# Recommended Easy Lizards



## Bob the Seagull King (Jan 27, 2016)

Hello! I've been interested in reptiles for a year or to and decided to look into having one of my own. I took the obvious route and started looking into caring for Leopard Geckos. Problem is, insects. Beyond being squeamish about them the list of stuff I need to do so that the mealworms or crickets are gut feed and that they stay alive to be feed and all that goes way over my head. So I was wondering if there were any easy lizards that don't need live insects (or, preferably, insects at all) to be a happy, healthy lizard.


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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

crested gecko's dont need live food they eat a formula (but will eat livefood if given it ), like repashy's crested gecko diet , this you mix one part powder with two parts water , i mix half a teaspoon of powder to a teaspoon of water this needs to be made fresh every other day for each of mine 

what ever you decide make sure you read and study up on them before you buy also set up a viv and have it running for a day or two before getting your animal as you need to check tamps, humidity are fine .


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## Kimmydaves (Feb 29, 2016)

Maybe an iguana they eat more veg and fruit but i think they need live food when they are young maybe meal worms would be easier but i think they lose interest in them when they get a bit older. I have monkeys that eat mealworms they could have locusts but im the same as you so i use tweezers or the cheeky buggers just grab them out the box themselves not sure that helps but good luck anyway


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

Kimmydaves said:


> Maybe an iguana they eat more veg and fruit but i think they need live food when they are young maybe meal worms would be easier but i think they lose interest in them when they get a bit older. I have monkeys that eat mealworms they could have locusts but im the same as you so i use tweezers or the cheeky buggers just grab them out the box themselves not sure that helps but good luck anyway


Hi, Iguanas are NOT a beginner (easy) species at all, in fact they can be quite a challenge even for experienced keepers, also they are STRICTLY vegetarian....


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## Joshibbotson (Jun 27, 2014)

Definitely crested geckos, though they do grow much slower when not on a mixed diet


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## JimW (Dec 3, 2013)

Another vote for Crested Gecko's.
No need for live food, don't need any special lighting, don't get too big, they're easy to handle : they do jump a lot when they are young, and they are gorgeous . :2thumb: 
Oh, and they sometimes lick their own eyeballs :notworthy:


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

While Crested Geckos are ideal beginner lizards, they do not thrive on a formula-only diet, for the benefit of the geckos themselves, I wouldn't recommend it. 

In the wild they do eat a lot of insects, and without them in captivity they take a very long time to grow to adult size (up to twice as long as ones fed on a mixed diet!), and often appear "weedy" whilst growing. Some brands on formula diet are also very high in sugar, so I'm a little wary of any long-term effects from feeding it exclusively.

Uromastyx lizards may be worth looking at, although they're not a cheap one to set up for, as they require very high temperatures and the lizards themselves are pricier than cresties due the difficulty of breeding. Get the set up done properly though and they're friendly and hardy lizards. They live exclusively on a diet of salad and seeds, although youngsters will happily munch a bug or two if it happens to cross their path!


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## salanky (Oct 28, 2009)

i wouldnt describe uromastyx as easy or beginner lizards. they can be very skittish and dont often tolerate handling for long periods. they have very specific lighting/heating needs and will suffer without the right setup. they are vegetarian only and should never be offered insects, their digestive system isnt designed to eat them. my first lizards were my ornate uromastyx and i found them quite hard to get doing well even with a lot of help from various keepers and breeders so they can be tough. iv got 9 now and though most are quite tolerant of handling/interaction i tend to do it either in their viv or out for short periods and then back in. they need such high temperatures they cool down really fast and while people seem to think its cute and they are having a snooze and cuddling in fact they are too cold and are shutting down instead. 

i would say to have a look at desert iguanas, they are also vegetarians but they will take the odd insect without it causing any issues long term. they are mainly wc but do tame down well and are great fun to keep. you could give them a big viv with a fake rock wall and tunnels to hide in with substrate to dig in and they will be great fun. mine are all characters to keep and they are much more tolerant of being handled and being outside their enclosures even though they need similar heat to uromastyx.


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## supatips (May 29, 2012)

I've read Chuckwallas don't need live food somewhere, they could be worth looking into. Not sure if they would be suitable for you though.

I normally reccomend a beardie but they need live food. Livefood was somthing I was initially put off by when getting one but I've found it wasn't too much of a problem to get used to. Now I have quite a few insect eating species!


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

I have to disagree with Desert Iguanas making good "pets" as they are generally wild caught, and personally, I believe that wild caught animals should be in the hands of someone attempting to breed rather than just a pet. 
Same goes for Chuckwallas, yes they eat veg, sadly most are wild caught and have been becoming increasingly scarce on import lists over the last 10 or so years. 

As I mentioned, uromastyx aren't the easiest reptile to maintain, but once you have an understanding of requirements and a decent set up (essential for every reptile regardless of species anyway!) they make a good pet. You can get captive bred individuals with relative ease, and some species will happily tolerate some handling. No reptile should be subjected to hours of handling, although I agree that some species will be better suited to sitting on a shoulder for a time than uromastyx, as they cool fairly quickly. 

As for the diet, yes, salad and seeds generally make up their whole captive diet, I do beg to differ on any insects being inappropriate. 

In fecal analysis of wild uromastyx, 1.2% of samples had insect remains (Cunningham, 2000). Al-Hazmi (2001) found that insects comprise 2.5%, 1.1% and 8.8% of the content of the digestive tract (spring, summer, Autumn). 
Please note that the parts of these studies that I found with a quick search do not mention species. So it's far from an important part of the diet, but I doubt it's harmful for them to have a few for variety! 


