Newbie with some questions

[ZMonte85]

Well, I'm a newbie to keeping lizards or any type of reptile as a pet and I have a bunch of questions and could use some help/opinions. I'm pretty open to all suggestions about what lizard to get as a newbie, because they all seem real interesting to me, but what would be the best lizard to start out with for a beginner? I'm looking for one that is fun to watch and relatively easy to care for. I would also like to be able to pick one that is easy to find in a local pet store too, I don't really want to hunt down a breeder for a rare lizard. I would like to keep the tank in which i would keep it in, under 55 gallons probably, because my budget is a bit thin right now. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for tank lighting and heating products or any advice they can give me on anything at all I would appreciate it. I guess that's all for now, I'll probably have more questions later, thanks in advance.

[Zoe]

Hi!
Welcome to the site!

what would be the best lizard to start out with for a beginner?

I'd suggest leopard geckos. They are super easy, tame, cute, come in a variety of colours and best of all, you could set up an awesome realistic 55gal tank with a colony of a male and a few females. They are easy to find in petstores (but you may want to buy from a breeder anyway - they are cheaper and the animals are usually nicer and healthier) and most of them are pretty inexpensive.
As for heating, you can give them an undertank heater (you can buy one by Zoomed or Exoterra made specifically for reptiles, or you can go to zellers and pick up a human heat pad) and you may also want to give them an over-head 50-100W bulb for more light and more heat if the heatpad doesn't make it warm enough - make sure you have a good digital thermometer (not the analog, 3$ crap that's 5 degrees off).

I'm sure there are plenty of other choices too, but Leos are very cool, easy and rewarding.

Good luck!
Zoe

[ChristinaM]

Zoe is right. Leo's are great pets.
The one place I differ from her is I just use an overhead lamp for heat, I don't have the under tank heat. Just a lamp overhead with a 60W red light.

Beardies are also a nice selection. A little more work than a leo, but still reletively easy on the lizard scale.

Both though, definately research before you buy. Post your questions and look through old posts. Once you decide what you want, we can help you on caging n' such.

Good luck

[Neo]

beginner lizards are most commonly said to be leopard geckos, crested geckos, and bearded dragons. i dont have a beardie but i heard that they eat a whole lot as children and take a lot of enclosure space. since ur new to reptiles all together i would suggest a leopard gecko. u can get more info on them in the eublepharis macularis forum.

as for buying them i wouldnt recommend getting your first lizard from a pet shop. pet shops dont keep reptiles in good condition at all. you dont wanna buy a sick or deformed lizard if it saves you money. vet bills and care will overrun that cost in the long run.

[ZMonte85]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've been looking through and reading old posts. I'm leaning towards leo geckos at the moment, but I like the crested geckos as well. Keep the opinions coming, I appreciate it.

[ChokeOnSmoke]

If your house is cool like mine is 65 or so I would need more than just a heat lamp for a leo.
The good thing about cresties is they like temperatures near room temperature but they like a higher humidity so you have to mist them.
There is also much more info on leopards than cresties.

[varanuskomodoen]

55 gallons? are you kidding? I have 2 leos in a 15 gallon tank. The smaller the tank, the less hight and more length it should have!