# Son wants a lizard



## Clucks (May 3, 2008)

My son is nearly 7 and wants a pet lizard or snake. I have told him that he has to wait until he is at big school, and has to find out all about them and save up his money. 
He is very sensible and animal mad (can't think where he gets that from!!)but although we have kept lots of different animals, we don't know much about reptiles. I quite like geckos are these a good starter pet and what about snakes? and can anyone recommend any good books or websites, to get information?
I know it's 4 years away, but he is desperate to start the planning and research!
Thanks


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## leggy (Feb 28, 2008)

leopard geckos are nocturnal,some of the others are bit quick & flighty,tokays are vicious,go for a bearded dragon,get a 4ft viv ,habistat controller for the basking light set it to the required temp and then keep an eye on it,10% uv tube thats 3 ft long.a rock for basking on ,a hide for hiding in,and your pretty much sorted,if you handle them regually they get really tame my 10 yr old used to wander around supervised with the male we had on his shoulder.you can get babies off a breeder on reptile forums uk for as little as £30 in the summer.


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## PsyKoViggy (Mar 4, 2008)

Geckos are small, more delecate, quicker and are very heat reliant.
Beardies are good but as babies they are small, fast and jumpy.

I know it may sound like i'm only suggesting this because i own one, but you should at least look into Blue Tongued Skinks.
Even as babies they arn't overly small and are not very quick. They don't jump and you can have them out of their vivarium for a long period of time without having to worry about the temps, as room temp will not hurt them.
Like with all animals, they can bite but Blueys will give a pretty clear warning if they are stressed enough to want to bite, they will puff up, hiss and display their tongues (note that hissing and puffing up does not automaticly mean they will bite, mine does this when he isn't in the mood for being handled but he has never displayed or bitten me once). They tame really well and all you really have to worry about is that your son doesn't drop it from a hight as they have small legs that don't take the impact, and that he doesn't hold it or pull on the tail because it can come off (only through being pulled though, unlike some geckos which i believe can drop their tails simply due to stress)
They also do not have to eat live foods and the meat portion of their diet can consist of cooked chicken, so you don't have to worry about crickets living under the floor boards or having to try and keep them alive.

They have such adorable little personalities and can be kept in a 4 food viv, same as a Beardie. They love to watch whats going on around them and love to come out and explore and play.

Some people simply won't give them a chance because they don't look like little dragons, but they are definatly worth looking into and are a wonderful beginner lizard.


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## leanne (Apr 2, 2008)

i would go for a beardie but not as a baby if u have never had one they are so laid back


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## Clucks (May 3, 2008)

thanks guys that is really helpful.
Bearded dragons are his favourite, I never considered them as I thought they would be a more advanced pet, so I will definately look into it. 
I like the look of blue tongued skinks to so I will add them to my research list.
I don't think geckos would be right for us now you've told me they are nocturnal, and a bit flighty.
I was a bit worried about the larger lizards as my neighbour has a ( i think it is anyway) water dragon, which she says can be really nasty.
Thanks again!


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## leanne (Apr 2, 2008)

good luck on ur search


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## carol (Nov 2, 2007)

corn snakes are very good starters as well,
your get lots up if you google about what your looking for.


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## leanne (Apr 2, 2008)

oh yh and the best snake i would agree with carol all ours are so dosile and calm, there kwl i love them (we have got three adults and 13 eggs)


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## chelle (May 22, 2008)

_if u get a cornsnake, go for a slightly older one rather than a hatchling, cos u cant tell their temperament right away, and the occasional few can be a bit snappy (mine scares the life out of my fiance and can be a bit difficult to get out of his viv if he is having a grouchy day!)

leopard geckos, although supposedly nocturnal, are actually out a lot more than u would think in the day- i have 6 (and a few eggs in the incubator)- and although as babies some are flighty and scared, adults are very tame and most of ours scratch the glass to get our attention when they want to come out every evening to play! very easy to handle, and very tame if u handle regularly.

beardies are a nice easy starter, we used to have 2, but we found them a little boring cos they hardly moved when they got older!!_


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## Clucks (May 3, 2008)

thank you.
I did wonder about a corn snake. I will add it to the research list. I think he has his heart set on a lizard now, but as he has to wait a few years before he gets one so he may change his mind!
He has started a 'lizard tin' and is putting some of his pocket money and some of the money he gets from selling his baby guinea pigs in so he can save up to buy the set up!


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## Jason.Payne (Jul 29, 2008)

Thought I would add my pennies worth .......... My family used to own a reptile shop in Bradford (granted, 25yrs ago!) and I have always had a keen interest in herps. 

