Need advice, which pet?

[Revolt]

k looking to get some sort of reptillian pet, never had one before

had initially wnated a tiny little tortoise, but my friend has one and it isnt so tiny any more

is there any species that stay small ? ie 6" long max ?

also thought of a lizard aswell

so which would be cheapest and easiest to maintain ? ;o

[SilverSteno]

Would you want a reptile to handle? Most reps at that size are not the type you can handle much if at all because their size makes them fragile.

[Revolt]

well originally i wanted a baby tortoise that i could handle yeah, problem is i only have room for a baby one really...... and i couldnt have it in any other room in the house due to my dog ;/ he wud just go nuts and sit infront of it all day ;/

any other pets you would recommend? on that note my mum has a phobia of snakes and spiders so thats a no go area ;/ something slow moving that wont terrify the crap out of my parents ;/

[SilverSteno]

Most small lizards are pretty quick i think

There are dwarf Agamid species though (same family as beardies belong to) - http://kingsnake.com/gladescs/taylori/ There is something like these in my local pet shop but a different species I think, they're very cute but I'm not sure on the handling aspect, don't keep these myself prefer geckos lol

I keep sand geckos, my two females are both very relaxed and friendly (male's attitude varies depending on what he's up to ). They can't be handled like leo's or other lizards because they have delicate skin though and they aren't particularly fast. Easy to keep, desert set-up with sand which is easy to keep clean. They grow to a max of around 4". They can be kept in groups as well, I have 3 in a 2ft viv living happily together (did have 4 but my largest female died )

I also keep mourning geckos but they're a lot faster, having dominance issues with them at the moment

[Anthony]

You wont realy find anything handlable at 6", mostly little geckos which are quick, also Dwarf Shield Tailed Agama (Xenagama taylori), are ok handling wise, but can be quite expensive for begginers as there price can range from £130+, i kick myself i didn't get the pair i saw in CPR, there were £80 each, which is quite a bargain, considerd the quality of the reptiles

[thorrshamri]

(Silvershark:your sig is very,very beautiful,congrats).
Sorry to contradict you but dwarf agamids ,Xenagama taylori are not a good choice for beginners,they demand particular captive conditions and most of them are WC so full of parasites.

A list of friendly,slow-moving and easy to keep lizards you can manipulate,less than 6'' long:

-Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)-> can grow up to 10''
-African fat-tail gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) -> " " " "
-Crested gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus ),a bit more difficult to keep as they are a tropical lizard .You can also go for a Bumpy gecko,also called Gargoyle gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus ) .

Most other gecko species will be either/both difficult to keep and impossible to manipulate.

Members of the Iguanidae family such as the dwarf Desert Emerald iguana (Sceloporus malachiticus ) are also a good choice,provided they are captive-bred.

[Revolt]

hmmm what about newts or salamanders, i wouldnt mind not handling them as long as i could set them up in a fish tank with some cool scenery ;p

[SilverSteno]

Originally Posted by thorrshamri

(Silvershark:your sig is very,very beautiful,congrats).
Sorry to contradict you but dwarf agamids ,Xenagama taylori are not a good choice for beginners,they demand particular captive conditions and most of them are WC so full of parasites.

A list of friendly,slow-moving and easy to keep lizards you can manipulate,less than 6'' long:

-Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)-> can grow up to 10''
-African fat-tail gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) -> " " " "
-Crested gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus ),a bit more difficult to keep as they are a tropical lizard .You can also go for a Bumpy gecko,also called Gargoyle gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus ) .

Most other gecko species will be either/both difficult to keep and impossible to manipulate.

Members of the Iguanidae family such as the dwarf Desert Emerald iguana (Sceloporus malachiticus ) are also a good choice,provided they are captive-bred.

Thanks

My mistake for the dwarf Agamids, thought they were similar in terms of care for beardies, but maybe I was thinking of something else

[Anthony]

Thorr Take alook at this, i sort of agree, what do you think
http://www.captivebred.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4645