Reptiles, advice please?

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

My son would love to bring a lizard into the family, he's amazing with animals but highly allergic to fur, we had a little dog and they were best pals but DS's allergies were getting to a clinically dangerous level so Ddog now lives with good friends of ours but DS is distraught that he doesn't have a pet in the house anymore.

He has asked for a lizard and has presented us with a list of ones he feels would be good for our first one, he thinks a bearded dragon would be a good choice. (He has gathered this from a lot of reading books and googling)

I'm not against the idea, I KNOW that I am responsible for any animals that come into the house incase DS gets bored etc etc.
I however know not the first thing about reptiles and if they're good pets!

I'm not willing to have a snake in my house so that idea is out. We occasionally babysit a tortoise but he bites (a lot) so DS isn't as keen!

It's a really 'in the future' type thought and we'd speak to experts IRL of course but wondered if MN had any wise words for us on reptiles please.

Hi, my daughter talked me into a chameleon two years ago.
She saved up for the enclosure and set up and researched local breeders herself. (she was 14).
I have made it clear that the cleaning and feeding and caring for the lizard is her responsibility and she has kept up her side of the bargain.
She also researched it's care and understands it's life span and the fact she will be taking him with her if and when she moves out in the future.
It's a massive responsibility and lizards need, in my opinion, more specialist care than my cat or a dog but we love Pluto and enjoy him.
I would also research the closest exotic vet as some vets are not willing to care for reptiles.
Good luck.

We have a leopard gecko and after the initial set up (heating and hides etc) it’s pretty easy to look after. I went into it knowing that I would be doing a fair amount of the care though (DS is 6) . You need to be ok with feeding them live insects, and that’s not for everyone!

Geckos and beardies are good choices. Yes they do need specialist care but there's useful info online. The key is to prepare and research. Diet, enclosure set up and UV light access are important.

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/other/beardeddragon

Also ensure you have a vet nearby who is appropriately trained in reptile healthcare
www.bvzs.org.uk

Bearded dragons need a BIG vivarium, ideally 4ft long as they aren't really climbers as adults so new the floor space. If you can accommodate this and he's done his reading (temps, hotspots, etc) I'd agree one would make a good first lizard (I 'inherited' two from a mate who couldn't be arsed any more). The kit can be quite pricy, but I think that's probably true of most reptiles.

We have a crested Gecko, he’s very handsome and less trouble than the cats or dog. His set up was expensive but he costs very little to keep and he eats a paste so no need for live feeding
Bearded Dragons can get big and a bit feisty so I dint think they ate great for kids, my nephew was terrified of his!
Blue tongued skinks are worth looking at too

My ds (10) has a leopard gecko. As others have said once you have organised the initial set up with vivarium etc they are an easy pet

My one DC has a leopard Geko and the other a bearded dragon. The initial set up is expensive and you need to make sure you vivarium is the right size. Minimum 4ft for a beardie and once you know how to keep the temps and uv bulb correct this is an absolute must and diet and things like calcium dust for their bone health. They do make amazing pets just need to know what you are doing.

I'd be leaning more towards a leopard gecko than a beardie as they are a little bit less complex but beardies do tend to have more character and interaction, I think. A gecko will be less upset than a beardie if it doesn't get out for a leg stretch/handle one day.

Great pets though, think about holiday cover and exotic vets but these lizards are popular enough now that there's generally plenty of options for both.

Brilliant replies thanks so much.

I can see lots of online stores sell complete kits for lizards, can someone link to one for a Geko or Bearded Dragon please so I can see the sort of thing we'd be looking at please?

Are Geko's as easy to handle or will they run away? I head they can be quick and nervous where as bearded dragons are more laid back and slower? Is that right?

We had a chameleon and a Tegu.
Huge viv for the Tegu🤣🤣
Both lovely but both hard work. You have to make sure temps are humidity are spot on. Plus, remember what you’ll be feeding them😀

How would you feel about lost crickets op? Bearded dragons love them but they can and do escape!? Very noisey!? BD's are great to keep. Once the set up is spot on it's easy to manage.

Op if you put SwellReptiles in your search bar you will get some examples of vivariums and what you need. Geko's can be a bit skittish if you handle them carefully from when you first get them obviously let them settle first as not to get stressed then they will get used to being handled .
Beardies can be more chilled ours is a hand feed me sort of dragon. If you go on fb there are some good beardie groups with experienced owners on there where they will be happy to give you advice .
Crickets can escape but you can also feed locusts which aren't noisy, my DC's beardie doesn't much care for crickets .
The one thing with gecko's if they are scared they will drop their tail but they grow back .
With having both them I would say they are equally as good as each other but we are a reptile family I have a Ball python so I would advise do your research and see which you think would be best .

My 11year old son handles his gecko with no trouble. He just makes sure his bedroom door is closed as the cat is very interested! We had to move a bookcase it got behind once. We have a very good reptile centre near us and they set us up with everything. The gecko eats meal worms and locusts and the local pet shop sells both.

