Lizard question?

Question

My godson (just turning 6) is wanting a pet for his birthday... and really wants a lizard. His parents have already agreed that if I were to purchase one for him, that it would be great (they are pretty excited about it too!) and they would help him take care of it. My question is what type of lizard do I look for that makes a good pet? Also when I decide on the type of lizard to get... what should I look for when purchasing one... (color, activity, size price ect...) I don't know too much about them! Any info would be great!

Answer 1

First off, DO NOT buy him an Iguana or Monitor. Iguanas are the most popular lizard to get a kid, and all you end up doing is either killing it, or it grows way to big for most people to handle and they try to get rid of it and just contribute to the endless number of abused/dead iguanas. (Iguanas can grow to 6 feet long, and so can a lot of Monitors, plus both species can be very aggressive, Iguanas are the stray cats of the reptile world).

A great lizard is a Bearded Dragon. They are very hearty, active, and can be very handleable as long as it is held regularly. They can grow to a good size of 18", so they make cool big, but not to big lizard.

A really small lizard that is good in an Anole, and you can keep several of them together very easily. Geckos tend to be aggressive and fragile, so you may want to avoid them.

When buying any lizard, yes, look for color, size as far a full belly, and not skinny/bony looking in the legs and rib cage. When you go to pick it up, it should react, if it just lays there, it is probably sick, under fed, or kept to cold.

The best thing to do it google the type of lizard you are thinking of, +caresheet. ex. "bearded dragon" +caresheet , with the quotes. You'll find everything you need to know about them that way, cage, food, temp, size, etc...

Remember the person helping you at the pet store, may try to sell you something that to them is easy to care for, but for a beginner can be confusing to care for. Also they often buy big batches of iguanas and sell them cheap, in order to get you to buy all of the necessary tanks, heat lamps, etc...


One last thing, don't use a heat rock, use a heat lamp. Heat rocks can very easily burn your pet, and unless you check it often, you don't know if it stopped working and your lizard could get sick from being to cold. Also reptiles naturally sense heat from the top of their head, not there bellies.

Answer 2

A bearded dragon or a leopard gecko would be the best beginning lizards. The bearded will be larger and has more housing requirements, so will be the more expensive of the two. The leos are smaller and don't require the special lighting needed for most lizards, so these would be the less expensive way to go.

I'm enclosing some links for info about reptile care and the species I mentioned. That being said, 6 is a little young to assume responsibility for care of any lizard. If his parents chose to get one, they should be prepared to provide most of its care and supervision while he handles it. There is always a possibility of salmonella, so hand-washing is a must!

http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHbest.htm
http://www.kingsnake.com/gladescs/bearded/
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/lizards/bearded-dragon.php
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHeopard.htm
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/lizards/leopard-gecko.php

For both species, you'll want to look for something active, bright-eyed, no scars, burns, or missing toes, and will eat when offered food.

For a bearded dragon, look for one that is over 8" (younger than this are harder to feed), and curious about you!

A leopard gecko can be purchased as a baby (don't keep on anything they can swallow, though!). These may not be as active when you first see them (they're nocturnal), but should try to get away if they are picked up or raise up on their legs and hiss if misted with water. This doesn't give a good impression of them at first, and they will require frequent, gently handling till they get used to it. You can get an idea of pricing from the "classifieds" section in the kingsnake website. There are "normal coloration" and color "morphs" for both species. If you plan to get an unusual color ("Sunfire" bearded dragons, "Tangerine", "Sunglow", "Blazing Blizzard" leos, be prepared to pay more. These don't make any better of a pet.)

Answer 3

No lizard is a good pet for a 6 year old, they are too difficult to care for and cost a lot of money to maintain. Get him a dog, cat or fish or maybe a ferret.

Do not buy and iguana or monitor that get very big and can be aggressive. If you must get a lizard try an anole, leopard gecko or a bearded dragon, research each one thoroughly and see which one would be best for you.

But I suggust not getting a lizard for a 6 year old.

And if you think dogs, cats, fish and ferrets cost too much then you really shouldn't have a lizard. Plus you can always adopt them there are plenty of sites to adopt all of those animals even lizards and they are cheaper then buying them.

Answer 4

Leopard geckos make excellent pets for young and old. They are very hardy and live on average 15 to 20 years. (which is great to know that the child will be an adult when the pet dies). With daily handlings they become quickly accostomed to humans.Their max. lenght is approx 10 inches. If you do decide to get a 2nd one in the future you neednt worry about having babies since the egg hatching process is very difficult (the eggs need to be incubated, the heat and humidity need to be just so etc.) The initial cost is fairly high approx.200$ but becomes quite cheap as they feed on crickets and their substrate (sand in this case) needs to be changed only every 6 months. Plus they live quite long therefore are a very good investment. Before you buy any lizard please buy a book on this subject to make sure you know what you get into. If you decide on getting a leo check out your nearby pet shops to make sure they carry the size of crickets you will need. (small leos need pinhead size and full grown can handle the large ones) Here is a list of things you'll need: 1) a glass terrarium with mesh hood (I suggest 20 gallons or bigger) 2) a heating lamp 3) a heating rock 4) an under heater pad 5) sand 6) a hidding spot (rock or bark) 7) a container to hold the live crickets 8) a water dish 9) vitamin powder (to coat the crickets) and whatever else you might want to put in your tank(most pet shops have a wide variety of lizard furniture) Please get informed before buying any pet and make sure to get a book!!!! Good luck and have fun!!!

Answer 5

lizards are very hard 2 look after and not cheep u need to have a good size tank which has a UV light depending on the type of lizard u get their diet is very important 2 a good pet for a six year old is fish

Answer 6

leopard geckos are good family lizards. You want to look for clear eyes and nose, bright not dull looking (although sometimes that means they are shedding) or if you are just not sure how they look ask one of the employees, i am sure they would love to help you and give you some more info on them. OH they have to be nice and gentle too! If you get a lizard that is cranky, chances are it will bite and i don't think the parents would be to happy about that.

Answer 7

well personally i think a lizard is too much responsibility for a six year old. i know that you said that his parents would help him look after it but after a while they will get sick of it. Little kids usually would want an animal that they can play with, hold, pat all those type of things and with a lizard you can't do that. Lizards also bite and don't show affection so just stick with small cute and cuddly animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, mice animals like that.
my personal favorite are guinea pigs

Answer 8

I agree that a lizard is not a good pet for a 6 year old . Try a pet rat . They are very clean , fun , and friendly .Each of my kids had their own rats . Mice are dirty , nasty little critters but rats are great !

Answer 9

The leopard gecko is the best starter lizard. Don't listen to anyone saying a 6 year old is to young. As long as he is supervised, this will be the greatest live-gift you could get him. They do not require human contact, but they do tolerate it well.
Go to
www.leopardgecko.com
for more information for you and your godson.
Good Luck

Answer 10

dogs cats fish a ferrets cost to much
for a lizard i would go with a leopard gecko or a bearded dragon both are the easiest of reptiles to own and to handle very docile when handled regualry but i would highly suggest parental supervision at all costs