Does anyone have a lizard?

[NotTheMrMenAgain]

My DD age 11 has got a bee in her bonnet about wanting a lizard. I suspect it's because she has a teacher, who she adores, who keeps lizards. We have a dog and guinea pigs - DD adores them but is hit and miss with the actual day to day work of looking after them, so some 'lizard care' would be down to me.

Problem is I don't think I really like lizards - feel a bit shuddery about them. But then I've never actually known a lizard - they might be lovely? I wouldn't be happy with the idea of feeding live bugs to a lizard - gives me the heebie jeebies!

But I don't want to say no right off the bat. She's a great kid and my DF died at the end of Jan - it's been a horrible time and she's been so good and brave and helpful. She deserves a lizard.

But they're not cheap I suppose - you need a big glass tank with heating etc. And what does a lizard do all day - sit on a stick? How do you know if they're happy? Can you build a relationship with a lizard - do you stroke them? What happens if there's a power cut - will it get cold and die?! So many questions....

Please can anyone give me some basic lizard advice? Could I grow to love a lizard?!

Lizards are great, interesting. They need their set up (heat, temps, uv, size) to be just right though. A bearded dragon is a nice pet and friendly. And comes in unusual morphs. Or a blue tongued skink. Skinks expensive though. They need a lot of live food though especially when they’re young and you have to keep that fed and warm too. If you can’t bear live food a uromastyx is vegetarian. Also expensive though. The above all are awake in day and sleep at night. Some lizards are nocturnal like geckos.

Thanks IheartNiles Having done a bit more reading it does all sound a bit too fiddly for my liking re: environment. But then, I suppose caring for any animal in the optimum way for that animal is never straightforward.

I'm off to Google uromastyx........

It is fiddly. Only get one if you want one as you’ll most likely be doing the caring. The pros are they don’t stink like guinea pigs and dogs can, the clean out is very easy as dung is much less. Uromastyx will be cheaper to feed being veggie. I think there are geckos (much cheaper to buy and set up) that do ok on a commercial diet called Repashy but I think it’s sad to deny them live food. Chameleons are beautiful and interesting but you do have to get their set up perfect and they are quite fragile bodied. Don’t get a tortoise unless you’re prepared to do a lot of work on their set up. The most expensive creature I’ve had to buy for. Good luck though, I love reptiles, I think they’re far more interesting, rewarding and much less stinky than guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters etc.

I do I would definitely recommend a crested gecko as a first time animal for a responsible child. They can be quite skittish at first but become tame with effort. I have both crested geckos and a bearded dragon and would say a bearded dragon needs a much more specific and complicated set up regarding temperatures etc. Also baby bearded dragons need to eat a LOT of live food (bugs etc) which can cost a lot of money

• first lizard not animal

We do -a leopard gecko. Great for a first lizard.
The full tank set up cost around £200 and we spend about £5 a week on live food.
It sounds complicated to start off but it’s actually quite straightforward once you get into a routine.
My DC looks after their own so I do have to do much except remind them to feed him.

We spent time in the shop letting my DC handle the geckos and ended up with one which is fairly placid and doesn’t mind being handled. Leopard geckos can’t jump either which makes them easier to manage.

Ours is well loved and DC loves watching him catch his food.

Leopard geckos are the ones which look like they are smiling. Crepuscular rather than nocturnal. Ours was VERY cuddly.

Crested geckos are far more skittish and will lose their tail, definitely. They are fine without it, but, it was traumatic at the time.

Both need a vivarium and a heat pad with a thermostat. Both eat live food, though crested need repashy daily too. Cresties are from rainforest so need spraying at LEAST twice a day. Leopard's are desert, so don't need spraying.

Tortoises are as good as any other reptile - if you get the housing right they are fine. Get a tortoise table and a UVB light, not a vivarium.

All of them need supplements of calcium. If you don't get the husbandry and the vitamins right then the animal will get sick - find out where your nearest exotic vet is. It can be expensive, it's MUCH cheaper to do forums research and figure out what you need in advance.

Don't get a chameleon. Just don't. Too hard

Dragons are good too, we've never had one.

Snakes are easiest of all - get a corn snake, eats a mouse once a week, needs clean water and a heat pad.

Have a look at your local RSPCA - they are always having reptiles handed in. Advantage of that is you get an adult which is vet checked, you know it eats and sheds. Many of these animals live for 20+years - do your homework and DONT get a baby.

