First lizard for a five year old

[Lankyrob]

We are looking to get a lizard for my daughters birthday, she will be responsible for it, obviously with our supervision. We have looked at a number of possibilities in both lizards and snakes and have come up with either geckos or beardies. The animal will be living in HER bedroom not in the living room with the rest of our reptiles.

Can people that currently own one or both of these pass on their thoughts with regard to suitability for a five year old? She is likely to want to interact eith whatever we get quite a bit but understands the concept of too much interaction. She already successfully cares for two guinea pigs and a hamster, again with our help and supervision.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[Ch^4]

I don't know much about good lizards for a responsible youngin', but I'd go out on a limb and suggest a leopard gecko. Husbandry seems to be fairly straightforward and they are adorable! Good luck and I hope someone else has some better advice for you. (Side note: we're basically talking amongst ourselves at this time of day Rob!)

[Lankyrob]

Lol, maybe we could have had all the conversations on pm!!! Sure there will be others along sometime soon. Tho with your experise i am in good hands :yes:

[Aaron_S]

My personal favourite are fat tail geckos. They are very calm and easy to handle right from the egg. I find that they tend to be slower than leopards and less nervous. Beardies also tend to be a favourite amongst keepers as first time pets. They tend to show more personality as well as get larger and still do well to handle. They require a larger enclosure though so it depends on the amount of space in your daughters room.

[NennaMeerkat]

I am gonna say a beardie. They are so mild mannered and can be quite the characters. Plus they get big enough where you can put a little harness (usually made for animals like ferrets) on them and "walk" them. My guy loves his walks in the summer time.

[Lankyrob]

We can definitely get a three foot viv and possibly a four foot viv in the room.

[infernalis]

Tie - Beardie & Gecko

[Aaron_S]

Let's make this easy Wayne. One of each will make the little girl happy :D

I'm just glad my little girl likes fish!

[infernalis]

I gave up on all pets for my kids.

Our daughter let her fish tank turn into a septic tank!

[Corni_snake]

Id say either crested, or the lepoard geckos! there are the corn snake version of the docility and hardiness of them. Plus fantastic morphs on both of those species! (my hosuemate wanted to get one! :) we did LOADS of research!) Added bonus, they dont get too big! for a five year old, but are quite fast critters when want to be!

[NennaMeerkat]

For some kids bigger is better in their eyes. I got a six year old and he LOVES to feed our beardie his crickets and watches him as he chows down. Its also one of our only pets that he will hold or pet.

[Marica]

We're considering our first four-legged herp as well and have narrowed it down to a crested or gargoyle gecko as the bf doesn't like the look of leopards and fat-tails. They seem to have fairly simple care requirements: no additional heating and an almost completely formulated diet. From what I've read the gargs take better to handling, but not as well to cohabitation as the cresties.

[Quack]

I would say that they are a tie as well(I've never owned a beardie but I have a friend who owns both and says they are about equal), as far as cresteds and gargoyles go, Ive owned both and from my experience cresteds are easier to find at shows but gargoyles do take better to handling( at least mine does that is).

[Freebody]

i vote beardie, they have some cool looking morphs as well, and they are less breakable sort a speek due to their size, and they usually are very chill and calm, i never had a leapard gecko, but my leachies are Fast, and take off when ever they get a chance, but they are friendly as in they have never made any act of aggression, just run out of fear i think.

[justin4snakes]

i think its a tie but for such a young child you dont want any baby lizards. baby geckos and beardies are extremely flighty and take awhile to settle.

[Lankyrob]

Yeah, we are thinking along the lines of a yearling or slightly older. We may use the opportunity to take in an unwanted pet in which case we dont have to choose between the two as we will take whichever comes first!!

[kenchenzo]

i would say a beardie as they do become very friendly very quickly.
but do keep in mind how big they get.
you will prob need a six foot viv at some point.

[Sapphyr]

I don't know, I'd say Leo... I wouldn't imagine a small kid would appreciate the spikes on a Beardie. I do own both, and they're pretty equal as far as requirements, though diet is a little different. Beardies frequently need veggies in their adulthood, more so crickets than veggies when they're younger. There is also the size, seeing as how my Beardie is substantially bigger than my Leo(though, my Leo isn't a Jumbo).

