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"Ok, I finally have the ok to get a new pet, so i decided i wanted a reptile, (but really ive wanted one for like 4 years) Im almost 15, so ive decide to get a reptile.

Ive kept alot of things such as:
1. Anoles, we used to treat injured ones from the yard
2. Tiny black frogs, they could sit on ur fingernail, i caught tadpoles when i was younger. I released them into a controlled almost predator free zone
3. One garter snake who i used to feed small fish
4. Large toads, who we again caught and released.
5. and a variety of other small lizards and frogs.
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Now im actually going to go to a local expo and buy a cb herp. But i still have a few requirements on my first species.

1. I would prefer a beginner-> Intermediate herp, i do not want something with too much matience where i could easily make a mistake.
2. Preferably nothing in a cage over a 40 Gallon, i could possibly go larger if it isnt as big as a deal. (Please with posts state the mininum size cage for one specimen.)
3. Nothing with the average price of over $100, I am only a teenager, so my small income would like to be put toward other necessities.
4. Insectovore, Herbivore, or both only. My brother keeps 4 rats, and my parents and me feel unfcoomfortable by turing around and feeding a dead rodent to a creature.
5. Preferably something i can handle and take out to 'play', (i.e. let it roam around, or sit around)
(if you have another suggestion of a creature to be a watching herp, please look at second part of post)
6. Any climate prefered, but not too "high-matienence"
7. Something i could find at a local expo.

Ideas I had: (Key: *'s =rating of if i want it; ? is questionable)

Bearded Dragon (*****)
B. Tongue Skink (***)
C. Water Dragon (**) ?
Argentine Tegu (****) ?
M. Uromastyx (****)"

Thank you! Hopefully you'll reply!
-Nic
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Nic

1.0 Border Collie/ German Shepherd Mix
1.0 Maine Coon
1.0 Domestic Shorthair
0.4 Fancy Rats (0.1 Dumbo)
0.0.1 Cichlid

Any hopefully soon some reptiles!

if you want to contact me: noseguardnoms@hotmail.com
Email me if you want to give me any more info

I would get a leopard gecko. You can get a normal for under $50. They require a 10 gallon tank, and are very east to care for. You can feel them 2-3 times a week. Also they are calm if you handel them a lot and will sit on your shoulder when you do homework. If you have any questions email me at ATLherp@bellsouth.net.

hope i could help

-BrAd-

tegus get to big, water dragons are carnivorous and bite the crap out of you, malis wouldn't be a bad choice but arte a little more pricey and blue toungue skinks are cool but are a little more pricey as well...

Lea[rod Geckos are low maintenance and are great first pets.... Beardies would be my second cjhoice if you could commit yourself to giving them proper care... the set up for a beardie is also WAY more expensive than one for a leapord gecko.

Let us know what you decide!

Later,
Robert
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Great spirits have always been recieved with violent opposition by mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

i agree with everyone else im 16 and have to find time to come home and care for my beardie. now that ive gotten use to the care its easy and there great pets but its up to you my friends gecko is really boring and sleeps a lot my beardie is active and has a great personality

first of all, just because something is a carnivore doesn't make it mean. Second, water dragons need some veggies in their diets, and third, I know several people that have water dragons (one has 5) and only one is hard to handle. It's not because he's mean - he's just jumpy. He was rescued and wasn't handled much as a juvenile. He's scared to death of people and yet he doesn't fear bite.

All the others are very friendly and personable. They are much much nicer than my adopted mean BD.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Corn Snake
0.0.1 Milk Snake
1.2.0 German Shepherds
0.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Conure and Cockatiel)
1.1.0 Rabbits
4 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

I was just commenting on the statement about them being aggressive.

IMHO, they need bigger tanks than she's capable of providing and are higher maintaince that she's got time for.

I would also go with a LEO, or even a uromastyz. My mali is very easy to care for in comparison to my BD. Similar care, but he's a much CLEANER animal, very laid back, doesn't eat nearly as much, doesn't need insects daily, and the list goes on.

I'm not even sure how BT skinks even made it on the short list. Don't they get huge??

There are also a variety of other small geckos that would be good pets for a smallish tank if you want something other than the ordinary LEO. Look into central american banded geckos, madagascar geckos, etc..friendly, small, cute and colorful.
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1.0.0 Thoroughbred
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Corn Snake
0.0.1 Milk Snake
1.2.0 German Shepherds
0.2.0 Cats
0.1.1 Birds (Conure and Cockatiel)
1.1.0 Rabbits
4 Fish tanks (SW and FW)

Beardeds at the fullest length need AT LEAST a 40 gallon breeder. They will do terrific in a 75 gallon terrarium.

Beardeds are a semi-high maintence so I suggest you go with a leopard gecko.

I have a leopard gecko and she is low maintence. She likes being fed around 10 pm (since they are a nocturnal species).