I personally recommend a garter snake as a 1st time herp as they are very cheap to buy, very easy to maintain/look after, will take food via a dish (white fish for the 1st 6 months then grow on to pinkies) and will probably never bite (99.9999999 sure!).

If he wants a lizard, I would go for Tokay gecko (JOKING!!! PLEASE DONT EVEN LOOK @ TOKAYS LOL), I would go for a babie dragon as super placid!

Hope this helps

Jay


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## Fade to Grey (Nov 10, 2007)

i started with an adult corn and he's brill, well behaved and i've never been biten by him. trouble is he's 5ft something long so can be difficult to handle if its a child handling him. hatchlings grow up fast too. we got a hatchling back in feb (well six months old) and he/she has grown fast s/he's about 1.5 foot now.


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## ellieandtim (Jul 31, 2008)

I think you should get a bearded dragon as they are friendlier than leopard geckos. To be honest, they are so nice and also relatively easy to look after, I'd say let him get one now. It'll show him responsibility and how important it is to look after animals nicely.

Go to google and search for bearded dragon care sheet.

It's really good that you're doing your research now because a lot of people just go to a pet shop and buy one and have no idea how to look after it. Many people trust in the pet shop that they buy the animals from and most pet shops have no idea how to take care of different reptiles. (I'd recommend you bought off a breeder). Try this forum too, there seem to be more members than on this one and more members = more help. Reptile Forums UK - Care, Pictures, Classifieds & More

Hope I helped, if you need anything else, just send me a private msg.

Sam


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## cassie01 (Jul 11, 2008)

Our first herps were an adult beardie and a corn snake. Both species are very calm, docile and great first pets. Id also recomend royal pythons, they are bigger then corn snakes but make fantastic pets very tame and freindly. First time owners of any herp would be better off with an adult as they tend to be slower and less jumpy. You can often buy them with the complete set up too. Putting one together yourself can be quite daunting.


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## cat001 (Apr 12, 2008)

Jason.Payne said:


> Thought I would add my pennies worth .......... My family used to own a reptile shop in Bradford (granted, 25yrs ago!) and I have always had a keen interest in herps.
> 
> I personally recommend a garter snake as a 1st time herp as they are very cheap to buy, very easy to maintain/look after, will take food via a dish (white fish for the 1st 6 months then grow on to pinkies) and will probably never bite (99.9999999 sure!).
> 
> ...


OMG you scared me when i thought you were Recommended a Tokay for a kid lol! XD

Leopard Geckos are fairly easy to maintain, and not terribley expensive


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## Tinx (Aug 18, 2008)

Another option to look at is a Western Hognose. The males only grow to around 2ft (females around 3ft) so they are a nice, handleable size for a youngster. The babies are a lot less flighty than a corn and far easier to handle. You also, very rarely, have any feeding problems with them as they're greedy little snakes.

If he definitely wants a four legged creature though then a beardie or a nicely grown on leopard gecko which is used to being handled are both good choices.

You also need to be aware that a leopard gecko will live happily in a 2ft viv, a western hognose in a 2ft - 3ft and a beardie will need a 4ft viv (adult sizes quoted) so if space is an issue then that should form part of the decision.

I hope he enjoys his research.


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## mablackmax (Aug 19, 2008)

yes I know what you mean. My daughter desperately wants a baby male australian water dragon, trouble is we live in somerset and the only ones I can find for sale are in places like Co. Durham! Where do people get these lizards from? They are rarer than unicorns!!! So being too young isn' the only reason for having to wait; not being able to buy on is a worse fate!


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## PsyKoViggy (Mar 4, 2008)

Look on some reptile based forums. There are some wonderful breeders and keepers around who don't advertise themselves much as they only want to sell to the reptile keeping community and like to be sure of who they are selling to, so reptile based forums allow them to talk to potential buyers and then send the animal via something like reptile taxi (who are VERY reliable).

Reptile shops are usually not a great place to buy from, as they tend to keep so many different species that catering to all their individual needs exactly would be very costly and time consuming for them, so they simply can't. They also tend to get a fair amount of wild caught animals, when can bring mites and all sorts into the shop and can end up affecting every animal there.

Honestly, i know it's more hastle to buy from an indipendent person, but the animal is usually in a much better condition and you are more likely to get sound advice.

Hope that helps


Oh, and Tinx. You should probably menchon that hoggies are rear fang venemous while you're suggesting them. They arn't considered dangerous, but if bitten it can make your hand swell up for a couple of days.. not wanting to put people off, but it would be aweful if they bought one without knowing.


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