Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well lets start off my name is Tim and I love reptiles. I have 1 1 year old femal bearded dragon anda 1 year old male. and 7 babys that just hatched hehe which i will not be keeping. I also use to have a couple of snakes but no longer do a ball pyhon and a boa. But i want a differnt kind of lizard i've been looking at savannah monitors and green iguana. What your opinion and which would make the best pet im looking to actually take him with me for car rides chill with me in my room and all that good stuff size doesnt matter so either one of them would work out but which has more of a personality and what your opinion on both. thanks.

I'm not sure if either of them will appreciate car rides. I've heard more people talking of their success keeping green iguanas as free-roam animals than savannah monitors. I assume that's what you meant by "chill in your room". I know that green iguanas require more specialized care than savannahs. Unfortunately, both are usually farmed and not truly captive bred. Buying either would contribute to an already huge problem. I guess somebody is going to buy them though...
I will warn you that you're going to be blasted if you go onto the green iguana forums saying that you want an iguana to go on car rides and chill with you. Honestly, if that is what you want in a lizard (a bud to take places and hang out with) I wouldn't consider either of those choices smart. I think you made the right choice when you got the bearded dragons. They are much more suited to things like that than the two species you are interested in.

If I may ask, what happened to your boa and python? If you have a habit of acquiring animals just to tire of them and give them away (or sell them), I definately do not reccomend an iguana or a savannah, as rescues are FILLED with them. If these animals died, maybe you aren't ready for the responsibility of harder to care for herps like iguanas and monitors.

Also, by your dielect, I must wonder about your age. While a lot of teens are able to handle the responsibility of a ball python or a bearded dragon, they shouldn't take on an iguana or monitor. They get too big, live too long, can be dangerous (seriously!), require too much room, too much money to care for them right, and the majority of them get discarded as soon as the teen moves out or goes to college, if not sooner.

If you decide you need one or the other, prepare to spend at least $100 on books to help you know what you're doing. Set aside at least $500 for an appropriate cage (that you will probably have to build yourself or have built for you), $150 for heating elements like pads and multiple lamps and bulbs, $40 for various supplements (those cheap-o ones aren't what you'll need), and then of course probably a lot more for a humidity gauges, thermometers, a gram scale to weigh your new pet on a weekly basis (weight loss is usually the first sign of a problem), an automatic thermostat to controll the cage temperature, substrate, cleaning supplies, food (which gets expensive for both of those animals), claw clippers, cage furniture, a first aid kit (both are dangerous animals), and so much more that I haven't even begun yet, but I'll stop.

If you are wanting a new lizard that will be content to just sit next to you, be petted (not necessarily picked up), and "chill out", I'd recommend a giant plated lizard. They are usually wild caught, but out of all the lizard species, they are more likely to be "tame". They still need everything I've described above, just on a somewhat smaller scale, and thus less expensive.

I've included a picture of my male, named Lizzy Butt.

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~Sara~
1.2 ball pythons (Scorpio, Dayzee, and Satan)
1.0 Black-lined plated lizard (Lizzy Butt)
0.1 Burmese Python (Pixil)
1.0 Pacman Frog (Pudge)
5.2 Pet Rats (Emo, Skye, Siam, Lilac, Manson, Spade, and Zilk)
1.1 Dogs (Ozzie and Mandy)
0.1 Cat (Isis)
0.0.1 Synodontis Catfish (Big Spotty Fish)
0.2 Convict Cichlids
0.0.2 Crayfish

>>Well lets start off my name is Tim and I love reptiles. I have 1 1 year old femal bearded dragon anda 1 year old male. and 7 babys that just hatched hehe which i will not be keeping. I also use to have a couple of snakes but no longer do a ball pyhon and a boa. But i want a differnt kind of lizard i've been looking at savannah monitors and green iguana. What your opinion and which would make the best pet im looking to actually take him with me for car rides chill with me in my room and all that good stuff size doesnt matter so either one of them would work out but which has more of a personality and what your opinion on both. thanks.

You already have the best choice in a pet in the Beardies. A Ig or a Sav are both bigger and meaner on a general front than a Beardie. NO lizard is gonna want to go out and hang with you unless you have a nice warm basking spot on your person at all times. You will be denying any of the three a chance to thermoregulate properly and therefore will have it in sub normal conditions regularly, threatening it's health. (unless you live in a tropical zone)
Get a dog or cat if you want a buddy to hang with. A reptile is really not a good choice.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

I have to agree with the rest. If you're just looking for something to 'hang with' and show around cause it's 'cool' reptiles are the wrong choice. Beardies ARE pretty mellow, and they seem to like the attention they get from us, but even they shouldn't be subjected to some of the things you may inadvertantly come across out and about. For 'short' periods of time maybe, and in controled conditions. You just can't count on them always doing the right thing, and this could lead to their getting hurt or at the very least stressed. And too much stress can develope into other things harmful to them in the long run.

If ya want cool, pick anything and build it an extravegant play place where it will have access to all the things it needs to be happy. You might be surprised how entertaining they might be when they're happy . Just my thoughts on this.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself