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choosing a pet

winnfwil Dec 30, 2004 12:21 AM

My 12 year old daughter wants a pet reptile. We have never had one and don't know anything about them. There are 2 local pet shops that sell them, one suggested a bearded dragon the other suggested a savanna monitor. My daughter has held both of them at the shops and liked them both. Which is the better choice for a beginner?

Replies (3)

MikeBurns01 Dec 30, 2004 06:16 AM

Bearded Dragon hands down. SAvy monitors get real big, and eat a lot. I really suggest you go out and do your own research and don't listen to one thing that comes from a pet store employee.

A leopard gecko, or blue tongue skink might also be good choices for a first.

-----
LIZARDS
0.0.1 Monkey-Tail Skink- "Bubba"
1.1 Irian Jaya Blue Tongue Skinks- "Sammy & Sausage Girl"
1.0 Indonesion BTS- "Don"
0.0.1 Tanimbar Island BTS- "Sebastian
1.0 Kei Island BTS- "Huckleberry Blue"
0.0.1 Ornate Uromastyx- "Spike"
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko- "Sasha"

SNAKES
1.0 Green Tree Python- "Pink Floyd"
0.0.1 Sonoran Gophersnake- "Toro"
0.1 Western Hognose- "Piggy"

CHELONIANS
0.0.1 Egyptian Tortoise- "Tank"

winnfwil Dec 30, 2004 01:00 PM

Thanks for you're reply. I have not seen any leopard geckos but I'll look into it.

flamedcrestie Dec 30, 2004 01:36 PM

you may want to consider not even buying from a petstore
their mark up is usually atleast 100% and sometimes 200%.
for that kind of rediculous mark up you could buy from a breeder and have a higher quality animal shipped to you for around 30-35 dollars.
blue tongued skinks, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, crested geckos ( a bit jumpy when young). are all great beginner lizards. there are several other great beginner lizards but those are probably a few of the ones that you will be able to find the most information about which will greatly affect the life of your captive lizard.
the reason the pet store only said bearded dragon or savannah monitor is because that's probably the most common things they get in. as previously stated don't listen to the people at the petstore. ( occasionally people know what they are talking about, but not usually)
if you do want to get a monitor you should look into an Ackies monitor. they stay under 2 feet and tend to have a great disposition. along with those features other than size ( up to 36 in.) would be a blue tegu or an argentine black and white tegu. in my experience they tend to tame down much easier than savannah monitors.

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