At the same time, I'm more of a gecko person when it comes to the lizard world. I just love their velvety soft skin. Leos are especially great since they can't climb tank walls and don't take up alot of space. The only threat, for climbing, is if they manage to get on top of something in their cage and fall off. Then they could injure themselves. So, there's pros and cons, but there's pros and cons with anything.

Another con with Leos is, their tail is easier to 'break' than a Beardie's would be, so also take that into consideration, but, I'm sure your child is responsible enough to not be rough with these delicate creatures and certainly not hold them by the tail... Personally, I think it'd be a disturbing experience for a kid to see any lizard's tail plop off and wiggle unmercifully on the floor of its own accord.

Also, for people stating Leos can be quick when they want to be, you can actually make your own tiny hardness for them. I've personally never made one, but I've seen videos of them on Youtube. I'd personally use it for a flighty gecko, 'cause if you've got any free roaming animal in the house, like cats or dogs, you better eye your gecko like a hawk if you've got it on the floor.

-mpV3yHuRTw

At any rate, I wish you like in finding your daughter an awesome little lizard friend.~

[Lankyrob]

i would say a beardie as they do become very friendly very quickly.
but do keep in mind how big they get.
you will prob need a six foot viv at some point.

A three or four foot viv is fine for an adult beardie.

Thanks for all the thoughts and opinions - seems like the two that we had settled on are both good choices. Her birthday is in May so we will see what is about at that point and let you all know!

[kenchenzo]

if you get it out everyday it will be but i wouldn't give it anything smaller than a 5 foot. and two foot depth. but hats just me.

[Will0W783]

I would say a leopard gecko would be the best choice. They are small, colorful, and usually very calm. They are also not too large and eat crickets, which are cheap and easy to obtain.

[mrherpdotca]

I only have beardies so my opinion is biased. I will warn you, although they are great pets they are also expensive to keep.
They will cost more than a full sized dog to feed. Viv temps and UVB are crucial to their survival. Consider $10 in hydro per month and a new UVB bulb twice a year minimum.
All that being said, they are wonderful pets and a really nice size when full grown. 18-24" and up to a pound or so.

No one voted for Chams. They are really cool too!

Cheers.

Chris

[belovedboas]

beardie!!!! :) I've seen some fair size adults...mine included

[ilovemypets1988]

i would say a small gecko as with a beardie, you will need a 4ft viv at some point for it, but most geckos will only really need a 2ft viv, i would say a leopard but will your daughter be able to handle a leo`s speed, a fat tailed gecko seems calmer and slower to handle so my opinion is a fat tail.

[NennaMeerkat]

Keep us update on what you do get! I know in our area of Tx there are many people selling non-baby bearded dragons in expos and craigslist (though I never use it) often has some good sized dragons. Someone said they can be expensive to keep but my guy doesn't cost me a large amount. Every two weeks I buy a large bundle of fresh collards and a few small yellow squash...not expensive food. Crickets are a once every two weeks treat and he will eat 40 of them in a few days time. Honestly he is no more expensive than my 2 rats.

[brylecc1989]

Fat tauiled geckos are amazing starter reptiles. I had one when i was about nine. They are docile, toothless, fun to feed, and slow enough to maintain. they live about 5 years and are moderately priced needing only a 20 maybe even 10 gallon enclosure. check em out!

[Lankyrob]

Well just to update, currently at top of the list for her is ......... <drum roll> ............... A zhu zhu hamster!!!!

This is partly why we started the quest early as we weren't totally sure that the interest would last. She has decided she is more than happy looking after our reptiles for now so all is good.

[NennaMeerkat]

HA HA Well that is good...I suppose. I mean you are responsible enough that if you had gotten a lizard "for her" you could easily have taken care of it for just this such of thing. But at least now we can put this "debate" to rest on Bearded Dragon vs. Gecko.

[Lankyrob]

We decided if her imterest stayed 100% on a lizard for five months then it was a go go go but she tired of the idea at four months, maybe next year!!! And yeah, we would have taken full responsibility for it whatever happened. :)

[sickvenom]

Bearded dragon