No concerns with insects, I can deal with chirping crickets and DH can't hear them (which is weird)
I'll make sure to do plenty of research and join some groups.

We used a pop up paddling pool to put our BD and some crickets in!! Also let some loose in the tank.

Check out Clints Reptiles on YouTube. His advice is great, and he has a whole series about the best reptiles for kidsand beginners.

But late to the thread @TitsalinaBumSquash but if you do decide to go down the gecko route bear in mind not all gecko species can be handled - our family decided to jump straight in with 2 gecko species not mentioned on this thread and neither are suitable for handling but straightforward to care for once set up.
Although good to know you don't mind escapee crickets
We don't know where they get out!
Also if you go ahead see if there's a local reptile specialist near you - we're lucky in that we have a really good one nearby so get much better livefood than Pets@Home supply, and they've been really helpful with just general advice on reptile husbandry.

Hello, I'm back.

We've settled on a Beardie, DS is fully in love with every single one he's seen in real life and chosen a name .... (don't ask! It's daft!)

I have spoken with the 3 closest reptile specialist shops and have come out utterly confused about substrate...

Some are saying use reptile carpet or newspaper...
Some are saying use a mix of sand/earth mix for reptiles that come in the 10kg bags in pet shops... but then I've read that sand can cause impaction.

Can I ask what you all use for your lovely lizards please and the pros cons?

Op, I've bred many many species of reptiles including high end colour beardies. Substrate is always a very contentious subject.

I always opted for news paper as it's mega quick to replace and cheap as chips. Bearded dragons do not like humidity and if you put a sand mix down you risk missing moisture that has served into the sand. I don't know how aware you are about bearded dragons anatomy but ash water comes from one hole, the cloaca. And they STINK. With paper you strip the enclosure, sterilise and replace with fresh. Dead quick. Sand.... can cause seepage and then smell/bacteria.

You can buy unprinted news paper from the local chippy for £5-10 a pack and that makes the enclosure "look" nicer. You can always supply a sand box for them to dig /forage in etc and put it on the opposite end to the food bowl. Feeding on sand substrate can also cause impacting which at best will leave you with a hefty vets bill or worse, a dead dragon. Don't believe any commercial reptile sand that says otherwise as they are there to make money and nothing else.

The most important thing with a bearded dragon is uvb , correct supplement and heat. I've seen far too many that have metabolic bone disease which is kind of like rickets and brittle bone disease in people.

If you would like to know anything I'm happy to answer questions.

But all WASTE , not ash water. Damn my stupid phone and fat fingers

@ChiefBabySniffer (haha I love that name!) thank you so much, that makes sense. We are collecting everything we need and so far have,

Viv,
Large water dish
Smaller food dish
A couple bits of dry branch/wood and a hide.
We have calcium dusting powder
A ceramic basking lamp
A long UVB light
some long tongs for feeding crickets (so beardie won't think our fingers are food apparently)

We got given 2 large bags of sand but I won't put it in, I'll use paper I have free access to a million newspapers everyday due to work.

Can you advise on plants? Do you use artificial or do you put edible herbs in pots on on something else?

Also.. silly question but how much of each type of food would you give to a baby beardie? Do they need a dried food or just crickets and veg and what sort of ratio. I'm so anxious about getting it right!

Anything else that is an essential for the viv that I should know about?

What type of viv have you got? Do you have a dome or cage for Heat lamp? It will also need a thermostat. Pulse proportional is better for accurate heat temperatures. A reflector for the tube uvb too or you will be blinded. In the future you may want to look into a Mercury vapour uvb lamp. A 100 or 125w would be great as they provide us light and heat. But they need careful monitoring so not for the starter keeper but they are the best. But again they depend on the Viv, dimensions and what it's made of.

You also need nutrobal aswell as calcium. Alternate dusting the food in it. Younger bearded eat a lot more insects than older ones and obesity is a real problem. Both should be offered veg too and slowly increase the veg as they get older. As for decoration I was never a fan of plants as real ones can't cope with the heat and artificial can often be ingested and cause issues. If you go for artificial make sure they are large leaves that can't easily be torn.

Sorry I didn't see your reply! How rude of me.

We spent the week going back and forward and making friends with our not so local reptile expert shop and this morning we picked up our wee beardie!
I'm already anxious... we put in 2-3 locusts and they're climbing on him ...
Is this normal?
I want to leave him alone to get acquainted but will they hurt him?
He's up on his rock under the heat lamp (it has a cage btw)

Hi! Bearded dragons can get impacted from sand substrate in the vivarium. When I had mine I had ceramic tiles down which I removed and cleaned. Kitchen towel is another good substrate.

Crickets can bite your beardie so you should remove any that haven't been eaten, don't leave them in overnight.

Yes to removing any live food of a night. Also remember to gut load your live food with veg and vitamins. And also shake them in some vitamins and/or calcium before feeding.