Any lizard owners?

[Noir]

Justa quick thread to see I'd there are any lizard owner on the board, I've wanted a wee gecko for the longest time, but have been put off for two reasons, the first isn't so important, just my bedroom atm is pretty small and a tank will take up a fair portion of it.
The second and much more important issue is that of cost, nit so much the initial purchase as that of the on-going ones, like the electric for the heater, night-lights etc. I do t think it would be too expensive, but given the electric is paid for by my dad I don't wana suddenly add too much of an extra bundle to his outgoings.

So if anyone has/had a lizard would they say they are much to upkeep?

[NightTrain]

I just bought my daughter a Bearded Dragon on Christmas Eve. I don't like reptiles much, but this little guy is cool. He is only about a week out of the egg, but he loves hanging out with the kids. He'll just sit on their shoulder or arm and watch.

I'd say the upkeep is fairly minimal.. maybe $5 per week? Probably less than that, I think it depends on if you buy crickets to feed him or the dry lizard food.

The Dragon itself was $110, all the stuff that went along with it for the aquarium was another $200.

[jimnyc]

Had many! Gecko's, Uromastyx, Bearded Dragons, Savannah Monitor...

Figure in your initial cost for your lizard, then a tank, surroundings, lighting...

The lights are generally on for most lizards from early AM till you go to bed, and even then you should have a ceramic heater that plugs into another outlet just like a light bulb, but it doesn't light, only throws heat. That's the big dealio with lizards, keeping their "environment" just like home, which is always pretty damn warm. Honestly, the costs for heating/lighting is only a couple of dollars a month.

The feeding is what can get costly, but if you're sold on a gecko it should be cheap. I think Gecko's just eat crickets and salad type of stuff. Oh, and of course a little water dish for the bugger.

Lizards are awesome and easy to take care of, but it's a daily thing to ensure your bulbs are working and the little bastard eats. You should get a thermostat as well which will monitor the temps inside his living area.

[jimnyc]

I just bought my daughter a Bearded Dragon on Christmas Eve. I don't like reptiles much, but this little guy is cool. He is only about a week out of the egg, but he loves hanging out with the kids. He'll just sit on their shoulder or arm and watch.

I'd say the upkeep is fairly minimal.. maybe $5 per week? Probably less than that, I think it depends on if you buy crickets to feed him or the dry lizard food.

The Dragon itself was $110, all the stuff that went along with it for the aquarium was another $200.

That was my favorites, my 2 Dragons. VERY friendly and they'll each eat 10-100 crickets a day as they get much bigger! But you can also get by feeding them nothing more than good 'ol vegetation. And Dragons also like worms!! Not to mention they are mean looking little buggers!

[NightTrain]

http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss293/NightTrain70/SammieLizard.jpg

[jimnyc]

Love 'em when they are babies!!

Just searched my computer to post a few of my dragons, from when they were babies till adults, but can't find ANY of my older pictures!! That's like 6gig worth. SHIT!!!

Will be on a search now, I better damn find them!!

[Noir]

Cheers guys,

I'm not 'set' on the gecko, me main choice is between it and the bearded dragon, the only thing that's putting me off the beardy is that looking up some reptile forums they can grow up to 24"...that's big xD however they do seem allot more sociable than the geckos, so idk more reading is needed,

When abouts would a beardy reach it's full size? They seem to live for 10-13 years, do they slowly grow through all their life or to they reach full size at like a year old?

[jimnyc]

Cheers guys,

I'm not 'set' on the gecko, me main choice is between it and the bearded dragon, the only thing that's putting me off the beardy is that looking up some reptile forums they can grow up to 24"...that's big xD however they do seem allot more sociable than the geckos, so idk more reading is needed,

When abouts would a beardy reach it's full size? They seem to live for 10-13 years, do they slowly grow through all their life or to they reach full size at like a year old?

Yep, they CAN get that big. Mine topped out a little over a foot. Those that brag with them up to 2ft are counting every little millimeter of its tail, which is probably longer than the body. Even when large, not very intimidating. Now, if you piss them off, they'll hiss and spread their necks outwards, and might even run after you on 2 legs!! But very rare, and even more rare when they see that it's your hand feeding them daily.

I'd say somewhere around a year it may reach full size. Then again, some people will switch over at that point and start feeding large mice or baby rats (dead already, bought frozen and thawed). Give 'em that diet and he'll probably grow some more! But if you stick with a steady diet he shouldn't get more than a foot or so. But again, they are so docile that even if he grew like the Hulk to 4ft, he would still be easy to handle.

I hope you don't mind the crunching sound that you hear when lizards munch on crickets or baby mice! I used to laugh while watching the crickets run around for dear life as these 2 monsters ate 3 or 4 in a gulp. But when I dropped in the baby mice I had to walk away, even though it was dead already.

[jimnyc]

And if your friends piss him off, this is what he'll look like!

http://www.narellerobinson.com/images/Photography/beardeddragon.jpg

[NightTrain]

And if your friends piss him off, this is what he'll look like!

http://www.narellerobinson.com/images/Photography/beardeddragon.jpg

LOL, how cool! I didn't know he'd flare the neck like that. That one is pretty purplish, this one is lots lighter... or is that how all babies are colored?