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## Ally (Mar 8, 2006)

You will have a much larger choice of reptiles if you can get your head around feeing live insects though 


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## salanky (Oct 28, 2009)

Ally said:


> I have to disagree with Desert Iguanas making good "pets" as they are generally wild caught, and personally, I believe that wild caught animals should be in the hands of someone attempting to breed rather than just a pet.
> Same goes for Chuckwallas, yes they eat veg, sadly most are wild caught and have been becoming increasingly scarce on import lists over the last 10 or so years.
> 
> As I mentioned, uromastyx aren't the easiest reptile to maintain, but once you have an understanding of requirements and a decent set up (essential for every reptile regardless of species anyway!) they make a good pet. You can get captive bred individuals with relative ease, and some species will happily tolerate some handling. No reptile should be subjected to hours of handling, although I agree that some species will be better suited to sitting on a shoulder for a time than uromastyx, as they cool fairly quickly.
> ...


the studies that showed insects in the faecal matter were done in one species of uromastyx (U.a.microlepis) and one species of saara (s.loricata, formally u.loricata). they were in such low amounts it led them to believe they were either opportunistic or accidental ingestion. it is something thats hotly debated in uro groups and it is also something thats universally agreed upon as being of no benefit to their diet and their digestive system is more like that of a hindgut fermenter.

comparing the species i have i would still recommend the desert iguanas. they are often wc as stated but they do tame down much better than uros in my experience. if it were just as a pet then the rarity of some of the uro species in captivity would chop them off the list. regardless of the species chosen you can be unlucky even with the likes of geckos, its always a lottery but obviously cb gives you a better start with most animals. the other thing of course is how much space you can give to the animal, all uros need at least a 4x2x2 with some needing much bigger than that as juvis/adults. desert iguanas are similar though you could give them a whole room with stuff to climb on and dig in and they would use every inch of it.


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## Tigerlily1 (Apr 4, 2016)

You should get a crestie they are the best!


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

haven't they started making crestie food that contains insects?

Though personally I think the stimulation of 'hunting' is good for them.

I agree with above comments might be worth trying to get your head round the insect thing, as it does really give you much more choice.

My vote would be (if you can) bearded dragons - awesome pets.


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## Tigerlily1 (Apr 4, 2016)

You don't have to feed live or dead insects to cresties; you can just feed them repashy complete crested gecko diet mixed with water or a suitable puréed fruit. You can also feed them baby food or just fresh fruit.


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Tigerlily1 said:


> You don't have to feed live or dead insects to cresties; you can just feed them repashy complete crested gecko diet mixed with water or a suitable puréed fruit. You can also feed them baby food or just fresh fruit.


They are shown to progress so much faster and better on a mixture of both insects and the complete diet. They do fine on just the diet, yes, but insects are an excellent addition and really should be considered.

Baby food is no longer really an acceptable choice of food for cresties with the introduction of the complete diet. It's for baby humans.
Fresh fruit isn't ideal unless you know exactly what you're doing in terms of nutrition and adding in any missing vitamins they may need. The complete diet has taken all the guesswork out of things like this. Most people really only feed it as a treat.

To the OP, your options blow open if you can get your head around insects as food. They used to creep me out big time but after having 6 geckos, all needing insects in some shape or form, you kind of get used to them! Locusts are easier than crickets in my opinion... slower, less nippy and considerably less intelligent! They will quite happily stroll underneath your gecko's waiting jaws whereas crickets seem a little more aware of their place in the food chain and are quick to hide!


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## Tigerlily1 (Apr 4, 2016)

Ophexis said:


> They are shown to progress so much faster and better on a mixture of both insects and the complete diet. They do fine on just the diet, yes, but insects are an excellent addition and really should be considered.
> 
> Baby food is no longer really an acceptable choice of food for cresties with the introduction of the complete diet. It's for baby humans.
> Fresh fruit isn't ideal unless you know exactly what you're doing in terms of nutrition and adding in any missing vitamins they may need. The complete diet has taken all the guesswork out of things like this. Most people really only feed it as a treat.
> ...



I just don't have the heart to feed my crestie any insects an he seems fine on just fruit, repashy and the occasional jelly thin which contains insects.


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## CrestedgeckoNL (Apr 9, 2016)

*Beginner lizard*

Hi,

I would truly go for a crested gecko they have so many benefits they are great for beginners and more experienced keepers.

- They are very beautiful and interesting reptiles.
- They are easy to maintain.
- They are easy to handle.
- They do not eat bugs.
- They do not consume electricity.
- It's hard for bugs reptiles concepts.
- You have them in many colors (They can also change color!) This also makes it fun to grow with the species.
- It's probably one of the cheapest Reptiles maintenance.
- Good choice for both beginners and advanced, especially because of the endless opportunities to breed new morphs and the hitherto relatively unpredictable genetics.
- There is no wild-caught in this species, so no animals are removed from their natural habitat.
- Also for children is a crested gecko easy to maintain.
- They do not smell, and if you properly set the terrarium, you only need to keep the windows occasionally clean
- You do not suplements and such purchase is a power supply (powder) on the market that just dilutes with water that is sufficient.


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## AnimusDivinus (Mar 20, 2016)

my recommendation is to get over the squeamishness, being squeamish over grasshoppers and crickets which in my opinion are probably THE least "icky" of all arthropods is just silly, once you have been around them enough and see them for what they are, itll subside and there are so many great species of reptiles out there.. geckos, monitors, bearded dragons, and so much more that you will never be able to enjoy if you do not get past it


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