Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. Have a young son who is into lizards (actually all reptiles, though that is another story). Looking for a good, small beginner lizard. Growing up, we had green anoles on several occasions, which researching actually are not the best for a beginner. Bear in mind.... I fully expect that I am the beginner, not my son (I expect to be the one who needs to do all of the care and maintenance).

Whether or not the lizard can be handled is not a big concern. Want something primarily to watch rather than or let crawl around on us. However, size is a concern. Primarily due to the fact that large lizards creep me and my wife out, thus we have forbidden them. Anything that could be kept in a 10 gallon, or slightly larger, tank would be sufficient. I do not want to go for anything that is more than 10 inches long.

Any receomendations? Words of wisdom? Etc?

j
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

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I would suggest a leopard gecko...We have 16 of them and they don't get too big. They are pretty easy to take care of and one can be kept in a 10 gallon tank. We have a 7 and 3 year old and they think leopard geckos are the coolest thing around. My son wants me to bring our big male in to school and show him off. My male is about 10 inches and he is full grown. The good thing about leos is that they aren't prone to biting and even if they do bite it doesn't hurt. I personally wouldn't let my husband get a snake (that is what he wanted), but I agreed to let them get a leo and now we have 16 of them. Reptile used to give me the creeps, but now I'm not so freaked out by them. I handle my leos pretty often and I also feed them. You can use paper towel in the bottom of the cage for easy clean up and just get an under the tank heater for one side. I feed all of my leos mealworms which are really easy to feed. You will also need a cave or a hide for them and also a humid hide. They are pretty low maintance. Hope this helps you.

leopard geckos are good beginner's reptile as are anoles. my very first reptiles were 3 green anoles in a 10 gallon tank. i planted grass and a bonzi tree in the 10 gallon, had an undertank heater, and just kept the tank by a window. natural lighting, plenty of heat, and fed them regularly. was a very simple and interesting setup. one day, my 3 anoles turned to 6. they were breeding and i didn't even know it until i say the tiny ones under some leaves on my bonzi tree! the only bad part bout the anoles is tha they were not to keen on being held.

leos on the other hand do enjoy being out and allowed to craw around. however, with careful and constant care, they do grow very friendly (see below post something to do with "leos can feel" and will not run or try to escape. however, they do require more food, water, and changing!

if you are not worried about ever touching the animals or if you do not want to, go with the anoles. if you feel your child would like to touch or hold, with proper supervision of course, go with the leo.

good luck!