Considering Getting A Lizzard, Advice Needed

[captaincrash84]

Hi,

I am totally new to Lizards and i'm looking for some advice/help. My son is bugging me to get a lizard and after saying no countless amounts of times I thought i'd see if I could get some starter advice to see if its something I want to take on (cos I will end up caring for him lol).

I keep tropical fish (not exciting enough for the little one) and I have a spare tank that's empty. Its a Roma 125 Litre tank (80cm long x 35cm wide x 45cm high) so about 28 gallon and I want to know what equipment I would need to turn it into a home for a lizzard? The tank has a dual UV lighting system and a fixed hood with 2 gaps for cables and is glass and I gather i would probably need some mesh just below the lighting/gaps to stop escapes etc.

Also I have 2 pet stores (Uk) that sell Lizards and I was wondering if I do decide to make this a home for a lizard, what is the best lizard to get for a newbie like me? i don't want to go into this in the dark as it wouldn't be fair on the little lizard and I don't want to waste time and money without research and advice on how to convert the tank for a lizard.

Sorry if the post is a bit jumbled but I really don't have the first clue on what equipment I need and once I know what I need to convert the tank I can then research on what lizard we will get before I buy it all.

So if anyone can point me to a good website or give advice I would be grateful.

Thanks

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

My first lizard was...and still is a bearded dragon. Live for about 8 years but you'd be better with a proper vivarium. Mine is in a 4ft with a high top. They like height to climb on wood etc. They really are very easy to care for once everything is in place. You'd need a ceramic bulb fitted into the ceiling of the vivarium, so not good next to glass. You attach a temp control unit to it to keep a constant ambient temp. You need a uvb light which needs to be changed every 6 months.
They feed on locusts, not crickets. Crickets can damage them, especially when young. Mine loves romain lettuce and the worms my local reptile store sells.
They're friendly,can be handled, full of personality and not so demanding as many pets can be. And they don't need a high humidity like many reptiles do.
P.

 

[captaincrash84]

My first lizard was...and still is a bearded dragon. Live for about 8 years but you'd be better with a proper vivarium. Mine is in a 4ft with a high top. They like height to climb on wood etc. They really are very easy to care for once everything is in place. You'd need a ceramic bulb fitted into the ceiling of the vivarium, so not good next to glass. You attach a temp control unit to it to keep a constant ambient temp. You need a uvb light which needs to be changed every 6 months.
They feed on locusts, not crickets. Crickets can damage them, especially when young. Mine loves romain lettuce and the worms my local reptile store sells.
They're friendly,can be handled, full of personality and not so demanding as many pets can be. And they don't need a high humidity like many reptiles do.
P.

Thanks for the reply

Well both the pets shops have bearded dragons and I they seemed active the few times i've seen them. I don't think getting a new tank will be an options and the other half will have kittens if I buy another tank lol. So it looks like it will be a conversion job cos she said if he was getting one I would have to use that tank or we don't get a lizard.

So the UVB lamp if I can get one that fits my hood will it be just as simple as to change it with the ones that are in place just now or are they a different fitting?

like this one My link

As for the ceramic bulb i gather that's for heating the tank up so would an undertank heating mat do the job or would I be better getting a bulb and holder?

Bulb - http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/reptile-supplies/reptile-equipment/reptile-heating/exo-terra-ceramic-heat-emitter-40w.html
Holder - My link
Mat - http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/reptile-supplies/reptile-equipment/reptile-heating/exo-terra-desert-heat-mat-small.html


As I said before I know absolutely nothing about lizards and the setup of a tank and any help is really appreciated.

Thanks again

 

[UK_Dave]

A beardie will need alot more space than that, and they do grow quickly

Personally, if you want an easy to care for lizard, check out Ghecko's! They are alot better, stay small, easier to handle, and better for younger children....The only 2 warnings I will give is DONT get a Tokay Gecko as they bite and WILL draw blood, even on an adult, and also keep your grip away from the tail as they can drop it.

It will grow back, but a child with a bit of their lizard left in their hands that still moves will be enough to scare anyone who doesnt know haha!

They are the easier to care for out of them and a beardie, plus you can have more than 1, whereas although people say you can have more than 1 beardie in a tank, I wouldnt recommend it, and thats from a 1st hand experience! Its not pretty when you have 1 biting the tail off the other and generally bullying it! Its not nice to see, and the tail wont grow back!

Plus geckos are cheaper to buy and care for

They can live with a heat mat and stat, do not need a UV light, and live on small crickets/meal worms/ etc wheras Beardies need larger crickets that are noisey, and at a later date once they are of a better age, need a viriety of fruit and veg mixed with a calcium suppliment, and need their IV changed every 6 months so to help with growth and the prevention of MBD. If they ever get MBD its expensive to treat, hard to treat, and not a pretty sight! Seeing a gorgeous lizard with elastic bones cant be nice to ever see it suffer with!

If you would like any information about either animal, or others, then please feel free to give me a shout. Ive owned Beardies and Geckos, and still own a spider, Iguana, turtles, snake, and fish

In general, I love my reptiles though!

But as I always say when it comes to this, all of the above is just my opinion, and some may disagree which wouldnt be the 1st, but everyone has different views. But I have has 1st hand experience with both, and still agree that although Beardies are great, geckos are the easier to own and handle, more so for a child with parental guidence. Plus their needs are alot less than that of a beardie, even though beardies dont ask for alot

 

[hughessomefish]

i have 2 lepard geckos if thats what your looking for i have 2 for free

 

[captaincrash84]

A beardie will need alot more space than that, and they do grow quickly

Personally, if you want an easy to care for lizard, check out Ghecko's! They are alot better, stay small, easier to handle, and better for younger children....The only 2 warnings I will give is DONT get a Tokay Gecko as they bite and WILL draw blood, even on an adult, and also keep your grip away from the tail as they can drop it.

