Lizards for Kids - Page 2

alessia55 · 08-19-12, 10:17 PM

How much of that CGD do they need a day? is it expensive?

snake man12 · 08-19-12, 10:22 PM

Detailed Blue Tongue Skink Caresheet - BlueTongueSkinks.NET Browse over this it had quite a lot of info.

Gungirl · 08-20-12, 07:08 AM

I would go with a BTS if you can talk the mom into allowing for a larger cage. The kids could handle it more with out stressing it out IMO. My Son is 6 and our BTS is his. He does great with it.

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 07:48 AM

A Saharan Uromastyx (erroneously known as "Nigerians") might do well. They only top out at 12-14".

If a larger enclosure is an option, then I also would toss BTS in the hat. Durable little garbage pails that tolerate handling well.

LISA127 · 08-20-12, 12:23 PM

A 20 gallon would work for a baby blue tongued skink. But they grow quickly and become quite large by a year of age. I think blue tongues are great lizards for kids and they do not need to eat live food though they do need protein as they are omnivores. The only issue is they can get quite large so you would have to teach a child how to hold them while supporting the body. Super easy to care for in all aspects.

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 12:43 PM

There are two things that BTS do not have going for them.

1) Many new keepers (especially parents buying something for their kids) are turned off by the "snakey" appearance of the skink.
2) Their high initial cost, due to low reproductive rate in captivity.

Those two factors combined deters a lot of newbies from BTS. It is hard to convince people to turn away from the $50> personable baby beardie and spend $90+ on a sluggish, snakey-lookin' lizard.

Wildside · 08-20-12, 01:03 PM

Let's be totally honest here... Them kids are gonna have to get over their fear of bugs if they want to keep lizards. I say get them a leo and some mini-mealworms

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 01:15 PM

When I worked at the LPS, I encountered young lad aruond the age 8-10-ish. Scared to pick up a rabbit.

[shakes head in disappointment] No hope for some of these kids.

Rogue628 · 08-20-12, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

When I worked at the LPS, I encountered young lad aruond the age 8-10-ish. Scared to pick up a rabbit.

[shakes head in disappointment] No hope for some of these kids.

Now now....some get over their fears. When I was that age, I was afraid of almost any creature that wasn't our pet (i.e. dogs/cats). I doubt I would have picked up a rabbit for fear of getting bitten (although I've always thought them 'cute'). The only reason I got over my fear of worms and rolly pollys is because I used those to torment my baby brother with...and he was more afraid of them than I! lol

Now look at my collection and what I have to feed.

All it takes is a bit of education.

As to the original post, I've thought about getting a crestie for a first lizard as I don't care for feeding bugs (although the boyfriend feeds crickets to our T). My only other lizard experience was with an iguana (I had one briefly way back in the '90's)...and while I think they're nice looking lizards, I don't recommend them as first lizard pets, not only because of the size they can attain, but, in my experience, it wasn't as easy to keep as my snakes, plus the one I had bit and tail whipped alot, which made for limited handling.

Wildside · 08-20-12, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

When I worked at the LPS, I encountered young lad aruond the age 8-10-ish. Scared to pick up a rabbit.

[shakes head in disappointment] No hope for some of these kids.

My Daughter has recently gotten over her fear of worms. I believe it's because she's fallen so in love with the two hatchling leos I gave her. She has now overtaken my whole leo collection lol. She's been looking at morphs on the internet. I think we're probably gonna have to have that dreaded discussion about where babies come from soon though

She's asking an awful lot of questions about making pattern morphs and stuff.

Jenn_06 · 08-20-12, 03:03 PM

I think the best thing is to start small and a crestie would be great, no bugs and does not grow too big. Last thing you want is the mom to sell the lizard because it got too big.

JustBitten · 08-20-12, 04:10 PM

Cresties are a good option. They tend to be quite flighty when young and not every adult crestie can put up with being handled, so it is best to handle a few at the show. Obviously they are small and delicate even as adults so kids would need to be careful. Holding them over a table or other surface is important because they will do unexpected "suicide dives" and a hard landing could kill or badly injure them. They are nocturnal too, so you don't see much of them until the sun goes down.

We use Repashy 3.0 or Clarks Gecko Diet (Canadian) for ours and it's cheap compared to most other pets. A package of CGD is usually in the $10-$20 dollar range depending on the supplier and size of bag and one package can last for months depending on how many mouths you have to feed. It used to be common for people to feed them human baby food but that's a bad idea for a few different reasons. They do love the odd treat of some fruit, but this should be in moderation as the CGD is balanced while the fruit is not. You don't need to worry about supplements if you are not feeding insects or breeding the geckos.

They are arboreal so they thrive in an enclosure that is taller with lots of cover. Ours spend the day sleeping under the paper towel or in their hides and the night in the branches of trees we made for them. Check out youtube for great videos of some well planted exos. We keep each of ours in a separate 18x18x24 exo. Some people keep a single adult in the 12x12x18 but I wouldn't because I've seen mine use every inch of their larger enclosure and that just seems way too small. I've heard that you can get away with keeping more than one female in a communal tank as long as they are the same weight/size, but I'm not going to be trying this with ours as it's an unnecessary risk. We've already had to put cardboard between the terrariums to reduce intimidation attempts.

Cresties are adorable and can be fabulous to own. Good luck with your search!

LISA127 · 08-21-12, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

There are two things that BTS do not have going for them.

1) Many new keepers (especially parents buying something for their kids) are turned off by the "snakey" appearance of the skink.
2) Their high initial cost, due to low reproductive rate in captivity.

Those two factors combined deters a lot of newbies from BTS. It is hard to convince people to turn away from the $50> personable baby beardie and spend $90+ on a sluggish, snakey-lookin' lizard.

This is true, many people tell me my BTS looks like a snake!! I suppose that's true kind of, but I don't see it. Also, $90 is on the low side. Most BTS babies are going to cost you over $100. But I've had my BTS for 13 years and he was worth every penny. Not once in 13 years has he had even a minor health problem. And as I said previously, he has been the easiest reptile to care for that has been in my home.

beardeds4life · 08-21-12, 04:37 PM

I would not get them a bts. In my opinion the mom will have to do a lot of it. Instead you could help them build an outdoor pen with and have a box turtle in it.

Gungirl · 08-21-12, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beardeds4life

I would not get them a bts. In my opinion the mom will have to do a lot of it. Instead you could help them build an outdoor pen with and have a box turtle in it.

I don't get how you came to this conclusion.. My son is 6 and has a BTS the lights and heat are on timers, he changes water every day, feeds when told and cleans the cage as needed. I don't think it gets much simpler.

Box turtle is not going to be less work..