Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What are good lizards for beginners? My family has never had any kind of reptiles before (we have dogs and a bird though), but are really interested in keeping some.

I plan on a getting a bearded dragon for myself, but my mom wants something different. She basically wants something smaller than a bearded dragon, but really active. She would prefer to have a lizard that can be kept in pairs or more. Space is not really an issue, but a cage under 60 gallons would be a plus.

Any recommendations are appreciated!

Bearded Dragons are supposedly some of the best beginners lizards out there. So thats a good choice. Never had one myself.

As for your mom, assuming that she doesn't want to handle the critters, i'd recommend either Green or Brown Anoles, or some Race Runner skinks, or five lined skinks. They all do pretty well in groups... assuming that there arn't many males. i'm guessing one male for every 3 females and you wouldnt have much of a problem. As for the under 60gal size... well they should all be able to have a group of 3-4 in a 30-40gal tank. (not entirely sure on the tank size but if i'm wrong someone will correct me.)
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Later,
WhisQuila

Im assuming your mom doesnt really want to handle the animals she has so I think shed really appreciate some of the smaller day geckos.a good book is a day gecko book published by avs or advanced vivarium society I believe is the full name.or you could also go with the green or brawn anoles too.also another very hardy active lizard is the tropical or forest armadillo lizard.hope this helps some
nick

i wouldnt recommend green or brown anoles, they are not good beginner herps. i would recommend leopard geckos.you could keep 2-3 in a 30-40 gallon tank once again, provided only one male is kept with them. they can be handled and can be kept with a heat mat, there is no need for fluorescents.
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UroKnight...coming soon
1.1.0 mali uromastyx
1.1.0 green anole
1.0.0 brown anole
0.0.1 fowlers toad
1.0.0 emperor scorpion
1.0.0 cuban knight anole
1.0.0 ribbon snake(currently escaped)
1.0.0 african clawed frog
1.0.1 green iguana
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.0.3 crayfish
0.0.1 3 lined salamander

Thanks for the suggestions! We'll read up those reptiles and she which ones she likes.

But yes, she basically doesn't really want to handle them. Just wants something relatively small, very active, social.