What is a good lizard for a child to begin with?

Question

My 14 year old is really interested in having a lizard for a pet.What would be a good species to start with?I have been told geckos and collared lizards are good choices.Also,what are the housing and feeding requirements for a lizard?In other words,am I about to put out a ton of money?

Answer 1

Geckos and collards are good because of thier size and they don't require the food intake of beardeds. They are not expensive and do not require a lot of space either. Initially you'll spend your money on the animal and the setup but the cost of food is much less for these reptiles.

Answer 2

first of you need to let your son know that there is a lot of time and effort to look after a lizard. if he's not willing to put in 100% then i wouldn't get one as it's not fair on the animal and is likely to die unless you get everything just right. i would start with a leopard gecko they are more hardy and easier to look after than any others, but still need a great deal of expert care, leopard geckos are good to start out with a **20 gallon tank** is perfect for most leopard geckos and you will need another small cage to hold the crickets in, you will need a heat lamp, sand from the pet store , a water bowl, and hiding place for him to go in to cool off so all that together your talking about 50-75$ for everything including the lizard, crickets usually cost around 1$ for a dozen You'll be buying him food about every other week

Answer 3

firstly you need to let your son know that there is a lot of time and effort to look after a lizard. if he's not willing to put in 100% then i wouldn't get one as it's not fair on the animal and is likely to die unless you get everything just right. i would start with a leopard gecko they are more hardy and easier to look after than any others, but still need a great deal of expert care. you need to have the right humidity which involves spraying the tank with water daily. the right substrate such as childrens sand. the right light and the right heat all pushing your electric bill up. if you don't do all of these things the animal will die. you will need to feed live bugs such as locusts, crickets and meal worms and i would reccommend buying not capturing these then you know they will be ok for the animal. all other gecko's and most lizards in general need a lot more care than the leopard gecko. you must also be aware that the leopard gecko is nocturnal. they reach about 8-10 inches in length so dont need a massive vivarium. it needs more floor space than height as they are ground dwellers. things to look out for when buying are alertness, damaged tails or toes and always ask if they are captive bred this is better than a wild caught one.
hope this helps
good luck

Answer 4

Leopard Gecko Care Info
What you will need to keep one Leopard Gecko happy

10-20 gallon aquarium or similar, longer is better and easier to get a temperature gradient----about $7-10
Screen top that closes securely----about $10-12
Paper toweling for babies, sand for adults and sub adults (at least 6-mo. Old) Watch them on the sand though. If they are scooping up sand when they dive for a cricket put them back on the towels, or newspaper (or you can feed them by hand with tweezers).----$ varies. Avoid "Calcium Sand" products as they are extremely expensive and not digestible like they would have you believe.
Hide box (I've found an old check box to work well here. Cut a hole in the side. Or they sell little caves at the pet store. Anything so they can hide if they want to. Also, the little houses they make for hamsters are good and a little cheaper also.)----$ varies, could be free if you use your imagination.
Heating pad from pet store to go under one end of the cage. (You can use a human neck heating pad but be aware that they may pose a fire hazard as they weren't made to be put under a fish tank.)----about $10-15, NO HOT ROCKS!! I don't care what the pet store people say, do not buy a heating rock! All they do is heat up the belly of the animal, not the air. Can cause thermal burns as well. Alternatively you can use a ceramic heat element (CHE) over to one side. Be carerful though, as they give off a lot more heat than a light bulb of similar wattage.
Shallow water dish that the lizard can get his head into. (Maybe 1/2 inch deep)
Low branch for him to climb on. Doesn't have to go up high as they don't climb much.
With a larger tank you can put in more furniture for them to hang out on, or in. They are very curious lizards, especially at dusk, and it makes their lives more interesting to have things to explore. If you have a smaller tank, say the 10 gallon, don't overcrowd the bottom. They need some flat area to walk around on.
Crickets to eat. Can be obtained from the pet store at like $.10 each or less if you buy a lot. Keep in mind that one Leopard Gecko can eat 10 crickets a day when it is growing. Keep them in a closed container with a screen top or holes poked in the top. Provide the crickets with an orange slice (for moisture and vitamin C) and fish flakes or ground up dry dog food or better yet gutload from www.cricketfood.com. Remember, you are what you eat, so you need to gut-load the crickets before feeding them to the lizard. When they come from the pet store they are empty shells with very few nutrients in them. Let them munch on some food and orange slices before feeding them to your lizard. Also feed mealworms once in a while. They can also be obtained from the pet store. Feed less of these though as they aren't as nutritious.
Rep-Cal, Bone Aid 2:0 or similar calcium supplement. "Shake and Bake" the crickets with some calcium supplement at every feeding until the lizard is about 6-7 months old. Then only dust them every other feeding. Only feed as many crickets as the lizard eats within about 10-20 minutes. Otherwise they hang out in there irritating the now not hungry lizard. They can even damage sleeping lizards.----about $4-8 depending on the source.
Humidity chamber - recently it has been realized how important some humidity is for these guys. Without a place to retreat where the humidity is high they can have shedding issues. See my breeding page regarding the egg laying chamber. The humidity chamber is the same thing.
Keep in mind that these are very general guidelines. There is a really good book out there on Leopard Geckos called The Care and Maintenance of Leopard Geckos by Philippe de Vos Joli. It contains all the info you will need to keep one or more Leopard Geckos. The best part of the book is the price. It is only about $4-10 depending on where you find it! Take my advice and go buy it! It is well worth it. this is the best lizard for your son and it will teach him to be responsible about caring for a reptile.

