What is a good beginning lizard?

Question

Where do you live: In a small town in Massachusetts

Would you like to be able to hold your lizard: Yes

Do you have kids in your household: Yes

Are these lizards going to live with other lizards: No

What other pets do you have: A dog, a guinea pig, and a fish

How often are you at home: I have school and then after school stuff so basically 5:15pm-7:30am

What level of maintenance could you care for: Easy or Medium

What size lizard are you looking for: Small or Medium

Land or Water: Land, please

Would you mind feeding live animals to your lizard: Sort of, I would prefer not but if I have to, yes

Would you like a friendly lizard: Yes

Would you like it to bond with a whole family or one person: Either way, probably one person

How long are you planning on keeping this lizard: 10-20 years, throughout high school, college, etc.
That is some information ^ It might help you

Bearded Dragons are cool so I like that idea! But anoles, I have had many of them and figured out I kill them all, not on purpose though. And personally, I love Leopard Geckos but my dad has one and I kind of don't want another one for my mom's. But, I think blue tongued skins are cool and I like those if you think beginning is good for that!

Answer 1

i would go with a bearded dragon. its just that the initial expense is ALOT. youre gonna need about a 90gallon tank for when he gets full grown. you will need a light hood that contains a full spectrum light holder and two regular heat bulbs. you will need to buy the uvb/uva bulb and replace that every 8 months. you will need a nightime heating bulb and a basking bulb. you will need some sort of bedding, sand is okay but it causes infractions. i use a reptile turf. you then will need a water bowl and food dish. and terrarium leaves, decorations, and hiding spots. they are fed crickets, mealworms and dark leafy greens and fruit occasionally mixed in with bearded dragon pellets. this entire set up will approx cost
-65 gallon reptile tank= 69.00
-lighting hood0 =35.00
uvb/uva bulb=27.00
baksing bulb=7.00
infared heat bulb-8.00
turf=4.00
branches/plants=10.00
hiding places=8.00
crickets= 10cents a piece time 100 a week
( i house my own in a 10 gallon tank and feed them cricket cubes that are 5$)
fruits and veggies=8.00 per two weeks.
pellets-6.00

Answer 2

Ignore "johnny rainbows" answer. Anoles are NOT good beginner
lizards. They become stressed from handling and can die if you make one mistake setting up there cage. Bearded Dragons are a good begginer lizard so is the Lepord Gecko. Tokay Geckos, Anoles , Iguanas of any species. Those are just a few Lizards not fit for a begginer. I say Bearded Dragon, or Lepord Gecko, I am sure there are more choices but those are my top ones.
Oh and one more thing, good luck!

Answer 3

I would go with a horned lizard or a bearded dragon.Because horned lizards arent expensive they eat ants and smaller crickets and water thats
all... bearded dragons take a little more care but thier basicly the same.

Answer 4

We got two bearded dragons because we needed a family friendly pet that was easy to take care of. They are both really sweet and love to be held.

Answer 5

heres beardie care:
HOUSING:

Baby/Juvenile (0-12 months)
A Minimum of a 20 gallon long (30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 12 3/4) tank is needed is achieve a reasonable gradient of temperatures. Aggressive tendencies, injuries and other complications such as the loss of limbs and tails and even death have been noted when attempting to house more than one dragon together.

Adult (12 months +)
A minimum size of 36"x 18", with 48"x 24" or larger being preferable, and a height between 18"and 24" is required to house one adult.
Bearded dragons are not social creatures by nature and only gather together for mating purposes. Aggressive tendencies, injuries and other complications have been noted when attempting to house more than one dragon together.


SUBSTRATES:

Substrates are a highly debated topic among experienced owners, keepers and breeders. Opinions vary with experience and skill.
With that said......babies are safely raised on a non particle substrate material such as reptile carpet, shelf liner, butcher paper, paper towels, or ceramic tiles. Non particle substrates hold no chance of contributing to impaction.

Adults may use any of the above mentioned substrates and can also safely live on sifted washed playsand purchased from your local retail store or hardware store. Avoid all pet store substrates.

