Pet Lizards?

Question

My 9 year old son wants a pet lizard. I was told that Eyelash Crested Geckos were a good start. Easy to take care of and have a long life span (as far as they know). Does anyone have any comments or suggestions? Never had a pet lizard before so I don't even know where to start.

Answer 1

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/lizardsaspets/a/lizardspets.htm

Answer 2

Crested geckos are wonderful lizards. I'm not sure I'd recommend one for a 9-year-old, though, as they can be somewhat fragile. It all depends on your son -- if he's the boisterous "all boy" type, then he shouldn't have any lizard until he is older. If he is good with fragile things (especially live fragile things) then he might do fine with a crested. However, they are not lizards that a child can take out and play with. Their skins are fragile, their limbs are fragile, and they will drop their tails if stressed -- unlike many lizards, they do not regrow lost tails. Also, they can and will bite if scared. They can't do any damage, but it's likely that the bitten person will do something which damages the lizard, such as dropping it.

There are a few odd things about them. For one thing, not only do they need to be warm enough, but they also need to be cool enough. They suffer from heat stress when their environment is too warm (over 85 degrees), and it can kill them. Another thing is that they eat fruit as well as insects. Mine has ZooMed day gecko food available all the time, and crickets one or twice a week.

I would suggest getting either or both of two books: The Crested Gecko In Captivity, by Robbie Hamper, or Crested Geckos and Relatives, by RD Bartlett.

All that said, Yahoo Answers is not really the place to get the best advice on choosing a lizard for your son. A pet store other than a reptile specialty shop is also likely to be bad, and a big chain pet store will, except in unusual cases, be worse than nothing. (I do know a Petco that has a reptile expert and breeder on staff, but that's the exception) What you should try to do is get in touch with other reptile owners in your area. A local herpetological society is a good place to start -- there are a lot of them. Talk to someone who has experience with the species you're interested in, meet some of their animals, see what their care actually involves, and then you can decide if that type of lizard -- crested gecko, leopard gecko, blue-tongued skink, or anything else (well, except an iguana) is for you and your son.

Answer 3

Yes, eyelash crested geckos are a perfect lizard for a 9 year old, we got my stepsister one when she was young and it was the most gentle lizard. We ended up giving it away to a kid I was tutoring in algebra because my sister stopped messing with it and wasn't around but during the summer anyways. Just get him a heat lamp and a 20-30 gallon tank with bark substrate on the bottom and some kind of cave or something for him to hide in. Set the light on a timer so it comes on in the morning and turns off at night. It needs to run abour 12 hours during the day. Also have to feed it 2 or 3 times a week. the tiniest crickets you can find will work perfect. they also like baby food usually some type of fruity baby food, if you put a little bit in the lid of the jar or on your finger tip and hold him up to it, he will lick that right up.

Owner of a 4 year old, 6 foot long, male green iguana

Answer 4

Check the diet requirements of anything you consider. Some lizards thrive on crickets - easy to find at the pet store. But the lizard won't necessarily eat at once and you have a bedroom with a chirping cricket(s). A mealworm feeder is a good choice. Easy to find, quiet and a low "ucky" factor. Small lizards and geckos are subject to injury when you try to catch and hold it, so consider the sturdiness factor as well. A Savanna Monitor is big enough to hold and not too "darty" or likely to jump our of your hand. Lizards can be fun and interesting. Start small only if it is not expected to be held much.

Answer 5

Just as a precaution, because not all pet stores let potential lizard buyers know, you should also tell your son to always wash his hands after handling the lizard. Some carry Salmonella. Your son should go immediatly to wash after handling the lizard or anything the lizard is in contact with. I have an Iguana that I have owned for 11 years and I have never gotten sick because I follow that simple rule. Anything I touch of his, or if I touch him, I wash my hands.

Answer 6

my daughter have a lizard but not a gecko. it's a bearded dragon. they say this kind of lizard have a life span of 20 years. she have this lizard when it was about 2 months only and it's over 2 years now. quite easy to feed and easy to take care also.

Answer 7

my perosnal oppinion i would get him a bearded dragon for a couple of reasons. one your child will probably want to hold the lizard alot and the bearded dragons are one of the laziest lizards and love to be held and love to sit on humans all day. and two they are fairly easy to take care of all it takes is a uv light and heat light a rock and your set. you feed them a few crix or worms and put some collard greens in thier cage every day and they are ready to go for the day.
Bearded dragons will literally sit on a human for anywhere from 2-4 hours. i have a baby one and i have held him for three hours maybe even 4 one day. they are extremely friendly and fun to look at and play with. this is the best first time lizard i would say.

i have owned other lizards such at Iguana's not so friendly can be very aggressive.

Answer 8

When my daughter was ten and asked for a pet lizard I made her research them herself, then bring me back the information and/or books / sites she got it from. This way I knew she was serious because she had to work for it. We chose a Green water dragon in the end. It doesn't mind being held. Research is important, alot of work is involved in keeping reptiles, and you know you'll be the one doing it in the end.And if you have a problem with insects or rodents make sure you know what the lizard you choose eats.

Answer 9

Blue tongued skinks, they grow up to 40cm long and are slow compared to a gecko or smaller garden skinks and they are great pets they eat snails and crickets and will be a muchg better option than a gecko although they are just as good.

Answer 10

leopard geckos are easy, all they need is sand, a place to hide, a heating pad, and crickets or meal worms to eat, but they are not very social/people oriented.

for a more social lizard, bearded dragons are my choice, they take more time to care for, but actually enjoy human company, i bought my 10 year old nephew one for Christmas last year and he still loves it.
feel free to contact me to ask about care for beardies, my email is the same as my name on here, @yahoo.

defiantly stay away from iguanas and monitors, they grow very large and are mean if not handled every day.

Answer 11

Ya otta get a iguana, they are good pets and easy to take care of, start off with a baby, you don't have to have an aquarium for it, mine roams around (lays around) the house, I have a heat lamp and rock setup on the fireplace so he can go to it when he wants and he's lived for years that way!