It will grow back, but a child with a bit of their lizard left in their hands that still moves will be enough to scare anyone who doesnt know haha!

They are the easier to care for out of them and a beardie, plus you can have more than 1, whereas although people say you can have more than 1 beardie in a tank, I wouldnt recommend it, and thats from a 1st hand experience! Its not pretty when you have 1 biting the tail off the other and generally bullying it! Its not nice to see, and the tail wont grow back!

Plus geckos are cheaper to buy and care for

They can live with a heat mat and stat, do not need a UV light, and live on small crickets/meal worms/ etc wheras Beardies need larger crickets that are noisey, and at a later date once they are of a better age, need a viriety of fruit and veg mixed with a calcium suppliment, and need their IV changed every 6 months so to help with growth and the prevention of MBD. If they ever get MBD its expensive to treat, hard to treat, and not a pretty sight! Seeing a gorgeous lizard with elastic bones cant be nice to ever see it suffer with!

If you would like any information about either animal, or others, then please feel free to give me a shout. Ive owned Beardies and Geckos, and still own a spider, Iguana, turtles, snake, and fish

In general, I love my reptiles though!

But as I always say when it comes to this, all of the above is just my opinion, and some may disagree which wouldnt be the 1st, but everyone has different views. But I have has 1st hand experience with both, and still agree that although Beardies are great, geckos are the easier to own and handle, more so for a child with parental guidence. Plus their needs are alot less than that of a beardie, even though beardies dont ask for alot

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I looked into bearded dragons and I totally agree with you. I don't want to put a bearded dragon in the tank as I feel its too small but I did look at leopard gecko's and I think i'm pretty certain that we are going to go with that option. I visited my pet shop and they were telling me I need more than just a heat mat with the leopard's but from what I read the heat mat will be fine but if anyone can confirm this through experience that would be great (not sure if the pet shop we trying to get me to buy more equipment etc).

I prob won't be getting anything until after January as i'm on holiday soon but out of curiosity we are thinking of going away for 3 weeks next year and I was wondering what is the best way to look after them when your gone? I could get a friend to look in every day or 2 but one of the pet shops do lizard housing but it would be about £100 for 3 weeks, what would be the best option?

Thanks for all your advice

 

[hughessomefish]

o well if you lived near me i would drop of the free geckos in a heart beat i need to find a new home i have lost intrest in them since all one does is eat sleep and bite me

 

[captaincrash84]

o well if you lived near me i would drop of the free geckos in a heart beat i need to find a new home i have lost intrest in them since all one does is eat sleep and bite me

Thanks for the kind offer but i'm not gonna be setup for a while but again thanks and I hope you find them a new home.

 

[UK_Dave]

They are fine on heat mats, most of them prefer an ambient temp rather than a basking area, as they are mainly nocturnal so a light from a heat source will only disturb them.

Yes you can get a ceramic bulb, but to be honest, they give off alot of heat so again, wouldnt be cost effective really for such a small animal, plus to run a ceramic your going to need a pulse stat, which are a bit costly....although not as expensive as a dimmer stat which cost me £55 each and I had 3 at 1 point!!!

Whereas my spider is on a mat with a low heat, and im running a mat stat on that and they are roughly £30 each, although you can get cheaper....Just remember that you get what you pay for!!!

Habistat are a great make, and most come with a 5 yr guarantee so they are good in that way, plus they do have a larger part of the market due to their good reputation.

If your going to use a mat, then you need to make sure that the mat covers atleast half the area, and have a hide at both sides of the tank, this way they can switch between both to either warm up, or cool off, also make sure that the tank is away from a heat source like a radiator, this will mess the temps up!

As for substrate, you can get reptile grass mats, or use paper...Some people use sand, but I dont like that as if their crickets get into the sand, and they take a dive for it and take in alot of sand, it can clump up in their stomach and cause alot of health problems

Just do me a favor, please DONT let the shop talk you into getting calci sand!!!! Its a waste of money, and its even worse for them than play sand which wasnt even made for reptiles.

The best thing you can do, is get all the parts you need which is:

Substrate your using (newspaper does the job well)
Mat and stat (stat IS needed to regulate the heat, if not then the mat will heat up alot and overhat the tank, cook the gecko's, and could also damage the tank)
2 x hides (1 for each end)
decorations so they feel more secure
deep food bowl for mealworms (they can climb out of it)
Food...Small crickets, meal worms, stuff like that (wouldnt go with wax worms, they contain too much chitin which can clog up inside a bit...easier way to explain is its like you eating too much popcorn and its all caught up in your teeth)

"A maybe": Calcium suppliment D3 as its always good to have some kicking about, helps with growth but its not needed as much as it would if you had a beardie...Just sprinkle it a bit on the worms

Also, I would advise you to research as much as you can about the gecko so you know what your meant to be doing when you get them. I only say "meant" as not everyone knows what they are doing when they get them, but researching them is the best way to learn. This is what I do before I got any of my animals. Your never going to know everything, no1 really does at 1st, but this is how we learn. But in doing the research, your giving that gecko a great start in its life with you.

Also, it helps with sexing. There is a way to sex them, check out Sexing Geckos

Although as it says, you cant sex them till they are 6 months, this way its better as it means you can get more than 1 female, or maybe try breeding. Its not advisable to get 2 males really, although they may live in harmony for a while, it can all go wrong!

Sheesh...sounds like I go on a bit hahahaha!!