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What Lizard do i want? Details within...

bottledpet Jan 27, 2004 06:15 AM

Hello, im in the market for a lizard. Space is not an issue, nor is time- In in this for the long haul, after all.

I was thinking the lizard im looking for would have to be either a water dragon, or green iguana. However, ive heard bad things about iguanas who get mean as they age, and thats NOT what i want. im looking for something to carry with me, sit on my lap as i watch tv, etc. Basically a reptillian house cat. I like the water dragons temperment, but they dont get to be that big... I want the size of a big iguana, or a monitor.. Just a nice temperment. Good with not only me, but also houseguests. another thing i want to be able to do is leash him/her and go for a walk. so please, let me know what you think.

dan

Replies (7)

kyle1414 Jan 27, 2004 07:24 AM

if you buy a baby savanah monitor i heard they make great pets for what your talking about. they get around 4 ft

nickpurvis Jan 27, 2004 10:23 AM

well savannas are good but they can get pretty testy around feeding time.here are a few choices(go to pro exotics to find monitor info)
black throat monitor
savanna monitor
black and white tegu
red tegu

hope this little lizt helps
nick

UroJade Jan 27, 2004 08:06 PM

Did you look at Australian water dragons? i think they get bigger than asians and their calmer

triturus Jan 28, 2004 01:59 PM

Well, then I recommend you don't get a lizard. They are not that kind of pet. Oh, a few species cn provide hand feeding interaction, and some will tolerate handling when you clean the cage. Leopard geckos and crested geckos are calm as adults, as are bearded dragons and blue-tonged skinks. But my and large, these lizards will not do well if handled a lot, especially babies.

On the other hand, I will point out some of the WORST choices you could make for an lizard to handle:

Tokay Gecko: will rip your hand off. So will a knight anole. This also goes for their relatives as well. Like the tokays, a croc gecko will bite like hell. The Jamacain giant anole is foul tempered as well: I saw a girl at Radford University get her hand ripped open by an adult A. garmani that was living in the greenhouse on campus.

Curly-tails and small lacertas, plus basilisk lizards: These are maniac species: They bloody their snots on cage walls and act like Tokyo citizens running from Godzilla everytime you open the cage.

Day geckos, small anoles, fence lizards, spiny lizards (Sceleporus), green tree skinks, five-lined (Eumeces) and rainbow rock skinks (Mabuya) house geckos, flying geckos, and other small species: some really pretty display, but easily stressed by handling. Day geckos in particular are bad choices for handling, and any green anole you handling more than once a week will be a stress-out emaciated zombie in no time. All the lizards mentioned here are speed demons, many with toe pads allowing them to negotiate glass windows and even ceilings. All are big tail-droppers as well. Leave them in planted terrariums and enjoy them as you would fish.

Skinks: most are burrowers, the Berber's skink has a nasty temper like knight anoles and tokays. Many of the others species, such as great plains skink, broaded-headed skinks, and others are mean too. Crocodile skinks get terribly stressed from handing.

meretseger Jan 28, 2004 02:58 PM

Ooh... um... when crocodile skinks get stressed... how do you tell? I've got a pair and their body language is still beyond me. I have to dig them out every once in a while to check on them, obviously, but I'd like to be able to tell if they really hate what I'm doing.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

triturus Jan 29, 2004 06:48 AM

I've had perfectly active (if you really want to call this species active) specimens just lay in their cages in the open after being carefully removed for cage cleaning. They will remain like that for most of the day and refuse food. After a while they recover. I've also had a female croc skink bite me when I lifted her out from under some cork. They just seem to really freakout when handled. And it's not a spastic, rapid freakout; it's a stressed, quiet, sickly response involving refusing food and hiding a lot. Believe me, I tried breeding this species. Only when given a large platic bin with lots of privacy did I get any eggs.

meretseger Jan 29, 2004 02:01 PM

Mine did that a bit when I first got them... now they still seem pretty shy but will sit up in my hand and tongue flick. The male more so than the female. Like I said, I don't handle them for the fun of it, I just don't like assuming that their doing ok when I never see them. They still won't voluntarily come out of hiding when I'm around... and I think that if I stay in the room they're in, they don't come out at all. I hope CB babies will be a little braver.
-----
"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

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