Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking to get a lizard that gets to be no bigger then 2 foot but no smaller then 1 foot, doesn't mind being held and isn't flighty, fairly easy to maintain and is just overall a nice lizard! I have a bearded dragon and I would say they are very easy to maintain, so something similar to him. I've looked into African Plated, Uromastyx, Blue Tongued Skink and Green Basalik. They seem somewhat a good choice. Any information regarding these breeds would be appreciated. Thanks!

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED A ASIAN WATER DRAGON? THOSE ARE PRETTY COOL, TAME & NOT TOO BIG. BT SKINKS SOUND PRETTY COOL.

Basalisks are much more difficult to maintain than bearded dragons due to their more precise environmental requirements. Water dragons are great animals to handle occasionally but can get stressed more easily than the lizards you mentioned. Water Dragons also grow bigger and require larger terraria than the other animals you listed. Both blue tongued skinks and smaller uromastyx species (Such as the commonly available mali uromastyx) can reside comfortably in a 2 foot by 3 foot tank, altough bigger is usually better. Plated lizards require an absolute minimum of a 2 foot by 3 foot cage to thrive in captivity. As far as handling goes all of these animals are quite handleable when well acclimated or captive bred. The Blue Tongued Skinks are somewhat sluggish and cautious in motion, however what they lack in locomotional(not really sure if thats a word but I'll make it one) abilities they make up for in personality. I have one BTS that responds to her name and even some basic commands such as stop and occasionally stay(although with the stay command its probably more coincidence when she responds than genuine recognition). The Uromastyx have intelligence and personality as well but are often a bit more active and are a bit less personal than blue tongued skinks. The plated lizards are often curious and exploratory, and are great lizard to bond with. Within a matter of weeks a plated lizard will literally be eating out of your hand. With each of these animals it is best to acquire captive bred specimens. Besides taming much more easily captive bred animals of these species are much less prone to stress(especially with the Uromastyx, to which stress can be deadly), and are generally in much better condition than their wild caught counterparts. Buying captive bred also helps alleviate pressure on wild populations. Finding captive bred plated lizards is much more difficult than acquiring either uromastyx or blue tongued skinks bred in captivity, since many of the plated lizards only lay a few eggs(in some species as few as two)and are therefore uneconomical to breed. All of these lizards can make good pets, so good luck finding a new friend.