My kiddos really would like a reptile. My son has really bonded with a Bearded Lizard at school. His math teacher lets it sit on his shoulder during math class and he thinks it’s very awesome. From what I’ve read, while it’s clear that most reptiles are NOT affectionate, Bearded Lizards and tortoises are among the very few that actually may be.
Does any one have any experience with BLs? How hard are they to care for? Are they hard to socialize, or do they just appreciate the warmth, if nothing else? Any tips or words of wisdom as we consider this?
My daughter (who is mildly to notably allergic to dander and can just tolerate two dogs that stay out of her room) decided a beardie was a fabulous choice around the start of this year. She got this skinny little orange lizard in the mail, and most of a year later, living in the lavish Lizard Palace™ I built it (2x2x4, with a single polycarb front window and lab-grade heat and light controls)… it’s a monstah. I have had to play daddy a few times when she’s been gone, and it does like being handled and carried around and teased for its food.
Keeping a big lizard in crickets is proving to be a slightly costly chore, though. Getting boxes of 1,000 cheeping, hopping bugs in the mail is creepy. And at least once Mrs. B. felt sorry for them and put them in a bigger box that leaked. We were serenaded across three floors for two weeks.
Like all critters in cages (something I am generally against - too too dependent and helpless if attention spans wander), they need attention and care. But among lizards, beardies are a great choice. And soooooo creepy when they yawn-bask.
Yes, bearded dragons are a great reptile pet. Make sure your kids do their homework about correct husbandry for the species (substrate, enclosure, diet, light/heat/humidity, etc.) And I’d recommend that the KIDS do it, not you! You should probably also find a local vet who specializes in herps.
Bearded dragons are omnivores, so there’s really no consensus on what the “correct” optimum diet is. Live insects are kind of a drag to have in your house; some lizards will accept freeze dried or canned bugs instead.
I would also avoid any of the extreme colour morphs American breeders produce. These animals are much more likely to be inbred, and will likely have a shorter lifespan and greater health problems than their normal colour, responsibly-bred relatives. Talk to your local reptile club for breeder recommendations.
The crickets are the biggest downside to these guys. They can eat meal worms and some vegetables as well, but I guess crickets are preferred. The good news is that they’ll eat quite a few at a sitting, so you could buy the crickets a dozen at a time if you don’t mind frequent trips to the pet store.
They do seem to enjoy being held. My nephew’s never made any attempts to escape and he put up with being tossed around more than I would have considered OK.
On the other hand, it did die after only eight months or so. I’m not sure exactly what the cause was - probably irregular feeding - but you do have to be prepared to make sure they have food, water, clean sand and hot/cool locations. A dog or cat will let you know if they’re hungry, but reptiles don’t communicate that way - they just sit there until they stop moving.
Crickets. Yeah. Not so wild about the crickets. I was hoping we could go meal worms and fruit/veggies. I’ll have to think on that. I have vivid childhood memories of crickets in the house and wanting to SMASH.
Amateur Barbarian did you find plans online for the Lizard Palace[sup]TM[/sup] or just dream it up yourself?
I had two. Yes, in general they are pretty great, easy starter lizards. One of mine was a great pet. It pretty much had the ‘run of the house’. The other one was kinda snappy, would nip at your finger when you reached in and I basically never took it out of the tank. I’d be happy to get another one someday.
Crickets are pretty gross, yes. I used to buy them (online) by the thousand. They were loud, smelly and they’d escape. But they’re not necessary. You can use meal worms, silkworms, butterworms, hornworms or just go out and get pellets. Most people (including myself) found there was one specific brand that most beardies like the best (and oddly enough many of them would pick and choose and leave certain colors behind).
I recall getting the lights and heat being the hardest to get set up properly. Trying to get one end of the tank hot with a basking spot up around 110F and the other side down around 80ish (off the top of my head) was tricky and then also getting UV. I used an all in one bulb.
After beardies, I think the next lizard that’s easy to deal with a Leopard Gecko, but I never had one, so I don’t know. I did have a Water Dragon. It was also very nice, but their tank requirements can be tricky as well and they run really fast.
Designed it myself around a big piece of plexiglass I had on hand - then the piece turned out to be cracked and I had to buy a new one. Fortunately I found a local plastics fabicator that had some scrap pieces, one big enough and cheap enough that I had him do the cutting and hinge drilling. It’s a very exotic material, way too good for lizards but it’s nearly indestructible as well.
Happy to share some plans, renderings and photos, but it may be too elaborate for most would-be lizardwranglers. I tend to “go big or not bother” on such things.