I don't know a damn thing about them, but I do like the little fella. Real friendly and alert.

[NightTrain]

I hope you don't mind the crunching sound that you hear when lizards munch on crickets or baby mice! I used to laugh while watching the crickets run around for dear life as these 2 monsters ate 3 or 4 in a gulp. But when I dropped in the baby mice I had to walk away, even though it was dead already.

It is pretty fascinating to see him being his friendly self and then seeing the transformation happen in a microsecond when you drop the crickets in... he goes to full attack mode on those crickets, they don't have a chance.

Just bought him 100 meal worms ($4) downtown, he likes those but I think he really digs the thrill of the chase that the crickets give him.

[jimnyc]

LOL, how cool! I didn't know he'd flare the neck like that. That one is pretty purplish, this one is lots lighter... or is that how all babies are colored?

I don't know a damn thing about them, but I do like the little fella. Real friendly and alert.

They will get a little darker as they age, but also might look a little different in sunlight than under the rays of the bulbs in the tanks. You'll notice in the picture of the one hissing that the darker color is where his neck is out and on his upper back. The dark areas I think are the areas normally hidden.


It is pretty fascinating to see him being his friendly self and then seeing the transformation happen in a microsecond when you drop the crickets in... he goes to full attack mode on those crickets, they don't have a chance.

Just bought him 100 meal worms ($4) downtown, he likes those but I think he really digs the thrill of the chase that the crickets give him.

Oh, they're hunters! I threw in about 200 HUGE crickets with the Dragons once and they ate most of them within 10 mins. Then they let the crickets live with them and pecked them off here and there for a few days.

Meal worms are good, and when that small, see if you kind find the little white silk worms. They LOVE them!! Other than that, I would buy a bunch of greens from the produce department, blend it altogether in the blender and store it in a tupperware container. Good eating all week! It's nice to give them the veggies along with the other stuff. They ain't the brightest when it comes to drinking from a bowl, so veggies is not only good for them but also is a source of water.

[NightTrain]

Woke up this morning to my 11 year old daughter sobbing - the Bearded Dragon died overnight.

I'm not sure what caused it. We had just moved him into a large tank a couple days ago because he was really growing fast. He had about 20 uneaten crickets running around in there still, and he was upside down in his water dish for some reason.

It almost seems to me that he was stressed out by moving him into his big tank because his appetite dropped off after the move... he seemed lethargic.

The water dish wasn't deep, maybe 3/4" of water in it, and he liked to lay in it and soak like it was his own little hot tub.

Do you think maybe he got really stressed out over moving to a large tank? Also, should we have had 2 Dragons to keep each other company?

He was only 5 months old and perfectly healthy up to the tank move.

Any ideas as to what did him in?

[jimnyc]

Sorry to hear about that, Rick. I felt horrible when mine both died too.

Without a doubt I believe it was stress, but they "should" be able to withstand a move in cages. Were the temperatures up to par, and the same as the old cage? He have a basking spot, and a cooling down spot?

The fact that He stopped eating right after the move leads me to believe He was stressed right from the get go.

While it's cool to have more than one when they are babies, they actually recommend separating them when they get older as they will fight. But I kept mine together the whole time and they would lay on one another to bask right up till the end. I think you are ok so long as they are opposite sexes.

Not sure if you have a Petco in Alaska, but I got advance word from a friend who works at one that they are having a huge "dragon sale" on June 4th and 5th, where the dragons will be half price at $29.99 and they will also be having half price on tank setups. But sounds like you have all the gear already. Nothing helps a broken heart better than another cute baby!

[NightTrain]

Thanks, Jim.

Sammie is really heartbroken. We buried him in the back yard under a Spruce tree and all the kids were bawling until my 7 year old son started barfing, which lightened the mood considerably - it's hard to be miserable and cry while laughing at your little brother puking. I can't remember ever being sad when my siblings were regurgitating as a kid, either.

I've never been grateful to have a kid barf before, but I was today.

Since the tank was much bigger, the lights were higher from him... I may have screwed up and the lights weren't keeping him adequately warmed, although he seemed to be staying away from the light and hung out in the shade so I assumed he was plenty warm.

I don't think we have a Petco up here, I think I bought him for $100 last Christmas Eve. Too bad, because I'm going to have to get 2 of them this time.

I've never been into reptiles before, but the little Dragon was about the coolest little guy I've ever seen. Hopefully the next ones will be as cool as he was.

[jimnyc]

Man, I hate to see kids upset, but glad to hear they're taking it in stride.

While he may have had adequate heat, sometimes even the little buggers have a hard time adjusting to the change in heat at their basking points and where they cool down. Do you have a meter in there to check the basking and cooling spots? If not, I would highly recommend it. Those 2 spots are very important. It should be about 95-105f in the basking spot and 80-85 in his cooling area. If he has a "hiding spot" like a log or enclosure, he'll choose to use it or not, whether it's at night to sleep or during the day to cool down. But as long as you have those 2 mentioned spots ok, he'll do the rest himself.

Yeah, they're awesome. I'm gonna get another one before long, but as you found out, it's not the cheapest! The initial setup is costly, then the lighting and replacing the bulbs can be a fortune, then you gotta feed the little buggers more and more as they grow!

If you get a couple more babies, don't forget to share some pictures!!