I wanna lizard!

[Chomp]

I have always wanted a bet lizard. I'm looking for something somewhat tropical, Something small, only needing a smallish tank, I'd kinda like to have more than one, and I REALLY don't want something that needs to be cared for TOO much. And by that, I mean that I just don't want to stress myself until my head blows off over this.

Thanks!
Chomp

 

[elgecko]

Leopard Geckos

Leopard Geckos are great lizards fro pets.

 

[Chomp]

I'll have to consider that one, but can you think of anything smaller?

 

[Drew]

you cant go wrong with a couple of anoles, but i had a lepord gecko in a 10 gal tank for 7 years not just has sand, heat lamp, rocks, shelter, water and food (just get a water dish and feed them meal worms and crickets)

 

[Chomp]

Anoles sound cool. does anyone know of any really tropical lizards?
by the way, nobody mention bearded dragons. I have a friend who has one named Rocky. They are much to big. Im looking for something tiny.

 

[SirKristoff]

small skinks or something along those lines are your best...i used to keep several lizards/lizard-like reptiles with my brother, agamas, beardies, geckos, iguanas, etc.... if you want something small, maybe a shovel nose lizard or anoles.....there are also several small easy to care for geckos, you could also try pygmy chameleons if your cham. fan.

 

[GrowinOld]

I haven't done lizards and frogs and such in a VERY long time,
however using the terms
"TROPICAL" and "not much care" in the same sentence
seems to be an oversight.

Unless one has a tropical environment to start with
(you don't happen to live in Malaysia, do you?)
then your lizard is going to need a bit more than
"not much care" to thrive.

Just a thought.

I do hope you find something that "fits the bill"!

 

[Drew]

yaa there fun 2 year life span though but good to have a couple in a taller tank with lotsa greens and i ddnt wanna mention them because well they get big

 

[SirKristoff]

i agree with growinold, tropicals are generally a little more picky....beardies are actually surprisingly easy to care for and they arent THAT big......but cheap, easy, and small, go with anoles...i used to catch them all the time in florida and keep em for a few days then release them, but ive had a couple i bought from stores that i threw into a rep. tank with some plants and media and a small basking lamp, they never fussed...its hard to go wrong with anoles, but they WILL toss their tails on a whim. so be warned on that xD

 

[Chomp]

I remember seeing these really cool lizards, they were small, A dozen of them in a tank smaller than a 10 gal im sure. and their colors seemed to very. (all they seemed to do was sleep, LOL, reminds me of myself in math class) Anyone heard of something like this?

 

[ktulu]

I remember seeing these really cool lizards, they were small, A dozen of them in a tank smaller than a 10 gal im sure. and their colors seemed to very. (all they seemed to do was sleep, LOL, reminds me of myself in math class) Anyone heard of something like this?

My guess is these were juveniles of some type of lizard, possibly leopard geckos. Both anoles and leopard geckos would good choices as others have suggested. You may also want to consider Mediterranean house Geckos as they seem pretty hardy. they are an invasive species in much of the south but if you are in the North East with a good hard winter that wont be a problem. If you can find them they are usually pretty cheap and a bit smaller than leopard geckos if the ones I saw in Texas were adults.

 

[swords]

I setup a greenhouse style terrarium for plants and a month or two after my last plant went in, a tiny 1" lizard just showed up on the glass! It was a baby cuban brown Anole (Anolis sergei) who had hatched out from the soil of one of the potted plants. I caught her and planted the tank like a small jungle and set her loose in there and fed her fruit flies. She's been fine for about 3 years and is about 5-6" long now eating med/large sized crickets. She's very skittish because she's never been socialized with other Anoles who generally just lounge around without a care in the world. So if you get an Anole get a few so they behave normally. They are extremely easy to keep happy and only about $5 each at shops. They come in green and brown. Browns are easy to sex since the females have a yellowish stripe down their back and males don't.

Maintenance:
I throw in a few crickets and mist the tank heavily every day and pour water into this sculpted leaf that holds water and suction cups on the wall next to her basking perch - she likes to play in the water she doesn't drink it. Her drinking water has to drip from plant leaves so you gotta mist every day. I don't bother with heating the tank, the lights do that for me, and even at night my house is always 70*F+. I use two 65 W reef keepers power compacts over the tank and a UV light for the lizard to bask. Once a month or so water the soil - takes about that long to dry up, wipe the glass down to keep moss and algae from growing on it. The lizard poo feeds the plants (washes off with misting) so that's about it for any maintenance I do.





Here's her 56 gallon "cube" tank, it's bit overgrown lately... You can see her about as well as I normally do in this pic! lol Get several to start a little Anole colony and they'll stay visible.

 

[Chomp]

The house gecko! that's the one I saw! Can anyone give me any care tips on them? I'm gonna stuff my brain on info.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Pyro]

using the terms
"TROPICAL" and "not much care" in the same sentence
seems to be an oversight.

I have been keeping herps for 28 years and if the only reason you want to keep them is because you want something you can basically "neglect" then I can tell you you are approaching the idea of keeping herps from the absolute wrong angle.

Even the "simple" little lizards require some work to really do well. House geckos and anoles for example are generally horribly cared for. The best way to keep them is requires a larger than 10g tank, the appropriate heat gradient, the right humidity, feeding the proper sized prey items every 1-2 days... There are a ton of factors and the pet store is not going to tell them to you cause they just buy in bulk and sell in bulk and want to make a buck.

