Pet Lizards

When getting your first pet lizard, it is best to find one that is easier to handle and manage. This refers to both the requirements for care of the specific lizard species and it’s liking towards being held and petted by the owner. Most lizards prefer to be left alone and would get a fit when you try to touch them, some lizards are better left in their tanks or they’ll jump or run off and hide in some crack in your house. There are lizards that are difficult to maintain since their requirements in terms of their environment may be beyond the capacity of regular pet owners or that they may need specific types of food that you can’t possibly provide all the time.

To avoid any unpleasant experience during your first lizard pet, it is advisable that you get one that is suitable for beginners. There are three types of lizards that you could get and not regret having as your first pet:

1) Leopard Gecko - One of the favorite pet lizards and the most suggested for beginners. Leopard Geckos don’t need much attention. In fact, Leopard geckos hate attention. They prefer to mind their own business and just enjoy their personal space. If you enjoy looking at your pet without having to pay too much attention to it, this is the ideal pet lizard for you.

They only require a dry substrate and atmosphere within their tanks. Leopard Gecko’s natural habitat is the desert that is why they require a dry atmosphere. They also don’t like to climb high places too much so a short tank (height wise) is all you need.

In terms of feeding, you could feed them crickets, meal worms and wax worms. You just need to feed them once a day so you could just feed them when you get home.

Leopard Geckos are nocturnal lizards so you probably won’t see them much during the day and will just sense their presence at night. But sometimes, even at night, you won’t sense their presence too much since out of the three top pet lizards, Leopard Geckos are the least active.

2) Crested Gecko - Just like the Leopard Gecko, Crested Geckos don’t like too much attention. They, however, don’t mind being handled. They won’t get into a fit but they’d prefer to mind their own world.

Their requirements in terms of their living conditions are much more complicated compared to the other two favorite pets for beginners. The reason is that Crested Geckos’ natural habitat is the tropics. They require a wet substrate as well a humid tank. The problem with humidity is that it could lead to the growth of fungus. This requires daily and constant checking on your pet’s home.

Their diet consist mainly of fruits and vegetables. This is easy since you could find their dietary requirements almost everywhere. You could just go to the market or the grocery to get your pet lizard something to eat. Compared to the Leopard Gecko, which has a specific diet, Crested Geckos are easier to feed.

They don’t move a lot either, just like the previous gecko. They prefer to just stay in one place and hide. They don’t have the striking and contrasting colors of patterns on their bodies like the leopard gecko, just a boring monotoned skin. What you must be aware of though is Crested Geckos are arboreal lizards. They like being in high places, so if you want to own one of these, get them a tall tank and add some branches in it so the crested geckos could climb it.

3)Bearded Dragon - The favorite of all types of pet lizards. They move a lot which makes them look amusing to watch or observe while in their tank. But despite this, they like being handled. They are the most friendly towards humans and they very docile. They are relatively easy to manage but their care could be costly in the long run.

While young, you could house them in a small tank that could accommodate them. But as they grow older, bearded dragons grow out of those small tanks so they will require a bigger one. It might be cheaper to get it a bigger tank instead of a smaller one to have less expenses.

Just like the Leopard Gecko, Bearded Dragons are from the desert. This means that you have to keep their tanks as dry as possible and with proper and adequate heating.

Their diet consists of insects, meal worms, wax worms and other protein rich insects and worms. They will also require fruits and vegetables in their diet since they are herbivores. The main problem with bearded dragons is that they will require to eat at least once or twice a day and they eat a lot. This is where the long term cost comes in. To provide your pet with the nutrition it needs, you will have to spend a lot on its food.

These are just a few of the information you will need when starting to raise your pet lizards. It is highly suggested that you research and consult breeders and veterinarians about raising pet lizards so that you wouldn’t encounter any problems raising them.

Tags: beginners, costly, expenses, feed, food, housing, lizard, pets, top three lizards

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 1:54 am and is filed under Top Three Lizards For Beginners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.