The advantage of reptiles is they don't care if they are handled or not - whereas a hamster goes vicious. Reptiles like the heat from your body so most don't mind being handled (though crested geckos will jump rather than sit on you like a snake/leopard/dragon)

Live food - order online to be delivered to your house. Get a plastic tub to put them in and feed them vitamins and calcium on greens before feeding them to the animal. We just chuck them in so the animal has to hunt them.

I was like you, VERY reluctant. We now have 7 vivariums in my house. I remain reluctant, but, I've got used to it, and the kids absolutely love their weirdo pets.

Re the comments about tortoises above living on a table. Once adult they need to have permanent outdoor housing with electricity running to it, a heated coldframe or greenhouse and insulated box. They then need a large safe non grassed area to roam in. Plus they need to be brumated for slow growth. And you have to feed them safe weeds and flowers. It’s a lot of faff. But that’s what you should do to get them to thrive and be happy. Much easier to keep a vivarium based lizard. I agree a snake is the easiest of them all. I personally find geckos hide away a lot and a child might lose interest. Plus they are prone to dropping their tails. I think beardies make nice medium size handable robust friendly lizards as long as you can cope with (and afford) the expensive live food (in the first years they eat loads) and the heating bill.

DS has a bearded dragon. He does all the care (I remind him) and it’s quite straight forward, just feeding and cleaning out (which isn’t a messy or big job). Set up is quite specific, but afterwards they’re quite low maintenance. Our initial outlay was about £100 as we bought second hand! The dragon likes being handled now he used to it and will sit on DS’s knee or shoulder for cuddles. He also enjoys exploring DS’s bedroom and occasional baths. He isn’t very intelligent (a friend has a much smarter one!) but is very friendly! He also enjoys playing football with a ping pong ball. The first year he ate loads (3 containers of bugs a week so around £6/ 7.50 at pets at home prices) but now he has less of an appetite and will get through 1 (£2) or less plus some greens from the fridge.

We have had a bearded dragon.
Very costly set up and really do need the live bugs. Also loved cut up veggies. Calcium powder a must.
Loved being sprayed a couple of times a day whilst sitting under the heat lamp.
Ours actually slept a lot of the day and came alive at night.
Occasionally we would let it have a wander around the living room and sit on our shoulder.
Was fun when it was small watching it catch the crickets and locusts and ours used to wave.
As it got older it spent 90% of the time asleep hidden away.

Ooo, lots of replies - thanks everyone!

Good grief, I hadn't thought about shedding and tails falling off

I couldn't do a snake - I have an uncontrollable, visceral response to them (run away screaming).

Great advice and lots to think about.......

Niles, yes, you're right. I'd sort of forgotten that we built a tortoise run and wired the greenhouse. And that I plant dandelions and plantain and shepherds purse.

He's in the house in the winter - got half a room with those wire shelf things people use for guinea pig runs. And I grow weeds on the kitchen window.

Yeah, he's a faff. And the poo is something else.

Good luck with your decision, Mr Men.

@vivariumvivariumsvivaria which species of tortoise do you have? They’re lovely critters aren’t they despite all the faff. I know quite a few owners who class them as low maintenance but they’re pretty neglected (kept inside, no heat or uv, fed salad, roaming house etc).

Hermanns. Got him from SSPCA, so he's got some pyramiding from early husbandry.

We don't hibernate him, I'd worry that he wouldn't wake up, and vet says it's not necessary unless you want to breed them. Which I don't. He does get to roam when we are in, but, is kept in his pen when we are out in the winter with a mercury bulb, and I put a heat pad under the roof of one of the hides incase he's chilly at night.

He's a bit spoiled. And just tries to savage our toes in return.

We have a crested gecko - he has NOT lost his tail
He belongs to 15 year old DD and eats Repashy, which is a powder that is mixed with water into a paste. We don’t live feed and he is fine with it
He sheds by burrowing into his substrate and then eating the old skin
Apart from the intial set up and cost of buying him he’s pretty cheap to keep. However, he does need his viviarium monitoring for temperature and humidity.
He is nocturnal and can get frisky at night but he’s in DDs room and she says he doesn’t bother her.
To be honest he’s less trouble than the dog and cats and luckily the lo neighbour who feeds our cats when we are away is happy to look after the lizard too
They aren’t really my thing but he’s quite interesting to watch (not that he does much), he’s very handsome and DD seems very fond of him