After having it confirmed earlier in the year that i'm allergic to many pets that have fur (well Dander), i've decided to head towards reptiles/amphibians. I was considering to get some Fire Bellied Newts, but after checking my room temperature found it's too hot to keep them in (24/25 degrees C), which seems to be the case for most amphibians i can buy locally.
So i'm now thinking about a pet lizard, obviously i will do LOTS of research before buying one, but i'm stuck on what species to actually go for.
I'm not keen on owning a pet that needs to be fed live food, i understand keeping them in captivity results in this... but personally i just don't want to do it. I don't mind feeding meat, eg. Pinkies... But my family has come to an agreement that they don't want live food.
Can anyone suggest a pet lizard that is primarily a herbivour, or one that atleast doesn't have to be fed live food such as crickets please? Also i don't want a large lizard, smaller ones would be better. :hmm:
Most herbs i know of get fairly big like iggys and monkey stiled skinks. When you say not too big - how small were you looking. Maybe a Uromastyx might be for you - but these occaisionally eat live food.
I did look at Uromastyx, but have read they can be hard for a beginner, although they would be ideal diet wise.
Also iggys and monkey stiled skinks, but they really are too big for what i want. I was looking at something the size of a Berber Skink as an example...
It not the animal you look after - you set up the vivarium to meet the animals requirements. Its the temp for uros thats the thing. Keep them at a high temperature. Get a Uro - they're great. Just watch the tail if they're in a mood!
Very few smaller lizards are vegetarian, for one very good biological reason.
In order to digest plant material, you need to have a gut big enough to handle it - plant materials are usually pretty low quality and need to have a LOT eaten to get the nutritional value.
The only small "vegetarian" lizard I can think of is crested geckos - they can be fed on a mixture of mashed banana or other soft fruits, a proprietary crested gecko diet powder and a tiny dab of meat-based baby food. They WILL eat crickets - but they don't have to.
When i done my second animal college course we went to an animal center every week, they have an exotics room and one of the lizards they had there was a Uro. It was actually very friendly.
But most websites i've read about them say their not suitable for a beginner, which confuses me as the one at college seemed easy to care for. I had read they need to be kept at a high temp, but once you got the set-up sorted... are they easy to care for please?
I went for a crestie first of all because of my fear of crix, worms etc but after having her I got hooked and realised I had to overcome my fears if I wanted to keep other reps. It really doesn't take long to overcome your fears especially if you really want a certain rep.
A crestie would be a good choice though if you really don't want to try with crawlies.
as people have mentioned, uros are great little guys! such big characters! i wouldnt say they were a hard lizard to keep like already mentioned its the temps that can be difficult to maintain as they like it hot! 120+F in the basking spot with 90 in the cool end. once youd got the setup sorted they wouldnt be difficult to look after they do however livefoods everynow and again but once a month or so (so ive heard) but if you went for locusts there nothing like crix, there big slow and dumb! lol
i own chinese water dragons (my first reps) and would class them as a beginer lizard wither but if your willing to do the research and put the time in and always ask questions then you could get anyt lizard really.
another mentioned is the desert iggy! 100% veggie i believe. i was amazed at this when i found it out only recently as they are good looking lizards IMO.
hope this helps but dont let the 'beginer - expert' stuff put you off, if you have the time and commitment to them tyou will be fine!
i think chinese water dragons can be fed on a mainly vegetarian diet, although not too sure how easy it will be to do this. they are superb lizards though.
Around 85% of your Chinese Water Dragon should be live foods, some wont even touch veg. Great lizards tho so if you can overcome your fear its a great pet for the future as they tame very well and have lots of character.
yeh just gonna say this steve! mine wont touch any veg! theyve only just started eating abit but only when i mix hte veg in a bowl of mealworms. i gutload my crix prior to feeding tho so try to get them abit of veg that way. deffinatly NOT water dragins if you have a fear of bugs!
I think desert iggys are veggies yes, and they are cool although i dont have one nor have I ever seen one in person [poor me] lol
uro's, we only have one and he is fab but true many say they arent that friendly..which is odd cos all the books i read before owning one said they are well chilled out.
perfectly easy to care for once the set up is sorted as many reps are.
Green iguanas..same.
Chucks...same i think [i dont know for sure though]
Just wanted to thank you all for your replys. They've been very helpful and i'll certainly look into the species mentioned. Like i said i am doing plently of research and taking my time on this, i'm not in any rush, lol.
The problem is who do you belive becuase on this site there are a lot of experts who all say different things. as far as im aware some type of Uromastyx are vegatarian an so are Solomon Islands skinks and there are some iguanas which i believe which can and often do survive of plants ex. the desert iguana and also chuckwallas but if there are anymore you would have to research it because i also hate crickets and i am looking for a vegetarian lizard.
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