does anyone have a lizard?

[Me]

hey, I was thinking about getting a lizard as a pet, but I want to know what lizard owner's think about there lizards.
are they a good pet?
what kind do you have, and is it a pain in the arse?
are they user friendly (do they like to be handled)?
anyother info you guys could share with me would be great.
thanks

[Me]

a dog would be hard to hide from my mommy....lol
my parents wont let my get a dog, my mom's alergic to them

[TransMan]

I had an Iguiana or however you spell it i think he was about 5 feet long from head to tail Did not like being held at all. Those claws hurt pretty bad he was amusing to watch he would jump from one piece of furniture to the other. If i were you i would seriously think about geting a snake i have one a Ball Python about 4 foot long not big hes doesnt bite or anything he likes being held you only have to feed him once a week at most. Just clean up his poop which only happens about once a week and give him fresh water everyday and you shouldnt have any problems.

*EDIT* Also try getting your quote strait its a disgrace to all us Full Metal Jacket lovers out there.

[Me]

actually, i'm using it from the family guy when stuey says it. I think i'm going to change it cuz most people dont think of it as a family guy quote

[dave_p]

ok, i swear this is true, actually i may be missing a few.
at one time i had(all at once):
1 iguana
2 american anoles
1 south american anole
1 horned mountain dragon
1 velvet lizard
2 jeweled swifts
2 leopard frogs
1 firebelly toad
1 firebelly newt
1 collared lizard
1 desert swift
1 horned toad (actually a lizard)

the coolest by far was the mountain dragon. i could take him anywhere and he would just hang out, very mellow. all the others were too skitzy. my frogs had a bad habit of eating the jeweled swifts(15.00 a piece).

they require ultraviolet light or they develop rickets, and the desert ones(collared, desert swift, horny toad)needed an environment @ 100 degrees farenheit to digest their food.

[govnamac]

I have an 18 inch iguana, and it is a mean thing. Hates being held, and will whip you with its tail, and scratch the hell out of you. I have a 4 " scar on my foreharm from it. I'd think carefully about getting one.

[ICOM]

i have 3 iguanaa, i dunno what you are talking about but i can hold mine fine. My biggest one is almost 5 feet. If you leave it in his tank for a long time and decide to play with it, it will scratch you since its not use to that. I made a double decker tank for my iguanas. Well have fun with one if you decide to buy one.

[Telefragged]

I've got two leopard geckos, one of them a full grown male, and the other a small female. Live together in the same tank and get 'along' quite well. Before I got the smaller one, the larger one wasn't very active, now they both move around all the time. I'd think about getting 2 smaller lizards that live well with company, as they'll probably be happier in the long run. It's cool, they'll sit on my shoulders, climb in my shirt pocket, sit on top of the war monitor when I'm on the computer, etc. But they are skittish about being handled unless frequently interacted with, cool things though. Just have to buy crickets for them to eat every week, thats th only pain.

[irbodden]

Telefraged-

We used to order a large amount of crickets from some mail order company for cheap. We set up a 10 gallon tank in a utility room in our basement and fed the crickets there. Besides saving alot of cash, we ALWAYS had crickets and NEVER had to go get them from the store.

I'll get you the places number if your interested..

[FatMan]

Try a Bearded Dragon

I have two bearded dragons. Beardeds are a good choice for a first herp because they are very easy to care for and quite docile. Most of them are quite willing to be handled and even enjoy it - but not all of them. My older one (a female) loves to be handled - loves to climb up on you and cruise around the room looking for stuff. The other one, a smaller male does NOT like to be handled, and in fact does not like you in its cage. I think the thing to do is select your pet yourself - find one that likes to be held as a baby - most likely to keep that trait. Both mine had their ways about them from the beginning (I didn't pick the smaller one, it was given to me).

These guys are easy to feed, easy to care for, look great, and make an interesting addition to your room. They usually like to sit on a stick and check out what's going on in the room.

I know several others who have different types of lizards - iguanas, tegues, monitors, etc. and they can be REALLY cool, but all of those lizard owners recommend a bearded as a first lizard pet because they are so easy to deal with. Once you are an expert you can get into the more exotic species.

The other kind of lizard I'd like to have is chameleons - but I'd want like 3 or 4 of the larger ones in a large cage. Lots of $$$ for that!

Good luck,

FatMan

[Me]

thanks guys, all this info sounds great (except for the biting and scratching.lol)
I think I'm going to stick with a small lizard like a bearded dragon, or this other kind (i forget the name) i saw @ the pet store
thanks again
rich

[FutureMagOwner]

lol we had 2 anoles and one peruvian swift. the swift never did anything the anoles would go all over their cage and got out one time when my mom let up the cage.

scared the bejesus outta my mom when she found him

[Me]

yaay!
i got it
its an albino leopard gecko
its so cool

[dave_p]

excellent

now go get a book about your lizard so you can sucessfully keep it alive.
amateur herpetology can be very rewarding. i sold off or gave away all my lizards before i got married. some of my indigenous species were released into a nearby nature area.

now i have 2 yellow bellied slider turtles.

[Me]

cool.
1 question.
should i cut the heads off the meal worms before feading them to him?
thanks