When fed on particle substrates, the new owner should understand that the consumption of substrate material is possible and all live prey should be fed in a separate container.

FEEDING:

Baby/Juvenile
They should be fed a ratio of 80% protein and 20% greens. This breaks down to feeding a baby 2-3x a day as many crix as they can eat in 10 minutes. The crix should be no bigger than the space between a beardie's eyes. If feeding in the same tank as the beardie is living in, all uneaten crix should be removed. Make sure that one feeding a day (6 days) is dusted with a calcium dust. This dust should have d3 and should be phosphorus free. On the 7th day make sure you dust one feeding of crix with a multi-vitamin. Offer a fresh variety of greens daily. Examples of greens...dandelions, chikory, bok choy, swiss chard, escarole, there are many more. NO lettuce of any kind should be fed. Fruits can be given as a treat once a week. NO citric. It usually take a while for babies to adjust to greens, keep trying as they will eventually eat them.

Adult
Their ratio should be 80% greens 20% protein. This breaks down to about 15-25 crix a week. You can feed them all in one day or broken up between a couple, whichever is better for the owner and dragon. Dust with calcium one week then dust with a multivitamin the next. Offer a fresh variety of greens. The same as above, but they should be eating much more. Make sure that there is enough greens for an adult beardie.

LIGHTING/HEAT/TEMPERATURES:

Baby/Juvenile
UVA lighting provides heat in the form of indoor flood lights, reptile bulbs or typical household bulbs. The wattage of the bulb required to reach proper basking temperatures of 105-110F (measured with a digital thermometer) for a baby depends on the size of the tank, the ambient temperature inside your house, cage decor and it's proximity to the basking site. Heat bulbs and UVB bulbs should be set up by a timer available at your local hardware store. They should be set for a basic 14/10 day. There should be a good gradient temp between the basking site and the cool end. The ambient temperature for the cool side should be 70-85* with the temp closer to 85* for a baby.

UVB lighting provides rays essential for good physical and mental health. UVB fixtures should be no less than 18 inches long and should be placed directly on top of the screen top so that the dragon can get within 6-8 inches of the light. Longer fixtures reaching the length of the tank will help ensure good exposure. Some fixtures come with a plastic lens over the bulb that should be removed before using.

Adult
UVA lighting provides heat in the form of indoor flood lights, reptile bulbs or typical household bulbs. The wattage of the bulb required to reach proper basking temperatures of 100-105F (measured with a digital thermometer) for a dragon depends on the size of the tank, the ambient temperature inside your house, cage decor and it's proximity to the basking site. Heat bulbs and UVB bulbs should be set up by a timer available at your local hardware store. They should be set for a basic 14/10 day. There should be a good gradient temp between the basking site and the cool end. The ambient temperature of the cool side should be 70-85* with the temp being closer to 80* for an adult.

UVB lighting provides rays essential for good physical and mental health. UVB fixtures should be no less than 18 inches long and should be placed directly on top of the screen top so that the dragon can get within 6-8 inches of the light. Longer fixtures reaching the length of the tank will help ensure good exposure. Some fixtures come with a plastic lens over the bulb that should be removed before using.

All temperatures should be accurately measured with a digital thermometer or temp gun. All other forms of measurement may be as much as 20 degrees off.

UVB LIGHTING SUGGESTIONS:

Repti Sun 10.0
Repti Glo 8.0
Mercury Vapor Bulbs


SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS:

Calcium
Rep-cal Phosphate free w/d3
Absolute Calcium
Minerall
Calypso

Multivitamin
Herptivite
Reptivite

Parasite control
Parazap

Answer 6

a suggest a leopard gecko. a leopard gecko is all those things you wrote and I even have one, they are the perfect lizard! but if you get one make sure your dog does not get it, and if kids are playing with it then they should have your supervision. if you have any questions then just give me an e-mail.

Answer 7

I would get anoles they are very easy to care for and great for a beginner

Answer 8

water dragons