Help me in making a decision PLEASE!!

[Bigbossfan]

I posted in another forum here that I was considering getting my son a Beardie for his BD. He will be 8 years old. Now I have done some considerable reading and the more I read, the more confused I get as to what decision to make.

I am prepared to "assist" my young fella in taking care of his lizard, however, I want it to be his pet, and he be responsible for it's daily care (of course under my watchful eye).

So, that now leads me to my latest problem. Are Beardies a good lizard for an 8 year old?? If not, what other type would you recommend. I've also been told Leopard Geckos are very low maintenance.

Essentially what I want from the lizard is 2 things...

1. A lizard that is "typically" open to being handled and does not bite.

2. Not a fast mover. My wife is concerned that if we buy a lizard and let him out of the cage, he could dart off somewhere and won't be able to find him. I don't want to buy a lizard for my son that all he can do is look at him in it's cage. (Make sense??)

Finally, I have heard that Leopard Gecko's are a good starter. Is this in fact true. I would assume because of it's size, the set-up of the cage does not need to be as large for a beardie, and less elaborate (i.e., heating lamps etc).

I plan on going to the Expo on the 27th....and would like to have a good idea of what the heck I'm going to do before then. Can I expect to be able to pick up a cage as well at the Expo??

Any help is appreciated.

BBF

[Steve]

Both are good starters but I prefer the Beardies. I find them a little more sociable and a little tougher overall. I find with leos small size and delicate skin that a child could hurt it way to easy.

[DragnDrop]

Beardies and leos can be great pets for young children, but they do start off small... making handling very tricky unless you're careful. If you get a sub-adult of either species, I would think an 8 year old should be able to handle it carefully.
The beardie might make a dash for it a lot faster than a leo, and will probably try to get up high, while a leo would 'dash away slower' ;) and hide underneath something before it would consider climbing. Which would be easier for you to deal with?

Have you considered African fat-tails? They're also easy care, VERY calm, and will sit on your hands for ages, maybe climb up your sleeve for a snooze. THey're like leos but less active, maybe more down the line of what you're looking for.

[peterm15]

there both pretty good staters and they both need very simple cages.. the beardie needs a uv light so that makes his cahe a little more elaborate buy basicly a hide and a peice of wood for basking will do it..

you could get a cage at the expo but i would suggest getting one and setting it up before hand.... big alls aquarium service has realy good prices 10gal for under 10 bucks that kind of thing.. but it should be setup and all the temps right before you bring the little guy home..

beardeis are a fare bit larger wich makes them nice there also prety calm. as long as you support there belly.. so if you want a lizard that will just sit on your shoulder for an hour then get a beardie....

but be prepared.. feeding a young beardie can be quite an expence.. like 50 crix a day.. but when there older you only have to feed crix and other insects a few coupple times a week.. the rest are veggies...

id honestly say go for a beardie.. im gettin one soon too.. lol... i already have leos and there not really active during the day so hell really never see them...

be sure to get your little man to read this story posted by one of our members.. lits of in depth info in a fun way...

http://www.beardiedragon.com/pages/Care/BD_Care_QA.html

and hit the links at the bottom to find even more indepth info.. that is one of our members site..

heres a few good pages of info for ya.. lots of help...

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

http://www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html

http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

http://blackninjakitty.com/herps/dragons.php

[Betty Miskie]

Ah, listen to Hilde. A fattail gecko has got to be one of the easiest to handle. They just like to cuddle up and sleep on your hand, shoulder etc. Their care is like a leopard gecko as far as setting up their tank and they usually just like crickets! I have tried to get mine to eat mealworms and they will have nothing to do with it. They really have personality as well. At night when I go into the reptile room, most of them are at the front of the cage, scratching to get out and be handled.
Betty

[silent_truth]

yep, I would say go with the fat tail gecko too. They are very easy to handle, quite hardy and always smiling (even if it is from their back!)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/adam2383/Pets/P1010045.jpg

;)


-Adam

[nimrodfiftyfour]

The beardies eventually get very large (in comparison to a leo) and have much more complicated setups. They are sun-loving lizards so they require heating as well as UV. My personal recomendation is a crested gecko. Very tame, cool looking, unique, requires small space and no heat, and eats baby food. You should definately look into those, and make sure you look into a lot of different lizards before making the descision. If you are up for the expense and cage size however beardies are great! Just make sure that you look at all of the angles before purchasing any live animal. Best of luck!

