# What's the best lizard to keep as a pet?



## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

hey guys, im looking to buy a new lizard, and was just wondering what you lot would call the best overall lizard to keep as a pet.

>Gecko's? which type and why
>Chams? which type and why
>Beardies? which morph and why
>CWD? why?
>Skinks? type and why?

just looking for opinions to be honest on these, and any other lizards you lot may keep as pets.

cheers


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## tegu66 (Mar 16, 2009)

i'd say beardies but then i'm biased (i would have said tegu's but they arent listed lol)

easy peasy to look after funny as hell, dumb as wood (entertainment value) they eat pretty much anything and i'd say out of all the morphs i have my sandfire red is the prettiest she's brilliant orange from head to toe at the mo or my purple tigers are very nicely marked too. and they dont need hige vivs so saves on space (in comparision to a cwd) and they love being handled...well all mine do they attention seek and sulk if i dont get them out.. they are also very robust

(i have cwd too but mine are a pain in the bum) never kept gekko's so cant compare and i ove skinks but the one we have in our shop is evil and it's put me off!!:lol2:


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## lizardloverrach (Dec 1, 2008)

kevandthingy said:


> hey guys, im looking to buy a new lizard, and was just wondering what you lot would call the best overall lizard to keep as a pet.
> 
> >Gecko's? which type and why
> >Chams? which type and why
> ...


if you want a single lizard as a pet i say beardie! 
they have alot of character and are funny and friendly and active.
dont like skinks tbh, and geckos dont do much. the others i dont know!


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

cheers. o yeah i forgot to mention, id be looking to keep the lizard in a 90cm x 45cm x 60cm exo terra. and wouldnt really want it to grow out of it.


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## tegu66 (Mar 16, 2009)

an adult beardie can live it's entire life in a four foot viv (long)
geks alot smaller cwd need about double ther adult body length in height (they can get to about 3 feet) and dont really know whats best for a skink spose it depends on what type..


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

kevandthingy said:


> hey guys, im looking to buy a new lizard, and was just wondering what you lot would call the best overall lizard to keep as a pet.


You are going to get alot of un-helpful and bias answers here lol. But I too have asked a similar question.

I keep leopard geckos, they are easy to keep, minimal effort involved as long as they have right temp, food, water and a humid hide.

They are also pretty easy to tame for handling and like many will tell you i am sure they will happily sit with you just resting on your hand or something for quite a while.


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## Nic B-C (Dec 4, 2008)

You are gonna be limited to something like a leo or crestie then none of the bigger species


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## Philcw (Feb 7, 2008)

*>Gecko's? which type and why - Crested Gecko, both lovely to look at and lovely to handle, fairly hardy, and an easy pet to keep if done properly.

>Chams? which type and why - Carpet or ruwenzoriside striped, not to large yet a wonderful specie to view, one of the more friendly and easy to care for species from the chameleon family.

>Beardies? which morph and why - TBH that is completely down to personal preference.

>CWD? why? - Why what?

>Skinks? type and why? - Crocodile skinks (pref red eye), very differnet to other skinks in regards to there looks, are slightly aquatic, one of the more 'tame' skink specie and they are just beautiful creatures.

*Obviously this is just my opinion, others will agree and others will have varied thoughts* : victory:

*Out of them all i would recommend a crestie *
*


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## Rou (Dec 23, 2007)

agreed with the crestie points but if you have not had reptiles before i wouldnt advise you to get a cham.


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

kwl. yeah ive had loads of snakes but had to get rid wen i went to uni. only got an irian jaya carpet python now. never really been into lizards before, although i have looked after them for mates before, and obviously handled and been biten by the :censor: lol!


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## Philcw (Feb 7, 2008)

kevandthingy said:


> kwl. yeah ive had loads of snakes but had to get rid wen i went to uni. only got an irian jaya carpet python now. never really been into lizards before, although i have looked after them for mates before, and obviously handled and been biten by the :censor: lol!