She lives in a 10 gallon terrarium (its a fish aquarium, with a metal screen lid). Leopard gekco's need a regular hide, and a humid hide (both can be made out of ziplock containers, the humid hide needs moist paper towel in it). Leo's can eat mealworms, waxworms and silkworms.

If you have any questions just email me.

Also, mali uromastyx are lower maintence than bearded dragons, but they need a 40 gallon breeder to live in (at least a 40, but a 75 is great becuase then they'll never need to be moved to a bigger home).
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

I find that they are at least equal to a beardie as far as care. Plus, I'm starting to think more and more everyday that we're not doing uros any just unless we're keeping them on dirt deep enough that they can dig their own burrows and whatnot.

My uro is very sick right now and there's a chance that she could die or a liver related illness. If she does pull through though, once my new cares are done, I'm going to fix hers up really nice with a big substrate dam and 8-10" of good, diggable soil so she can just have a ball. Right now I have her on a thin layer of soil and I keep one of her hides moist to try to compensate for her not having burrowing capabilities, and she tends to always try to dig deeper but always just hit to bottom and sides of the tank.

I also have a beardie and a uro, and the beardie has been a lot of maintainance due to parasites. The leo is very low maintainance though, and a lot of fun to keep too.

I said np!

I know about Sam, I'm also on the uro forum.

However, different uromastyx, different personalities.

Mine's content just being taken out of the cage and sitting on my stomach sleeping for hours. My brother's is the same way. They are the most laid back reptiles we own.

Our beardeds however are more high maintence. Both like attention and if they aren't getting it, they'll dance till the cows come home until they do.

Speaking of Sam, how is she doing anyways? Is the panacur helping at all with her worm infestation?
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

Right now it's hard to tell how the panacur is helped because she's not feeding well, so basically I force feed pedialyte mixed with gerber peas for a day or two, and then she'll eat one her own for a day or two, and then I have to do it again. She has pooped a couple of times though since I've started this and it seems like each time the urates are coming out whiter, which is a good sign. Yellow urates (like she had before) are a sign of liver problems...white urates give me hope that her liver problems are only secondary and can be fixed.

It's funny...my animals seem to be the opposites of yours. My uro is really rambunxious when she comes out to play and bearded dragon usually just walks around and then falls asleep somewhere.

It doesn't sound to me like you shoud even bother with anything. All this talk of low maintenence is outrageous. Even a low maintenence animal may need a high level of attention at some point, And you dont sound like you'd be resposible enough to take proper care of any animal! I certainly wouldn't sell you anything. You'd probably just get bored of whatever you decide to buy, and leave it to perish. If your just after a herp becuase it would make you look cool or if its a fad or that latest trend at school, then don't even bother. if you are serious, go out and buy some books, learn about what your going to keep, before you even think about buying anything.

I agree with the stuff said above. Of the animals you listed, I own 2, 1 beardie and 1 arg tegu. The tegu is most definately NOT what you want right now. They get huge, need large cages (32 square feet!), and they will need rats and mice. The only kind of reptiles that I consider low mainainance are snakes. It seems you want a lizard, though. Leopard geckos are cool, but I also had some at one time and wound up selling them. Nothing against the species, they are just very inactive and hide 90% of the time. Right now, I have 3 lizards (see my sig below). My dragon is by far my lowest maintainence, but they still require attention multiple times each day, maybe 15-30 minutes a day. But yes, BD habitats are quite expensive, example: 55 or 40G tank light fixtures bulbs substrate furniture suppliments and food (which never ends, and these guys are HUNGRY!!). So of the animals you listed below, I would think a BD would be a good choice, but I assume you will or have spent enough time researching the costs and requirements needed to allow one to thrive its whole life (10-15 years). Also keep in mind the cost of the animal itself is by far the cheapest cost of all when you look at the big picture.
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
1.0.0 Jackson's Chameleon
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

redatoryLizard@Yahoo.com" target="_blank">PredatoryLizard@Yahoo.com

i was 12 when i got my fist bd im 15 now. i went to my fist reptile show. i saw one the guy said it could live in a 10 gallon tank for a yr. i went to pet land and got a adult female she was 150. that was the cheapest part. a 40 gallon tank cost like 85 to 100 bucks them the lights. like 75. the sand or substarte i use the cali sand cost like i think 45 to fill only 2 inches . it was alot. ore but idn. go with a leo they are great im might be getting one soon my frind is giving his to me for one of my bd baby when my female lays eggs hopfully.

email me at tmetal30@yahoo.com and ill talk to you more if you want but if you dont its ok

I suggest a Crested Gecko. They are nockternal, so with school and stuff it wouldn't be a problem. When you are about to go to bed, just drop a few small crickets in there and fruit baby food, and your gecko will eat and roam his cage at night. You need a 10 or 20 gallon high tank, stuff for him to climb on, and you need to mist his cage atleast 2 times a day ( take a spray bottle and mist everything in his cage. These can also be handled and tamed, and they feel really cool with their toe pads on you lol.

