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Lizards | Is a pet reptile right for you? |
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Written by Bonnie Hope
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AUTHOR: Bonnie Hope
Lizards can make great pets for those who aren’t interested in pets with fur, fins or feathers. Choosing the right lizard depends on your personality, your commitment and whether you have other pets or children that could potentially be harmed.
While some lizards can be safe and friendly with children, others can be aggressive or grow too big for you to keep at home.
Knowledge about particular reptile breeds is crucial in choosing the right lizard as a pet since there are many variables even within the same species. Monitor lizards for example can be small, calm and affordable pets if you buy a Savannah or Acklin’s monitor, however Nile monitors and water monitors can reach up to seven feet long!
Beginner Lizards
If this is your first time enquiring about lizards for sale, it’s best to start out with reptiles that are often recommended for beginners. This will help ease you into caring for reptiles and help you to decide if you’d like to own more challenging pet lizards down the road. Some of the most recommended lizards for beginners are:
• Green Anoles
• Bearded Dragons
• Leopard Geckos
• Blue Tongued Skinks
Of that list only the green anole is indigenous to North America, the rest call exotic places like Australia or the deserts of Iran and Iraq home. The green anole has several different names including the red throated anole, the Carolina anole, the American anole and even the American chameleon. It’s called this last name because of its ability to change color, but it isn’t a true chameleon.
Green anoles make a great pet because they’re small and aren’t expensive, however buying a tank and the necessary UV lighting to keep one adds up fast. Luckily anoles don’t require an overly large tank; a 10 gallon tank will suffice if you have a single lizard. Their average life span is around 4 years but can go beyond 8 years if they are well looked after.
Pet Lizard Basics
In order to raise happy and healthy pet lizards you need to provide a comfortable environment for them to live. The tank and lighting is just the beginning, you’ll also need substrate like peat moss and soil. Having some live plants can help to keep the tank humid as well as provide shade or hiding spots when necessary. Sprinkle in some bark and branches and your new anole should have plenty of places to bask and climb. You’ll also need to keep the tank at a temperature between 75 - 80 F during the day and a basking spot area (with full UVA/UVB lighting) around 85 - 90 F while temperatures can drop down to 65 - 75 F at night. To provide these temperature gradients, its best to combine a heating pad or ceramic heating element along with a basking light.
Other North American pet reptiles include the horned lizard or horny toad and the alligator lizard. They are also small with their own specific diet and care requirements. Alligator lizards tend to be more aggressive and will open their mouth and attempt to bite you, but gradually calm down with regular gentle handling. The horned lizard is much more docile pet that rarely gets aggressive, even when pregnant.
Before committing to buying lizards make sure that you know what you’re in for. They require a steady diet of live prey and often additional supplements such as calcium may be required. They may need natural sunlight over and above the UVA/UVB lighting in their tank and they need to have their tank cleaned regularly to stay healthy. Lastly, most lizards can easily live for at least 5 years, so make sure you’re prepared to care for them for many years. |
