Lizard suggestions

[skinheaddave]

Okay, based on my other thread, I think I am looking for suggestions of lizards that meet the following criteria:

- medium sized. Under 2' but large enough that I am not going to accidentaly injure it (basically ruling out most geckos).

- not over-bred (no leos, beardies etc.)

- breedable

- not requiring food every day. Every 2-3 days is fine.

- not overly expensive. Three figures is good. Three figures CDN is better. I don't mind spending a fair bit on the lizard, though, since this is not something that is happening tommorow (or this year maybe) so saving is not an issue.

- not "fragile" (water dragons etc.). I like my sav because even if he struggles I can pretty much apply a firm grasp and he's not going to get injured. I feel that the long iguanid toes and legs etc. would not fare so well.

Suggestions?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[atavuss]

Dave, I say again, consider frilled dragons..........or maybe just not your cup o tea, eh?

Ed

 

[skinheaddave]

Ed,

I like them. Actualy they were one of my favourite animals back when I was a kid. They do have that "fragile" look to them, though. I would be worried about damaging them.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Lycanthrope]

how about an agama or uromastyx?

 

[Valael]

Tegus hit 3 feet, don't they? I always kind of wanted one of those...



Depends on what you prefer. I'd avoid Uramastyx just because I hate chopping up veggies every night.


As much as mine hated me (But seemed to love eveyrone else.) I'm a bit fond of Blue Tongue Skinks. They aren't too fragile, neat looking, easy to care for, not TOO expensive (They're $109 for juvie sized ones here -- his price went up, though, I bought a full grown adult for the same price about a year ago.) But I'm sure you can find them a bit cheaper if you look arouind.

They're omnivorous so if you're out of one type of food one day, they're fine with something else.

http://www.bluetongueskinks.com/


I've seen people report different numbers for maximum length..

Anywhere from 50 - 60cm

 

[Phillip]

Australian water dragons are a good one. Personally I like the argentine tegus better but they get a tad large.

Phil

 

[neveragain]

Uromastyx, definatly. In my opinion they are the coolest lizards. You can also get a couple of different speices of uromastyx for very very cheap.

Check out this thread to see some pictures of mine and their enclosures.

Since that thread, I've also gotten an ornate, and an indian. I'll take some pictures of them tomorrow maybe and post them.

 

[Bry]

How about some red or yellow ackie monitors? They're fairly small as far as monitors go (around 2'), and I've heard they make good first monitors. However, they are a bit pricey. I believe they go for $250-400. Given your experience with monitors, you could probably handle this one. They're not exactly fragile. I don't know about their breedability, but their popularity isn't as ridiculous as that of beardies and leos.

Bry

 

[Lasiodora]

Dave, I agree with Bry. I know you like monitors and these would be a great addition. They max out at 18-20 inches and are very active. Plus they eat primarily insects. Like Bry said though, they are pricey. I just got a pair of red ackies on Tuesday. They are the best and I plan on getting another female for breeding. I believe they are fairly easy to breed once you determine your sex ratio. Ackies are also not common in collections.
I personally like the red ones better. They are also not fragile. An argentine black and white tegu is another option. They get larger than 2" but are a beautiful species.
Mike

 

[Ravnos]

I'm with Bry as well, but personally I'd go for the tree monitors - there are several species. Though some of them may be out of your alotted price range, and since they are not often bred in captivity your chances of finding a cb one are pretty slim.

Uros are neat, but pretty common. Frilled dragons are becoming more and more common, I've seen many cb ones for sale recently and they are neat little lizards. I like tegus, I have one myself, but they're pretty common as well - not really something to get if you're looking for something new an exciting. There are also other things, like blue tongue skinks, or prehensile tailed skinks that aren't overbred but still aren't too common either.

Dunno... all a matter of personal preference.

Rav

 

[Valael]

Ackies are the same as Argus Monitors, aren't they?


I was reading about them and I could swear every care sheet I came across said 3 - 5 feet..



I lust for those, though. If only I had the room/time to keep a full grown monitor, I'd have one. But, until college is done...I'm screwed.

 

[Bry]

Valael, no, 'ackies' is a term given to Varanus acanthurus. Those stay under 2 feet. The Argus monitors are Varanus panoptes sp.

Bry

 

[skinheaddave]

I actualy have a friend now who's breeding yellow ackies so I may just wait until he has hatchlings and start from there.

I like uromastyx but there seem to be a lot of people breeding them now. They may not quite be "overdone" to the degree of leos or beardies but they are getting close around these parts.

I saw an Australian water dragon at a show recently and was actualy quite stunned. It was an adult male and I was impressed with just how heavily built his head was.

And then there are always alligator lizards. I have always sort of wanted some and they are a nice size, easy to care for and not too fragile.

Too many options!

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Lasiodora]

Dave,
If you go with Australian water dragons, get them from agama international. Bert langerwalf was one of the first to breed them and he has some spectacular looking animals. If you can wait on the ackies though I'd get them. Especially if your friend will hook you up.

Ravnos,
DnJ reptiles breeds Varanus prasinus on a regular basis. Even Varanus beccari is bred often by some individuals. They are great animals but are more delicate than most monitors. Especially if they are wild caught. They really never calm down as wc animals. CB are great but the babies require more attention than other monitor species. They are not diffcult to breed if you have a pair of cb healthy adults. The limiting factor is usually being able to drop about $600 a piece per animal. Varanus melinus is definitely not bred often and they my favorite tree moniter species. The only places I know that they have been bred is DnJ's and the Goanna Ranch (which has bred pretty much any monitor species out there right now, rare or common.).
Mike

 

[skinheaddave]

I think it is pretty much settled now. I am going to wait on the ackies. Tamara really wants the reds but aesthetically I have always cared more about shape that patterning. In the meantime, I may pick up some alligator lizards or something else on the cheaper side -- not because they are cheap, but because I quite like them and it is something I can do sooner that is easier on the pocketbook. Hell, who knows what I'll actualy be keeping in a few years. My animal collection tends to take interesting turns as I am very much interested in a lot of things. At the same time, though, I still have the first snake I ever got because I still find him really interesting.

Anyhow, time to do some serious research. Thanks for the tips, guys. 10:1 I will eventualy have a lot more from the list you've compiled.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[skinheaddave]

Well, today we had a little reptile show at the local store and two of my friend's ackies were on display. Apparently he hadn't told them that it was a family-oriented event because they put on quite the show. I get dibs on the eggs.

The other news is that I fulfiled the cheaper but cool part of the equation by picking up a breeding trio of Oplurus cyclurus. They are a malagasy iguanid species and are quite entertaining. I have already seen some breeding type behaviour from them. They even have the spikey appearance that I love in alligator lizards, though only in the tail region.

Cheers,
Dave