Complete beginner - lizard choice help

[Niall W]

Hi guys,

I'm completely new to reptiles and have never kept any before, but after looking around my nearest shop i've decided i'd really like to have a go at keeping some kind of lizard.
I already keep tropical fish, and an axolotl (as well as 2 dogs and a cat in the home) so generic pet keeping isn't a problem

Viv - I'm looking at getting something not much bigger than 2ft x 2ft x 2ft ISH.

What kind of lizard i'm looking for - Now, after a little look around on various sites i believe i'd be right to say i'm mainly looking at gecko species? As i doubt i could fit an animal any larger than 20cm ish. I've had a look at leopard's and i think some of the orangey coloured morphs are very attractive, but i'd really like a nice colourful species - maybe in a good planted viv (as opposed to desert species) I like the look at the day's, dwarf turqoise and tokay gecko's as an idea

Anyway, what i'm really asking is - For a complete reptile / Lizard beginner - so therefore relatively easy to keep, what species of lizard would be a good idea in a medium sized viv.

Looking forward to your reply's.

Thanks, Niall : )

[janeann10uk]

Hi and
Leos are pretty easy to keep and can be handleable too. Theyre generally a lovely beginners pet

[auntiesocial84]

hi,!! 2yrs ago i was a lizzard keeper for the 1st time. i got a leopard gecko.then i got another cos they are addictive lol. now i got rid of them and got a 4month bearded dragon. the best begginer lizard would be a leopard gecko. they are friendly, easy to look after and are clean too!!
hope this helps

[Niall W]

Ah that's cool, good to know i was on the right track. Had a look online and some of the nice colour morphs are actually very attractive

Any other options you think i could be looking at?

[bruceybonus18]

a crested gecko could also be an option they are easy to keep and good to handle and you can make there vivs look awsome with real plants etc.

[Lew]

bearded dragon would be best if not because size, go for tokay or crestie

[Niall W]

Thanks for the advice

I've heard Tokay's can be fairly aggressive? But this can be dealt with if a captive bred specimen is sourced? (which i plan on doing whichever species i get)

[fraggle]

if you want a handleable first reptile I def wouldn't advise a tokay. not if you value your fingers anyhow! If you want a smallish viv then as a first time rep keeper a Leo or a crestie would probably be your best bet. There are loads of colour morphs around, and prices have really dropped at the moment so it won't cost you a fortune to be more picky with the colour you want. If you prefer a planted setup a crestie is your best bet, although leos are much more fun to watch.
Best thing I would advise is to go to a good shop or a willing rep keeper and handle both, talk through care etc, you can't tell what they are like to keep just from a picture, and on here we are all biased towards our faves!!!

[TYPHOON]

Would go for a Leo! Especially with the size Viv your looking at. Dragons are cracking newbie Lizards but you will have to keep upping the size of the Viv unfortunately as they grow.

[Welsh dragon]

Or what about a rankin?.