Im sure if you have had snakes and are familiar with the basic care of a reptile, then you can be looking at beginner - intermediate lizards, i wouldn't recommend and advanced stuff though.

What lizard were you bitten by?


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

a blue tongue skink, the little :censor: clamped on. a million times more painful then a snake bite.


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## Philcw (Feb 7, 2008)

kevandthingy said:


> a blue tongue skink, the little :censor: clamped on. a million times more painful then a snake bite.


Ahhh, never been bitten by one of those. However i have been on the receiving end of a bosc, tokay and monkey tail, not nice!

But as said mate, do some research on lizards you like tho look of, and read about them, do a little research and learn about here care. That way you can be sure your making the correct decision


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

cheers mate. il be looking into cresties for sure.

any more opinions?


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## reptile_man_08 (Jan 14, 2008)

CWD tamed from a young age are so friendly, my male is a dope..loves getting stroked and will happily stay on your shoulder for hours, while my female is as skittish as anything.


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

kwl. any one else?


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## Nic B-C (Dec 4, 2008)

kevandthingy said:


> cheers. o yeah i forgot to mention, id be looking to keep the lizard in a 90cm x 45cm x 60cm exo terra. and wouldnt really want it to grow out of it.


Please note the size of viv here before replying a CWD in this would be a mega push unless a baby and only to grow on or very temp housing


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## kathizzy (Mar 31, 2007)

Hi, i think beardies as they have so much character,and they are so funny to watch. I get sooo much enjoyment out of mine, i have a little harness for him and take him in the garden when its sunny. I have a leo as well, but beardies are my favs. My beardie cuddles into my neck on goes to sleep, he is sooo sweet.:lol2:


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## snake_noob (Mar 2, 2009)

ive had beardies and geckos so it kinda boils down to what you want.
beardies i find are really hyper active cost quite a lot to feed as they munch down anything and well the ppoo factor isnt that plesent especially when mine likes to do it ontop of his vegetables, plus i get like invisable paper cuts from the claws, they dont hurt but their itchy as hell, on the other hand, they have more personality and you dont have to be as gentile with them as you do with smaller lizards/
leopard geckos on the other hand while not hyper active can be quite cool, as said above they need a mosit hide but i used to use dampened kitchen towl replaced every other day, they dont eat alot but you'll hardly ever see them around unless you get them out, I would be more inclined to a gecko just because I used to take mine out put him on my belly and he would just sit there watching tv with me for hours, + i take my gecko out for walks he would sit on my hand and not move while we walk around, he really likes my beardie wont do that as he always wants to do a runner.
But the choice is yours as mr bruce forsythe used to say


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## GECKO=] (Apr 5, 2009)

I think he should get what he wants cause he might not just like any of them.
I'm a leopard Gecko keeper as well they are brilliant as first lizards 
But I don't think the beardie is a stater lizard but it is up to you get what ever the hell you want 
It's your choice.


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## dragon ranch (Dec 1, 2008)

I think you should get what you want.

People will always say the typical starter Lizards such as Beardie or Leo.

Any Lizard is a good Lizard to have aslong as you can put the time into it.

I would recomend a Blue Tongue Skink or Uromatynx as they require little livefood. I have found livefood is a big pain as you have to feed and clean them a lot to ensure they are good enough for your pet plus buying them and the risk they will die. This is the big difference between most Snakes and most Lizards which is the livefood. It is fun to watch them eat livefood but it is a big commitment.

If you don't mind the livefood then it depends what you want out of it but in my opinion:

One of the tamest Lizards, easy to handle and the laziest is a Beardie.

For the cool factor it has to be the Tokay Gecko, nice colours and it barks.

A good all rounder is the Chinese Water Dragon, look like a small Iguana and love the water.


