Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought i would post this question because I see some of you have both dragons and geckos. Which is the better pet? Maybe I should make this easier...which is easier to keep, feed, house? My daughter wants one but its because she thinks she has a better chance at getting one because they are cheaper. I wouldn't mind getting her a beardie just forher but I also heard the set up for a gecko is less expensive. She loves my dragons and is interested in both but I have to get a pet that I don't mind taking care of myself (you know how kids are).

any input would be appreciated!

Marilee

I am a newbie but i have a bearded dragon and my friends have got Geckos. I would have a bearded dragon if you want the best pet and a gecko if you want the easiest and the least expensive.my beardie is really friendly social and loves to be out of his tank. all my friends say that thier geckos just hide all day and don't like being handled. i am glad a chose a beardie over a gecko but they involve alot more than i expected. i would say it depends on whether she has the time to spend time with it or just to look after it. but like i say i am new to this but that was my choice when i was getting a lizard.
hope i have helped a bit.

kay

Geckos are somewhat easier to keep than beardies in my opinion. They don't require UVB, don't require high temps, and don't eat as much either. Since they are much smaller they are also cheaper to house than beardies. A twenty gallon long would be sufficient for one or two adult leapords. Less space, less food, no high dollar uvb tubes/bulbs...... a much easier pet for a kiddo! I'm not sure exactly about the best care for them as I only know the basics on these guys so you might post in the leo forum for substrate, hides, cage decorations, etc. I would recomend a leo over a beardie for a kid any day..... (I bet I'm in trouble now...LOL)

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

Gee Rob...I didn't expect that response from you! Thank you both for your input. It's just when I look at them (geckos) they don't seem to have much personality. And if I may have to take over it's care I would like it to be sometihing that interests me too. But other side of it sounds good...no uvb, smaller tank, etc. Hmmmmmmm.....gonna have to think on this. I have until March, her birthday is in April and there is a huge rep show in March. (I can see it now...one gecko for her, one beardie for me )

Marilee

Sorry didn't read the post properly didn't realise your kid was little i don't know why i asume everyone is my age. i think Geckos are easier and cute. They look as if they are smiling when they look at you and stay small. i am just beardie mad and very opionated. for a younger kid a gecko is probably best

lol....I know what you mean! Beardies are soo addicting! I like the idea of geckos being so laid back, although my kids carry my dragons around all the time anyways. The lepards are pretty cute too though.

Arggg!

marilee

LOL Seriously, you want something thats active , has personailty, absolutely GOREGOUS colors (very diverse) and Interesting incase she loses interest??????????

Well look into collared lizards, need about a 20 long for one, basking, and UVB, . You will LOVE them, hehehehee !

I have many types of lizards , but collareds are my MAIN focus.

Not trying to push you , as I have no kids available now anyway, but with handling, mine get so friendly they jump into my hand.

Very cool, BUT YA CAN'T PICK THEIR SKIN OFF EITHER, ahhhahaha LMAO

Some of my family :0)

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Eve / PHEve

lmao!!! too funny! I have seen them at the store I get my crix from. They are cute little guys! I'm going to have to take a closer look! Thanks! I also thought about trying to find an adult dragon, but most for sale are all babies.

Is there something out there I can pick on?!?! Besides you and Robbi? lol!

marilee

I will send you all my rolls of TAPE that I lose the ends and can't get it to peel in one peice to tear off.

LOL DANG, thats frustrating, I NEED a PROFESSIONAL PICKER OR PEELER , with the holidays coming and all those presents to wrap.

LMAO

OH and you must love FUZZ BALLS, that stick on blankets and sweaters, and things, GOSH its HOURS of GREAT PICKING ! Hahhahaha ,

Sorry Now I'm Pickin on you!
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Eve / PHEve

You really hit the nail on the head! I do pick at fuzzies and I am a great wrapper. I had to start charging my family for wrapping their gifts! Oh well....at least there are advantages to my problem!

marilee

I love christmas.... lousy peeling tape roles.... icecicles all over the floor... every day..... just a pickers dream.... and every pickers kids REAL Christmas break...
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

I agree with Robert if you're speaking about Leopard Geckos. I had leopard geckos before and I currently have a crested gecko and a beardie. I want another leo though, but I need to make room for one! I house them in my room because my mom hates seeing them around the house.

Leopard geckos are the easiest of all the geckos to keep. Tokay geckos like to bite, so don't get those. Crested geckos get skittish and their tails don't grow back.

But, leopard geckos are easy to hand tame and they stay small. One leo can spend its life in a 10 gallon, making sure you have a warm side and a cool side. They do have high day temps b/c they are from a desert-type environment, but they do not require UVB/UVA because they are nocturnal. If you get a nocturnal lamp, then you will be able to see them at night. Some come out a bit earlier when they hear you come and they want to eat. They LOVE to be handled after you get them hand tamed. They eat once a night at 12-18 dusted mealies OR 6-10 dusted crickets at a time, depending on which you feed them - Compared to the bearded dragon's feeding of 2x a day with AT LEAST 10 dusted crickets each greens. They need high basking temps, but Rob already explained that so I won't get into it. Except, with the UVB/UVA lights, you must change them every 6 months because the rays decrease over time, which you don't have to worry about with leos - keep the bulbs til they go out.

When leopard geckos get scared, they drop their tail. It grows back in 2 weeks, but make sure you feed them well making sure the calcium supps are powdered on their food. They'll be back and up in no time! Bearded Dragon tails don't drop. Leos come out at night and beardies out during the day.

I hope some of those help. If you need anything else, I'll be around! There's also the leopard gecko forum too!

