, dandelion flowers, and hibiscus flowers. This salad mix can be offered daily using different combinations of ingredients.

When feeding crickets, make sure your source of crickets is clean. You may gutload your crickets with commercial cricket and/or we suggest offering your crickets fresh fruit, greens, and water. Remove all old food from your cricket container. Mold can be toxic to your lizards. We suggest using a moistened paper towel/sponge, citrus, or carrots to provide water for your crickets.

Whenever possible try and provide a variety of appropriate sized prey items for your dragon including super worms, silk worms, roaches, grasshoppers, preying mantis, and a variety of other bugs (not fireflies). However we strongly suggest not using bugs found outside, as they may have pesticides that can kill your dragon. Also, use waxworms in limited amounts, if at all. They contain little nutritional value, and although relished by the dragons, contain high amounts of fat.

You can also feed rep cal pellets to your dragons at a young age. The best method we have found to start dragons on the pellets is to moisten the pellets, and drop them like crickets onto a paper plate in front of the dragons. This will generally trigger a feeding response from the dragons. Generally they will only eat a couple of pellets in the beginning, but with patience and age they will start to feed heavily on the pellets. The pellets have less risk of parasites, associated with much live prey.

You can also feed pinky mice/rats to adult dragons; this is especially good for females during the breeding season.

We feed all of our hatchlings a minimum of three times a day to ensure optimum growth and health. As dragons get older, their appetite will decrease. For adult dragons, you can offer greens daily and crickets or worms 3-4 times per week. As dragons get older, you may decrease the amount of protein offered.

We suggest misting your dragons once a day, especially as hatchlings. Dragons will drink during spraying and may also be "trained" to drink and soak in a water dish inside the enclosure. They also enjoy an occasional warm (not hot) bath.





Supplementation:

There are many different and often contradictory opinions/views on supplementation. Calcium, D3, and vitamin supplementation are necessary for your dragons. However, supplementation will depend on what you feed your dragons, the bulbs you use, and how much natural sun they receive. Many sources recommend supplementing small dragons daily and decreasing to once or twice per week for adult dragons. But both too little and too much supplementation can lead to problems. Therefore, we recommend going over this with your vet to find a schedule that suits the specific needs of your dragon. We suggest you supplement your young dragons daily with a ratio of 1 part Rep-Cal Herptivite to 3 parts Rep-Cal calcium with Vitamin D3.





Diseases & Disorders:

Bearded dragons are one of the hardiest reptiles available in the pet trade, yet they still can succumb to numerous diseases and problems.

We are not veterinarians; please do not use this information as a replacement for taking your lizard to a vet. This information is meant to raise your awareness of signs and possible problems. If you notice that your lizard is ill, do not hesitate to make an appointment with a reptile specialist.

Several pointers to ensure optimal health for your lizard:

Follow all housing, heating/lighting, and feeding/supplementation requirements for your lizard.

Quarantine all new reptiles.

DO NOT HOUSE YOUR BEARDED DRAGON WITH ANY OTHER SPECIES OF REPTILE. Different reptiles come from many different environments requiring different needs in captivity. Even animals that come from similar environments can cause stress and pass parasites onto your dragon, costing the life of your lizard.

Do not house bearded dragons of different sizes together--this is a sure