[Ducksarefun]

yea, definately do lots of research, decide, and get all set up before you buy an animal at the show! what is your son most interested in? Leopard geckos, beardies, and crested geckos all come in great colours and are a lot of fun to watch. From my experience with cresteds, they are quite easy to care for, but they can jump far and are quite fast, especially when little. They also hide and sleep all day, and generally don't move around a lot if there are any lights on (unless you take them out and handle them). There are a million care sheets and photos out there. The best thing to do, is read lots of them and decide what is going to fit into your lifestyle best, and what your son is most interested in.

[Painted Desert]

Adam! Give me that fattie !:D I loooooove that pic! At least tell me it's not one of mine! I vote African Fat Tail, AFT, Fattie, Hemitheconyx Caudicinctus.
Not that i'm biased in any way....
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/3625P5080009ameltang-med.jpg

[SerpentLust]

I vote Fat Tail or Leo. I have two beardies though

[LISA127]

What about a blue tongued skink? I think they are great lizards for kids. Slow moving, curious and tame, not delicate lizards at all. Easy to feed and maintain. They do need larger enclosures, though. 1.5 ft. by 3 ft. of floor space at the least, preferrably 2 x 4. But they are great. I'll never be without one.

[Jason Wakelin]

Both my 4 and 6 year old children handle our sub adult Bearded Dragons with absolutely no problems. They've never been bitten, scratched, or had any issues at all. But I would agree that a hatchling beardie would be too small for a child to work with.

Jason

[Bigbossfan]

Hey folks, thanks for all the great replies. I'm now leaning more towards a fat tail or a crestie. I'll let you know after the Expo.

Thanks again.

BBF

[silent_truth]

Linda, yep that one is "Baby", although she's not a baby anymore. :) She still has the pefect fat tail attitude, plus the happy face image on her back has not changed even with her growth. :)

-Adam

[Painted Desert]

Ahhhhhh! I'm dying here! :devil: Well, at least she has a happy home :)

[TLH_Wär§cöötmän]

I vote for leo or fattail. I am going to get fattails this year hopefully, and I've heard they are even better than leopards. My leos are great. My larger male will sit on my shoulder up against my neck for a half hour without moving (and yes he is warm, my apt stays above 76, usually 77-78, so hes not cold) he likes the outings alot, but I handled him tons since I got him. I plan on geting about 5 fats to start, and go from there.
Both leos and fats get my vote because they are much cheaper than a beardie, due to much smaller enclosure size and eating amounts as youths. I know I can't afford a beardie right now (I eventually want 1.2) mainly because of the size of a tank I will need. I plan to get a rather large enclosure around the size of 48"x24"x18", so filling it with stuff the way I do and getting some nice morphs of beardies is rather expensive, plus I have absolutely no room for the 2 other tanks I am getting this year, let alone a tank that size LOL so until I have a larger apt or move to a house, they are on definite hold :)
Start small and go from there is my advice, but make sure to buy a tank that is good for your full grown adult, and possibly 1-2 cage mates is my advice. You may only buy 1 leo or fattie right now, but then you may want to buy 1 or 2 more, so make sure to buy a larger tank for them. they say a 10 gal is good for 1 adult, I prefer to tell people a 15 gal, which is good for 1-3, so if you get 1 or 2 more you are ok. Like everyone else said, do lots of reseach on and specie before getting them. JMO :D