Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well i want one to say the least, they look awesome but i have a few questions. first, how long can u keep a baby bd in a 10 gallon. what would be an easier pet to keep, a leo gecko or a bd. and compared to keeping an emperor scorpion is maintaining one of these reptiles as easy as it is keeping and emp. sorry for all these dumb questions but ijust dont wanna buy one and be in over my head.

Hi

BD's grow very rapidly the first 6 months, I don't think a 10 gal would really last very long, esp. if you got a nice healthy 6-8" baby. You'd be better off with a 29 gal IMO.

As far as which is easier... Leos or BD's, the Leos don't require any additional heat/lighting, so they would be a little easier & cheaper. The BD you would have to set a timer for the lights or turn them on and off every day. Feeding would be similar. I've never had/been around a leo, so I'm not really sure what to say about them. We have a crested gecko and a BD. The BD is a lot of fun and I love watching for him to shed and see what new colors he'll be getting (he's only about 6 months old) and all of the kids love holding him. He's a pretty cool little lizard. I'd say if the size tank is important, go with the leo. If not, I love the personality of the BD plus you'll see him out tons more than a leo since they are diurnal.

Good luck with your choice!

-Bonnie
1.0 husband
1.3 2-legged kids
1.1 maltese/husky
1.0 tabby cat
1.0 pionus parrot
1.0 bearded dragon
0.0.1 crested gecko

I have 3 leo's and 3 beardies so I know the differences between them. All of mine have interesting personalities to say the least but if you want something thats easy go for a leo since they don't require lighting, unless its my male and in his case he needs a night light or should I say day light to sleep lol. Leo's need an under the tank heater to digest their food since they digest using belly heat, beardies digest using heat from over head lamps plus you need a UVB light as well which isn't cheap. I have all of my leo's in 10 gallon tanks, my male beardie is in a 30 gallon tank for now, my female is in a 50 and my baby is in a 10 until it gets bigger. If you don't have much time to spend with the animal or space a leo is best since beardies need attention but you can handle them more. I can handle my leo's but it took a long time for them to trust me enough to actually pick them up without getting bit. I'm not trying to scare you away from either one I'm just telling you what I went through with mine and how much time and space they take. I got my leo first and my beardies were given to me a couple of months after I got my leo which was my first reptile ever and I didn't know anything about them so I got a crash course in beardie care very fast but I wouldn't trade my leo's or my beardies for the world so really its up to you and what kind of time you have to put in to the animal.