Another great thing about these guys, is that they don't need any expensive lighting, they just need room temp ( mid to high 70's ).

If not a leo would work out, but the lighting can be expensive. Meal worms aren't hard to feed and take care of though.

Read the care sheets on any animal you get before you get them. Trust me it helps.

Try the care sheets at reptilerooms.com in their knowledgebase.

Hope I helped.

O, im sorry, please excuse that statement about high matience. I meant that i wanted the reptile to be hardy. I do have school, but i am willing to devote my time. Its that i dont want the reptile to be too prone to death.
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Nic

1.0 Border Collie/ German Shepherd Mix
1.0 Maine Coon
1.0 Domestic Shorthair
0.4 Fancy Rats (0.1 Dumbo)
0.0.1 Cichlid

Any hopefully soon some reptiles!

if you want to contact me: noseguardnoms@hotmail.com
Email me if you want to give me any more info

np

I owned a bunch of frogs and toads when I was younger but never any reptiles. When I started working at a pet shop I fell in love with bearded dragons. I've had mine for over a year. I'm a college student so I'm usually very busy and I have to watch my finances. I definitely spent a lot of money on my beardie when he was a baby. They need to eat as many crickets as they can eat in a 10-15 minute period twice a day as juveniles. They could eat as little as 25 sm. crickets all they way up to 100 (or even more in some cases)each day. It depends on your beardie. You will most likely be spending around $25 or more a week on food alone. You should also buy veggies for them. Other costs include: heat lamp bulb ~$15, UV light and fixture ~40, 40 breeder $70-$80, sand ~$3(only when over than 12", decorations $20.

Janelle

Another neet relatively low cost to maintain reptile is a crested gecko. They can be bought for under $100 including setup if you go for nothing really fancy. It's a little tricky keeping their humidity up but not too difficult. I have two crested geckos housed in large sterlite containers (55l I think they are) with holes drilled on the lid and along the sides for ventilation. As my apartment is extremely dry, I didn't drill as many holes as I could, to help with humidity.

Lots of branches and fake leaves (branches could be resin free branches from outside, baked in the oven for 2-4 hours at 250F or soaked in 1:10 clorine(bleech)/water and aired dried in a well ventilated area for a few days. Or just use lengths of dowel you can get at any hardware store). Fake leaves and other fake plants can be bought at a dollar store for cheap. Just wash well to get all the dust and fixatives off. FOr substrate I use just plain paper towel. You can make a moist hide with a small container with damp paper towel or moistened sphagnum moss. I don't use the hide boxes myself and so far have no problems with shedding. I mist the cages once to twice a day.

Another great thing about crested gecko is their food is cheap. You can buy the pre-made crested gecko diet from T-rex or use baby food (fruits mixed with a bit of chicken/turkey and a pinch of multi-vitamine and calcium powder) or puree your own fresh fruits (melons, mango, peace, apricots and other non citrus fruits). They also like some insects but not too much.
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PHLdyPayne

I tried crested geckos also (I just don't think gecko's are for me). They fall under the same catergory as leos to me. They just hide too much. The upside like was said is they are extremely easy, cheap to buy, house, and feed, and they are kinda cool when you get them out (if you can stop them from doing the death leap off your shoulder!!). Plus, I just feel something lacking in any gecko I ever had. There doesn't seem to be much going on in their heads. Beardies actually LOOK and SEE you and seem to "enjoy" being with people. Since you ruled out maintainence time as a factor and said you have plenty of time, I still say go for the beardie. They are a blast. Also, you may want to look into ackie's (Australian Ridge Tail Monitors). These little guys get close to beardie size, are awesome looking, and don't need too awful much space (4 foot x 2 foot I think). They are supposed to be a ball to have and to watch them interact with each other (everything I read says get 2-3 for a really good time). They develop a hierarchy really quick and supposedly thrive in small groups. These will be my next additions, I just love the idea of having a scaly three stooges to watch goof off!
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-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
1.0.0 Jackson's Chameleon
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

redatoryLizard@Yahoo.com" target="_blank">PredatoryLizard@Yahoo.com

You should get a bearded dragon or two. They, IMHO, are the most interactive and enjoyable reptile pet.

They have the following charactoristics:

1) They are hardy because the come from a desert environment.

2) They are generally very calm and happy. They like being handled and petted. You can carry them on your shoulder for hours while you do other things and the will stay in place most of the time.

3) They really pay attention to you and cock their heads to watch you.

4) They express their emotions so you can figure out what they are thinking. For example, when they are hungry or attentively focused on something they curl their tails up towards their heads.

Conrad
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Peace through Strength
War through Weakness
Defeat through Kerry (like Johnson)