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## Nicquita (Mar 14, 2009)

beardies were the first reptiles we had in our house. i don't like them much, as one scratches alot, and the other is in a bedroom, so we don't see him much (he's nice though, and very tame). they seem to be easy to look after, but i think ours are normals, and i just find them bland. also they need more livefood practically every week.

i now have a leopard gecko. she's really easy to keep, and if you don't sleep much, they're much more active than people make them sound. i love watching mine. sometimes, she'll even sit and watch films with me  i've had her for a month, and shes _still _on the same box of mealworms, so she isn't expensive to keep either. also, with it being breeding season in a few weeks/monthsm you'd have practically every morph to choose from, and some can be very pretty...


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## tegu66 (Mar 16, 2009)

Nicquita said:


> beardies were the first reptiles we had in our house. i don't like them much, as one scratches alot, and the other is in a bedroom, so we don't see him much (he's nice though, and very tame). they seem to be easy to look after, but i think ours are normals, and i just find them bland. also they need more livefood practically every week.
> 
> i now have a leopard gecko. she's really easy to keep, and if you don't sleep much, they're much more active than people make them sound. i love watching mine. sometimes, she'll even sit and watch films with me  i've had her for a month, and shes _still _on the same box of mealworms, so she isn't expensive to keep either. also, with it being breeding season in a few weeks/monthsm you'd have practically every morph to choose from, and some can be very pretty...


 
every week your lucky mine go through 200 locust a week....thentheres veg but hey i dont need to have so many lol


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## kevandthingy (Apr 4, 2009)

cheers for the comments people.

i havnt spent to much time around beardies, and tbh i dont think they are the preetiest of reptiles. but each to their own. although from the feedback some of you lot have provided, they seem like exactly what im after. would they grow out of the 90cm x 45cm x 60cm exo terra? could i get more than one in the same viv?

failing that. im tempted to go for a breeding pair of cresties, would they out grow the 60cm x 45cm x 60cm exo terra? what are they like to handle? and how big do they get roughly?

cheers.


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## xclairex (Apr 9, 2008)

I more work in feet but an exo terra isnt really that good for bearded dragons they would be better in a viv a 4x2x2 will hold one or two adults. Crested geckos are good in exo terras but im not sure on the size our adult is in a 45x45x60 exo terra i think which im sure could house two of them together, cresties prefer height to length as they like to climb and jump.

Although it isnt ideal to keep a breeding pair together all year round as the female may get too stressed by the male.


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## Seira (Apr 13, 2009)

Here's an unbiased answer:
I'd say either Leopard Geckos or Bearded Dragons.
Personally, I wouldn't have either as I don't really like how they look ;P 
However, from what I know/understand, they are the easiest and most common pets c:


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

I work with reptiles,and kept lots of species for over 20 years,but regardless of personal preferences-a beardie is THE perfect "pet" lizard.Nothing of that size will be as tame and responsive (monitors,tegs,igs etc too big).You would not be dissapointed if you got one.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

For the size and description of your viv, you'd really need to be thinking of lizards that don't exceed one foot in total length, do not need high heat basking areas and are at least somewhat arboreal.

You'd probably manage a breeding trio of crested geckos in there


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

Get a leopard gecko cos they are pretty and cute and easy to look after!


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## kizza (Feb 18, 2009)

blue tongue skinks are nice to have as pets but shouldnt really be kept in an axo terra and neither would any of those you lited apart from
crested geckos or day geckos

cheers

kizza:2thumb:


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## Luke T (Apr 13, 2009)

yer defenatly a beardie or a blue tounged skink, both are resonably easy to care for, make really good pets and like to be handeled.

Let us know what u get in the end!

Luke


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## Nic B-C (Dec 4, 2008)

READ THE SIZE OF VIV A BEARDIE OR CWD WILL NOT FIT IN THERE WHATSOEVER UNLESS A BABY BUT ONLY AS A STARTER VIV!!!!!!


Any smaller arborial becko or lizard will be great, all depends if you want to handle or not, things like tokays, goldens, marbles, day geckos anoles etc are all great but more of a viewing pet rather than a handling one.

Cresties and leos on the other hand you can handle to a certain extent.

You could also go for pygmy chams but much more difficult to look after.

You could even lean towards tree frogs or even mixing something like whites tree frogs with some reps.


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