Contemplating a lizard purchase...any suggestions?

nolagurl · 10-14-03, 04:03 PM

I am toying with the idea of getting a lizard. Right now I have two snakes.
I volunteer at the local zoo and I help maintain about 30 snakes and lizards so I do have experience with lizards. I realize that I only volunteer twice a week and that is much different that keeping something at my house.

Any suggestions?

Animals I'm considering:
bearded dragon
savannah monitor
chinese water dragon- i don't have experience with these but I've read a lot about them.
blue tongued skink

The animal that I really love is the Soloman Islands Skink but they are really endangered and I believe illegal to own as pets. Correct me if I'm wrong.

BrandonVeenstra · 10-14-03, 04:10 PM

Well, If you have a good supply of food, Sav Monitor would be great. If not, bearded dragons are great. And theres many morphs of them at affordable prices. The end choice is yours, those are just the 2 I would reccomend

ectotherm · 10-14-03, 04:24 PM

Almost impossible to go wrong with a leopard gecko. Given your experience, a leo should present absolutely no problems.

I think pretty highly of water dragons, as you can tell by my av. They have stricter requirements, and require a very large enclosure equipped with UV lighting and the ability to maintain high humidity.

Beardies are also pretty straightforward and from what I understand make great pets. I have never kept this species.

Savannah Monitor - I have kept varanids. Despite their ease of availibility and relatively cheap cost, they too have strict requirements and will also require a VERY large enclosure. To adequately house an adult, which if properly cared for you would have inside of 2 years, the animal will require an enclosure that is 6 to 8 feet long and at least 2 feet deep. They also require a dirt substrate as they are avid burrowers.

BTS - again I have not maintained, but I believe can be housed in a readily available sized enclosure

Pontus · 10-14-03, 04:25 PM

i would go for a ridge tailed monitor because they stay small and have great personalities instead of a savanah

CDN-Cresties · 10-14-03, 04:32 PM

Get a crested gecko!!!

-Steve-

GTPman4 · 10-14-03, 04:40 PM

I have not kept any of the species you have listed, but have kept leopard geckos and uromastyx. I would stongly suggest a uro because they have great personalities and are relatively easy to care for in my opinion. Although, I think you would also be fine choosing any of the species you were thinking about getting from what i've read.

lilyskip · 10-14-03, 05:08 PM

i agree with GTP. if you're considering a bd, you should also consider a uro. to me, they're much more endearing.

bob_thesnowman · 10-14-03, 05:12 PM

Solomon Island skink,trust me,if you decide to go with one,you WON'T be dissapointed,i keep one,and she is by far my favorite reptile,very docile,never attempts to bite,they do need rather large housing(lol,then again so does every other animal you have on that list)she's a great reptile,and to my knowledge they are not extremely endangered,and aren't illegal to keep,just illegal to export from their country i think(although i did hear that the solomon islands recieved a hurricane awhile back,destroying 90% of the large trees that these skinks normally live in,but they are still easy enough to find,i think someone on this forum was selling pairs for only $300,which is a very good price,the one bad thing is that i don't believe they were captive bred..)but the other possible choices you have made are very good also,I own a Savanna,and a few beardies also,and i've considered getting both the water dragon and blue tongue skink many times,but i'm still most passionate about the monkey tailed skink!

bob_thesnowman · 10-14-03, 05:17 PM

lol,although GTP's suggestion is good also,Uro's make very interesting pets,if you have a good set-up you'll find them to be very active,lol,these little guys are freakin' crazy,and pretty cute to,but then again there is that monkey tailed skink....lol,get one now

Bartman · 10-14-03, 05:50 PM

if you want to get a uro liek bob suggested make sure you have room, but if you do i highly recomend these guys...there incredibly active and easy to feed, the only thing you need is a uv lamp, high heat, some bedding and a few rocks and hides. Then all they have to be given is a certain amount of vegetables..all that detailed info you can find on the net but they make great pets..i have 2 myself and would never give them up

LISA127 · 10-14-03, 07:04 PM

Out of the lizards you mentioned, I have kept the monkey tailed skink, and I currently have a blue tongued skink that has been with me for 4 years. They are both great lizards. Monkey tails can be quite tame. Mine never tried to bite or anything. They are known for having unstable temperments, however, and I never completely trust them. But they are as cute as can be!! Blue tongues, on the other hand, almost never bite. They are as tame as they come. Calm, curious, and intelligent as far as reptiles go. Mine walks on the floor with my cats and dog. As far as care goes, blue tongues are much easier to house and care for. And much easier to feed. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a blue tongued skink. I will never be without one.

bob_thesnowman · 10-14-03, 07:36 PM

lol,i must admit,i've been pretty curious about get a blue tongue,they're pretty cute,lol,but i still stand by monkey-tail!I've never had a problem with my monkey-tail,or the monkey-tail i owned previous to this one,as far as temperment being unstable i'd have to disagree,well,i'm not saying it's not possible,as i'm sure there's a few monkey-tails out there that are unpredictable,but mine walks around my house too quite often,and has never attempted to bite anything or anyone(lol,including a baby that was grabbing her head)if i decide to take her somewhere she'll stay right on my shoulder,or if we're in the car she'll rest on my headrest,the only thing you can't trust about a monkey-tail is whether or not they'll poop on you,lol,this happens to someone about once a month,usually my gf,lol,i'm the lucky one i haven't been pooped on yet,i know alot of you will probably tell me that this stresses her out by having her out so much,but she eats like a pig,doesn't mind taking naps in the car,and even when i went to the local university to help out with their open house,my monkey tail didn't mind be held by other people,and like 3 or 4 kids at a time petting her,she's great!

nolagurl · 10-14-03, 07:48 PM

Thanks guys! You'e helped me out immensely. I've ruled out a monitor. I have the room for one but I already have a 6 foot boa so that might pose a problem. two big animals might be hard to start off with.
Humidity is no problem as I live in SE LA.

I'm going to check out Louisiana/USA laws in regards to the soloman islands skink. i'd really prefer that over anything else. we have a vision type cage we kepe ours in at the zoo. it's fairly large with lots of branches for her to climb on.

i forgot that we do have a uro @ the zoo as well. we just got him not too long ago.

LISA127 · 10-14-03, 07:51 PM

bob-
i don't think having her out is stressing her. in fact, when i had my monkey tail, i was working nights at the time. his name was george, and when he would see me come in and hang up my coat, he immediately "flew" over to his cage door to be let out. he basically demanded it! it was sooo cute.....lol. and i agree, they are great lizards. if u have been thinking of getting a blue tongue, go for it! they are great, also. and usually, ppl who love one love the other. i really enjoy my bts, named bubba. he is great. and i do miss george, also.

bob_thesnowman · 10-14-03, 08:09 PM

hey Lisa!
lol,the thought of ever even getting a BTS never even occurred to me until i had my PTS!lol...and now i'm out of room

,if only i had more space,lol,that is pretty cute,mine seems to like me very much to,if only i had more space!!i could see myself liking a BTS just as much as you do,they're beautiful animals,with great temperments,in comparison to a PTS how fast does the blue-tongue move??my Monkey-tails name is Rocko,if you don't mind be asking what happened to George??(my first monkey tail was killed when my sisters BF turned off the airconditioner in a small room with over a dozen heat-lamps,he over heated and died along with 9 leos...pretty depressing,could've been worse i suppose,could've been alot more casualties