If you are set on getting some kind of lizard then I suggest you find a forum dedicated to that type of lizard (there are tons of genus/species specific forums out there) and do your research before you proceed. Spend a week reading a lizard forum and you will see that it is a lot more complicated to care for a lizard than "throw in 2 dozen oversized crickets once a week and he'll be fine"

 

[Chomp]

That is a good point. You know how everyone says you can just put a hermit crab in a climbing cage with some tap water and it will be fine? they're only raising a dieing crab. (I was obsessed with hermit crabs before I found that it wasn't worth $100 to keep them)

I have decided on a leopard gecko. (when will i make up my mind?!?) I have a friend who I never knew had one, and only brought it up when I told him I wanted a lizard. The thing was so freaking cool!!! He said that I could try to hold "spot" his name was; and although I couldn't pick spot up, he thought my finger was food, and, as my friend said he did before eating, spot began slowly wagging his tail. Spot licked my finger a few times before I took my hand out of the tank. I have GOT to get one.

 

[GrowinOld]

Pyro,

You obviously care about them.
It is depressing to see an animal in a "box", deprived of enough CLEAN water to keep it
from suffering pains of dehydration...
Starvingly fed the same item of food "when someone gets around to it",
(which can lead to basic vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and its effects)...
Kept in the "dark" so to speak, as it is not given the UV rays it NEEDS to survive,
as lizards and amphibians use the sun to absorb its life-giving rays more than we need to....
Not given heat or proper humidity (which could mean moist, could mean dry)....
and overall subjected to an environment similar to a prisoner of war camp!

I know I paint a bleak picture, but these little animals are the most easily neglected and
to go into a pet store or someones home to see these exotic creatures dieing a slow and
torturous death is heart breaking. (So often the person responsible isn't even aware of it
and doesn't "get it"!)
It is hard to watch someone not care for their plants well, but it is even harder when they do that to animals!
Yet there are people out there who do an EXCELLENT job of recreating the necessary
environment, and who realize that THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE for this animals' care, and they
live up to their obligation! They realize it is work and a responsibility! The key word being, Response Ability! They respond to the animals needs!

Again Pyro, it is apparent that you care about the animals, as much if not more, than you care about yourself. And your advice about finding out everything you can about the animal of choice, and making sure you can set up the necessary environment BEFORE you go out and get the critter, is right on!
Good luck to you and to Chomp and to everyone else out there caring for "another living creature". It IS a lot of work, but the rewards can be amazing!, If you "keep up the good work". (It seems Pyro lives up to his obligation. I hope everyone else can follow his lead.)

Lizards and amphibians are amazing creatures! It is good to see so many people
appreciate them and want one to care for!


Again, good luck to you all.

 

[Pyro]

Hey Old,

Yes, I am very impassioned when it comes to herps Right now I am almost exclusively snakes (the "almost" being 3 frogs) but over the years I have kept everything from house geckos and anoles to Phellsuma and chameleons up to savannah monitors, leopard frogs to Dendrobates to Ceratophrys to Megaphrys, garters to bulls to corns to balls. All of them have had distinct personalities and I knew each of them well. Even with my small collection now I spend at least an hour a day cleaning and misting and making sure everything is right, on feed days I am generally busy for an extra 1-2 hours.


Like you said, it gets me depressed to go into a pet store and see the herps there languishing and suffering. I have not bought a herp from a pet store in over 18 years (my amel corn, and the old coot is still alive and kicking) and even that store was one that was exclusively devoted to herps and had some of the best kept animals I have seen. I only buy from personal breeders now and I research them in depth before buying (cause there are some scum breeders out there too.)

Some of my current cohabitants:

Envy

Promethea

Dr. Teeth

Col. Mustard (when he was a baby)

Conundrum

Conundrum and Col. Mustard

Col. Mustard and one of the 'huas (unfortunately he did not eat her... LOL)

Cipher (our newest little girl)

 

[GrowinOld]

Pyro,

VERY nice and healthy family you have there! As I thought,
you are giving them the care they need!

For you to mention recognizing their "distinct personalities" says a lot too.
We had a 20 year old Iguana and everyone couldn't believe when
we would talk about his "personality"!
But those people who were around enough to see him regularly began to understand!
When they themselves saw him "pout" and turn his head away when upset,
(when we didn't spend enough time talking and "petting" him in the morning!)
or "remind us" it was getting late on feeding time (he was by the clock!)
by running up & down his cage to get our attention by "being heard"!...
they couldn't believe it! (Not until they began to see it themselves.)
Once they understood his "body language", they were amazed at how smart he was.
In reality, it was they who got smart enough to understand him!

Well, again, very nice collection!
It is nice to see someone who has a respect for life, in all its wonderful forms!
And who understands the obligation one has when "owning" an animal.
You have my respect.

Take care!
Paul

 

[Pyro]

Hey Paul,

Pyro,

VERY nice and healthy family you have there! As I thought,
you are giving them the care they need!

Thank you You hit the nail on the head there with the word "family", they are indeed a part of the family.

For you to mention recognizing their "distinct personalities" says a lot too.
We had a 20 year old Iguana and everyone couldn't believe when
we would talk about his "personality"!

Yeah, I get more than a few odd looks crazy when I say that the snakes have personalities but they do. Nothing beats my old Ceratophrys ornata though. He knew me and would come tumbling out of his burrow when I came into the room wanting to be pet and croaking happily when I did. Never did that with anyone else, would just stay buried. Have not been able to bring myself to get another since him.

Well, again, very nice collection!

And again, I thank you

And who understands the obligation one has when "owning" an animal.

"Own" them... HA!! They "own" me But I am sure you know exactly what I mean

You have my respect.

And you have mine.

Cheers

 

[thez_yo]

Pyro: OMG I want Envy! I just don't have the room/resources/time for a cute snake *quite* yet. I would just love to have a gigantic vivarium filled with my pitchers and orchids, a cute snake, maybe a little fountain.... the things that I'd do if I had a million dollars.