I am currently in the process of developing care sheets for Leopard Geckos, Crested Geckos, and Bearded Dragons for my own site as reference to those who need it. It's pretty much a compilation of different things I've learned through the research I've done in preparation for the reptiles and through the experience I've had so far.

Good luck in your decision making! Take care
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Cookie Monster)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

My previous leopard gecko... She was one of the albino morphs

marlene smiling at me while she lies on my bed...

she slept like that sometimes...

when i was at my computer...

i miss my leo she was cool beans~
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Cookie Monster)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

Thanks for all the great info!!! Now you've opened yourself up to my "hundred leo questions"! Haha! They are pretty darn cute...but the tail thing kinds creeps me out! lol!

marilee

haha, the tail thing never happened to me - she always kept it... THANK GOODNESS. when it grows back, the coloring and pattern can be different and the tail can be more rounded than straight and pointed when it comes back.... but it's still okay

and the leo forum here is VERY helpful. ppl are always coming up to give their own opinions and come with questions you might have so you don't need to ask i liked it a lot when i was part of it, but now that i don't have a leo anymore, i just browse through it and answer a couple questions b4 i go somewhere else. hehe
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Cookie Monster)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

a dragon. I've become so attached to mine and they have soo much personality. Thank you for all your help!!

marilee

I have dragons and my housemate has geckos.. I'd say the dragons have much more personality but geckos are definitely easier to care for. Just as a correction, if you don't keep your gecko cage near a window, you will need UVB light to prevent MBD. All of the literature says otherwise, but my housemate's leopard gecko got MBD & the herp vet informed her it was from lack of UVB. After getting a UVB nightlight, the gecko is doing much better!

But, during the day, they stay in a hide so they won't be getting the rays anyway. I raised a leopard gecko from juvenile age to adult age without it getting MBD - MBD is mainly caused by Calcium insufficiency and to prevent this, there should be Calcium & Vit. D3 readily available in its own dish AND the live prey should be dusted. So there'd be three dishes in the tank: Water dish, Food dish, & Calcium dish.

Leopard Geckos can tell when they need calcium, and if you don't have a calcium dish, you'll see them licking the substrate. Don't use Calci-sand though because it can cause impaction in leos, even though the bag says it doesn't.

An exerpt from RepVet

Potential Health Problems:

As with most lizards, Leopard geckos are very prone to metabolic bone disease (MBD) when the diet is not supplemented with calcium AND vitamin D or a vitamin D precursor. Because they are nocturnal they rely on vitamin D absorbed from the sun by their prey's body. To overcome this, a shallow dish or lid containing a powdered calcium / vitamin D3 combination should be supplied ad lib, or crickets can be dusted two to three times a week with this supplement.

and another exerpt from The Gecko Spot which I suggest new leo buyers look at, it includes pictures so you know the signs to look for when buying a healthy leo:

Calcium uptake is regulated by a number of factors, an imbalance in the relative amounts of these factors can be the cause. Appropriate supplementation of the food should prevent MBD. A qualified reptile vet should be consulted should MBD be suspected, they will be able to advise if the problem can be corrected by supplementation or whether calcium injections are required.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Cookie Monster)
1.0.0 Crested Gecko (Vas-D)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.0.2 Goldfish (Lenny & Carl)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)

Proved that animals that don't have access to UVB lighting CAN grow and function normally with supplements!!! Why would that be any different in Beardies..... WOULDN"T!!!! FINALLY AN END TO THE UVB DEBATE!!!!!!!! or the start of another one? LOL

I see no reasoning that could suggest a nocturnal animal would absorb supps different than beardies.... and that is a licensed vet making that comment? I knew there was no way a major breeder could raise several thousand babies a year with no UVB and using supps. Seems they would have had problems after 10 years of breeding if it was an issue.
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

Thanks for that! I am getting my oldest boy a pair of leos for christmas and wouldn't have used UVB if you hadn't posted that!

Thanks!!

Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

ROFLMAO! Rob...your a toublemaker!! lol! I'm not even touching this uvb / gecko debate! I'll just ask my local petsmart guy to see what he thinks....ahhhahahaha just kidding! (like they can even tell the diff btwn beardie and gecko!)

marilee

No I'm not..... usually..... hehe.... But really... if a vet is going to tell you that a nocturnal lizard has to get supplements from the bugs that they eat because the sun doesn't shine at night and that will keep it from getting MBD then doesn't it make sense that it would be the same for beardies as well? If an unnamed breeder raises say 5000 beardies a year and have been doing that for 10 years with no problems and a vet is saying this...... i mean isn't that enough proof for everyone that supplementing is a safe alternative to UVB lighting or exposure to natural sunlight? i mean I'm not Einstein by far but I can add 1 1

And you started this thread not me so if there's any trouble you are the one that started it....... HAHA .... you are just trying to trick me into accepting the robe of many names..........LOL
I'm so glad you are here......

Later,
Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

lol...no I really was just kidding! But is is nice to have different opinions so that people like me who are just starting out can make their own choices based on what has worked for others. I always appreciate a troublemaker when it makes you go "hmmmmm". But listen to this (haven't mentioned it b4 cause I know some people would not be happy hearing this) I bought my brother a dragon a year ago from a breeder at a show. She told me all I needed was a household light bulb for basking, pellets and veggies and playsand. My brothers dragon has never had and insect, uvb lighting or suppliments. She is a beautiful fat dragon who although is not very nice at times is very healthy. Now...to make some of you feel better he is (with all my bugging) getting her the uvb and some vitamins. But it just goes to show that not all dragons who are kept "without" are unhealthy. Now there...now I've opened a bag of worms.

disclaimer-***just so everyone knows...I do suppliment, use uvb lighting, feed insects!

marilee

You just joined the beardie liberalist party.... ROFL.....

Later,

Robert
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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines.
Ralph Emerson

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