# Good beginner reptiles?



## Wilko (Mar 3, 2010)

Hi I'm looking into getting my first reptile, but I don't know what species would be good. What's tameable, reasonably easy to keep (so no chameleons!), colourful and an arboreal rainforest species? Any suggestions of other cool looking species would be much appreciated


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## woma man (Jan 11, 2010)

snake or lizzard: victory:


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## Wilko (Mar 3, 2010)

either, though I'd rather not have to keep dead guinea pigs in the freezer to feed a large snake ^^


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## barrymc123 (Jan 7, 2010)

i would say, bearded dragon, really tame lizard, as for a snake, id go for a corn can get them in many colours but snakes do tend to like to be left alone, were as beardies once tame and you get a good set up love to be held


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

Corn snakes are lovely in temperament, inquisitive and come in many different colour morphs ( even purple!!!)
Easy to keep, minimal problems with feeding shedding etc


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## woma man (Jan 11, 2010)

corn snakes royal pythons as lots of morths to pick from and snakes are more cheaper to keep than lizzards but lizzards are more interactive i have both but like snakes better so its down to you both are nice: victory:


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## GINGER-TAZ (Feb 17, 2010)

All depends on your personal preference in relation to what you like, what you can handle, no good buying a Boa if you are affraid of a Lob Worm, (silly example I know) 

As for my suggestion, Bearded Dragon, had mine for about a week, settle in well and eating from my hand, can be picked up and will sit on your arm, / lap, for quite a while, though can be quite fast when deciding to move off.

SUGGESTION. pop down your local Reptile shop, ask questions, whats around, price of set up, price of food, easy to care for, easy to hold, safe, etc, etc, 

I saw a Reptile shop owner go from Viv to Viv the other week showing a couple a Royal Pyhton and then a Water Dragon and lastly a couple of Garter Snakes, simply because they could not decide.

This way you will get to know what you feel safe handlin, what you like and dislike and most importantly how much you can afford and what they cost to house and feed, NO GOOD getting a reptile of any (make and model) if you can not afford to care for it as it deserves, after all we want to live with them, they can sure live without us.


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## paraman (Oct 27, 2007)

Wilko said:


> Hi I'm looking into getting my first reptile, but I don't know what species would be good. What's tameable, reasonably easy to keep (so no chameleons!), colourful and an arboreal rainforest species? Any suggestions of other cool looking species would be much appreciated


As a rough rule of thumb if its pretty and arboreal then you can bet your life it will be a biter. If you've never had a snake before then arboreals can be a tricky introduction.
Find a decent shop or breeder and spend some time with them to see what takes your fancy and you feel comfortable handling. Anyone worth their salt should be willing to invest a bit of time in a new keeper.
Good luck


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## Wilko (Mar 3, 2010)

Awesome, thanks for all the suggestions and info! I've decided to get a couple of nice corn morphs


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## bennyvenom (Dec 30, 2009)

corns ftw!!!


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## Tommy123 (Sep 19, 2008)

Bearded dragons, and corns are not really arboreal. If you want a snake you could go for a GTP or something along those lines. 
Or for a lizard maybe a crested gecko, water dragon maybe.


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## pgreptiles (Feb 20, 2010)

bearded dragon leopard gecko corn snake i would say they are the easiest to start with


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## Night_Winder (Jan 10, 2010)

The Children's Python family, native to Australia, is a good candidate for a starter snake - they stay fairly small (not much more then 3 feet) and have a wonderful temperament (on average - every snake and lizard is different).

If you wanted something more arboreal a Carpet snake might be a decent idea, as GTPs have more advanced requirements.

I've heard Corns and Balls/Royals are similar in terms of a temperament, but since we can't keep them I have no experience of seeing them.

Likewise I'm uncertain of lizard temperaments as I don't have any.


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## gravitation (Nov 4, 2009)

Lizards wise i would say blue tongues, they are much hardier than beardies.

Snake wise anything from the antaresia family though stimsons are the most fragile of the bunch.


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## woma man (Jan 11, 2010)

blue tongs bearded dragon spotted python corn snake royal python hog island boa king snakes all good :notworthy:


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## woma man (Jan 11, 2010)

etp are nice to look at but if you want to handel and like your face i wouldnt bother but having said that some have a good temper one of mine was ok but other one liked my hands:lol2:


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