Easy reptiles for pets?

[js89]

Advice needed but I am not 100% purchasing!

Ds is 4 , nearly 5. obsessed with reptiles mainly snakes but I am terrified. Can get on board with a lizard they are cute and did see a leopard gecko (i think the name is) is easy to keep etc

We are taking him to pet shops and a little showcase of reptiles and seeing if he is serious. If so (I know I will be doing mainly care) we are considering a pet as part of his 5th birthday. Again not definite we will be exposing him to more reptiles up until birthday will educate him on them etc. But i know as hes so young me and DH will do all of the care really but we are open to it

So im doing this post! To educate me and so I can pass onto DH

Another question is, we have 2 shih tzus. Would this be a problem? They can get up on the couch thats it so I know they wont be able to get to a tank or anthing. May bark first few days but if this is a big no.let me know please

All tips and education please leave here!

Had a crested gecko. My husband and kids started off looking after it and very soon it landed on me… needed twice daily care, live food as well as specialist food, everything for it was expensive the substrate, food, locusts, lamps… it hid and slept a lot and was a natural prey to the cat. It also doesn’t remind you of its presence like a cat would so you have to set reminders to look after it - they can live years and need a pet sitter/friend/ family member to visit twice a day to look after it when you go away. They can get frightened if their environment is moved.. don’t do it- if you do use a rescue as plenty get abandoned. It’s cute but ultimately a pretty boring pet.

Snakes and lizards are hardly cuddly creatures. My brother minded a snake for his friend. He also minded an iguana for another friend and had a slow worm as an 8 year old. Thank god reptiles weren’t the in pet they are now or he’d have got more. Poor things.

We had this issue with my DS9 when he was 5. We knew he would eventually get bored, so we opted for Giant African Land Snails. Very cheap to buy, set up is easy and they are easy to care for. Only have to check the soil for eggs. They are quite affectionate when out and enjoy slithering up our arms

A natural prey to the cat. I’m sorry but dying here 🤣🤣🤣. The cat must’ve thought all it’s Christmases had come at once whereas the gecko must’ve thought the complete opposite, you’ve brought me here, to be attacked by a predator?! No wonder I hide!

other": easier " lizard is a blue tongued skink needs a large Viv though at least 4 "2"2 but are really friendly if you get anything get something you like as well as you will end up doing most of the work

Whenever I’ve suggested to SIL that I buy my nephew (now 8) a snake or lizard she says “it can live at auntie Gonna’s house”. She’s deadly serious too.

I’ll never forget going as a teenager (about 18) into a pet shop in Camden that sold snakes and the like, asking them what they fed them, and they nonchalantly grabbed a white mouse out of the freezer in the shop to show us, frozen. I was with my younger half sister and we were both .

@7238SM to be fair she might be active later but im generally asleep. They say that leos are active at dawn and dusk.

get this snake - it is the only one suitable for a child under age 10

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/djungelskog-glove-puppet-snake-burmese-python-40402811/

We have a crested gecko, he’s great. They are arboreal so need height, rather than floor space which means they take up less room. We must a couple of times a day, his heat bulb is on a thermostat, and the UV bulb gets flicked on in the morning, and off in the evening. Cresties eat mostly a special powdered food which you mix up with liquid with some supplementary insects. Once you get used to them, locusts are ok to handle. I still find the way crickets scuttle a bit creepy but they are tolerable. We have a bioactive set up so any cleaning is very minimal. I honestly think he’s probably more straightforward to care for than the majority of small mammals.

As per pp, an African land snail.
they are easy to care for and quite sweet.
im sure ours used to respond to his/her name.

You've made me laugh now 🤣 I have cats and they'd be like 'What's this crispy pre-cooked delicacy?'

She's really beautiful! Such a sweet little face. What's her name?

The cat didn’t get him but would jump on the vivarium and terrify the poor gecko in the evening when it was active 🤦‍♀️

DS had an African land snail - it was very cute but cheap and easy! He was called Steve (Minecraft!)

anyone wanting gals i have loads here

As an aside, my kids were 12 and 9 when we got the lizard and it’s still us who does 99% of everything. A 4 year old wouldnt be able to do much of the care.

Something I found out too late is that if you’re allergic to shellfish, you’re also allergic to bugs so while the lizard itself is fine, her food makes my asthma flare up if I’m around it too long. Just another random thing that meant this was more work for my husband than we anticipated. She is lovely, but not really a pet for a small child.

@Gentleworkshe's called Mimikyu

Poor little gecko! Evil cat!

Cats will be cats - he was obviously removed from the vivarium…

Our terrarium is under a shelf in an alcove for a good reason! The cats aren’t interested now they can’t climb on top!

I can't help as I have never had any... However I thought you were asking for an easy recipe for pets 🤣
I would get a gecko or a tortoise 🐢

This.

Also - if you want to go away it's one thing finding a dog sitter or someone to feed the cat or rabbit. I suspect it will be a whole lot harder to find someone to look after a reptile!

Ex reptile breeder here. I used to breed multiple species of tortoises, snakes and lizards. If you have the correct set up then they are way off you know the specific needs of the species. The easiest by far is a tortoise. Hermanns are a great starter species but do require hibernation. Leopards are a great ask year species but can get large if they turn out to be female. Bearded dragons are a good lizard but require decent size viv with a top notch uv and heat source. Geckos are good but they need a slightly more specific microclimate for shedding etc.

honestly I’d say hermanns tortoise. You can hibernate them in a beer fridge in a box of soil/sand and while they are small they can live perfectly happy in a open top plastic tub (think one of the mesh covered gonna put cages with the large plastic tray at the bottom. You can suspend a UVB mercury vapour lamp from the top to provide both heat and uv and they do fine with as domestic night time temp indoors. Provide a variety of hides and water bowls and they pretty much just eat a mix of weeds that you can forage which is great for educational purposes. Just toss the weeds in nutrobal and calcium carbonate and add a cuttle fish. In the summer they can go into a secure pen outside but they need to be protected from the duds and wildlife etc. my kids LOVED the tortoises and bearded dragons the best. Beardies are very much “dog” lizards and are very happy to be out and about sat in the sofa on your knee etc.