Answer 5

hmm.... ive been told bearded lizards are a favorite and also leopard geckos. also, if youre kid is scared of worms or insects dont get a lizard cause u have to feed insects/mealworms to most lizards.

lizards require a tank that is like 10 times the height of the lizard and is 6 times the length. (at least for climbing lizards like geckos or salamanders; bearded lizards and basilisks do not require that much climbing space). and MOST IMPORTANTLY a shelter to hide/sleep in.


lizards will need foliage (plants; mainly artificial), somethnig to climb on such as a branch, substrate, a waterdish, a food dish, and a heat lamp.

Answer 6

Hi i would recommend a bearded dragon, we got one 5 weeks ago for our 2 sons who are 8 & 11 and they love him, we called him munch and he is about 5 1/2 months old, he eats crickets, locust and vedg every day so be prepared to feed them if you get one and they do like routine, we paid £320 for the whole set up that was a blood faised bearded dragon the take & the heat pad and all the bulbs you need + the sand for the tank & the rocks, he is great with the kids and does not bit he just likes sitting on you, so i would say this would be the ideal 1st reptile pet for you but please look aroung on the net about caring for them before you buy one as their is a lot to learn, good luck vicki xxxxx.

Answer 7

I would say bearded dragons being the best reptile for a teen....but there are many others like skinks, monitors, agamas, etc......I would say ball park for most reptiles general costs would be is 20-40 for housing......15-25 for vines, decor etc........10-30 for most heating sources.........5 for substrate........50-100 for the pet.......5-10 for vitamins or medicine.....one or two dollars a week for crickets, meal worms, etc....I would stay away from the cham family very hard to take care of and not handling type pets and most geckos are nocturnal.....I would suggest if you can get to a reptile show go and talk to the breeders and find out all you can about each type of lizard, their needs, feeding requirements, diets, etc. Make it a day with your teen.

Answer 8

Geckos are awesome to start out with.. you will need baby crickets (the ones that dont put oput much noise) a 10 gallon tank is perfect for the gecko and you will need another small cage to hold the crickets in, you will need a heat lamp, sand that is specially designed for lizards, a water bowl, and something for him to climb on and maybe a hiding place for him to go in to cool off.... youre talking about 50-75$ for Everything including the lizard =) Best of luck!! (crickets usually cost around 2$ for a dozen...) You'll be buying him food about every other week... So make sure your kid does things for you so that they can "pay" you back for the food for it =)

Answer 9

well don't get a anole there just retarded lol but geckos are good! i got a leopard gecko and hes nice but to tell you the truth you should let him pick it out! im 14 to and if some one pick out a lizard that i didn't want i wouldn't like it but i am very picky with my reptiles:) ive had many reptiles!

Answer 10

If your child is responsible and price is not too much of an issue I would DEFINITELY recommend a bearded dragon. They are great! Also something to keep in mind is how much your child is wanting to handle the reptile. Geckos are ok to look at but can be a little harder to handle.

Hope this helps.