What Is The Ideal Large Lizard To Care For?

Let's make pretend that I was seriously interested in investing in a big lizard. For example, some kind of Iguana, or Monitor Lizard.

If you have experience with any big lizards, what kind of large lizard is ideal, not just temperament wise, but also relative ease of maintenance, and not particularly expensive just to purchase it, and give it a good home.

What kind of big lizard do you think shines among all of the others?

If you have a cat, stay away from the monitor. It'll eat your cat. An iguana can roam your house freely if you let it. Can even get a leash for it. Pretty cool temperament too. I've heard of some being aggressive around age three though. They can also have some cool colors.

Aww, but I have lovable kitty cats, so I guess there won't be any Monitor Lizards in my future. ):

Anyway, what kind of Iguana are you referring to? Green Iguanas?

What's your experience with reptiles other than Ball Pythons?

To be honest, from my limited large lizard experience, if you're looking for something that is guaranteed to be well-tempered, easy to maintain and care for, and easy on the wallet (even though some individual animals are affordable, care/feeding is expensive), you're going to have to make some compromises in your ideals.

My one suggestion: I'm a huge fan of black and white tegus, heck tegus and general, and I wouldn't go any further than good ol' Varnyard Herps Inc. and their extreme giants.

I personally have had about a 50/50 relationship with green iguanas as far as temperament goes, some are just dolls and others are not only willing to inflict serious injury, but WAY more than capable.

Monitors are just needy in general, but very rewarding.

+1 to that

Iguanas are great and theyre are cheap to buy and easy to find, HOWEVER they eat ALOT, tend to have terrible mood swings when they reach maturity, and when the reach their adult size they need a very tall in enclosure with UVB light, which will get be expensive.
While most(if not all) monitors also need alot of space, you definitly can choose a monitor that requires a little less space than an iggy. They eat alot growing up but the food intake does go down as an adult though it is still definitly more than any snake. And im going to have to disagree with the cat thing...
Some monitors can be trained be around other animals, but even with an iguana it is not advised. Animals should always be supervised when together and should never be left alone. You should never allow your monitor or iguana roam your house instead of having a suitable cage.
I think your best bet would be a monitor. I myself own an ornate however I wouldnt reccomend one to you since you have little experience and they tend to aggressive and get very large.
A good starter monitor would be Savannah. Theyre are cheap to buy($20-50), get to about 5ft, and are usaully fairly even tempered as long as their needs are met and you spend time with them. However they do still need a fairly large enclosure.
A timor monitor is also a good starter for those getting into large monitors.They have all the qualities of a large monitor without the size, as they only get about a foot or two. They do tend be a little more expensive then savs though($80-100)
Ackies are also great but they are quite pricey...
and the list gos on..
Whichever speices/breed of lizard you go with, just please do your homework before hand. Monitors and Iguanas require a huge amount of time, commitment, and money compared to other reptiles and are not for most people. Thats why most of these types of lizards dont make it to adulthood because people just buy them thinking itd be cool to own a big lizard, but wind up underestimating their care severly and the animal suffers.
Good luck and i hope you find a lizard best suited for you :) If you need other information id be happy to help.

I vote for iguanas, i have a green and red iguana about 3 years old with great temperments and they only eat salads and fruits..if you're looking for a baby hold him everyday in a safe room like a bathroom ,they tend to get real skittish and if your going to buy a juvinile try to find one that is tamed already...you might find one on craigslist.. Goodluck

I vote black and white tegu. Iguanas can be as dangerous as monitors.. I have personally seen someone's face destroyed by her iguana of 8+ years who just reacted badly one day. She got relaxed after years of good temperment only to be attacked when he was about to enter breeding season again. No warning, and she ended up with a ton of stitches and had to basically reconstruct her face. It ruined her relationship with her iguana from that point on. Just be aware..no matter how tame they are.. They CAN hurt you, and for very random reasons. Sometimes during certain times of the month iguanas can act different towards other females in the house. Which can be scary. Speaking from experience here! Only time I am attacked is on those certain days! Iguanas are great, but.. Don't ever, ever underestimate them! Just because they don't eat meat does not mean they don't pack a punch. Look up iguana bite!

Also, the size enclosure can be incredibly expensive, plus all the fresh veggies also gets expensive(many of their good veggies they need(not iceburg lettuce!) can be hard to find during some times of the year in some places!) Since it's hard to really overfeed a herbivore, you need to give the iguana as much food as it will eat(this does not mean give it as much iguana pellets as it wants..but for fresh greens, that's okay) and when they get to be 5-6 feet, that can be a lot of food!

Tegus also can be dangerous, but the black and whites are known to be especially tame. Plus they don't climb high, so they aren't going to jump off their perch onto your FACE! They eat a varied diet of mostly meat, and some fruit occasionally.. Generally for me, meat eating animals are just easier to care for


Also, free roaming iguanas is difficult. You need to make wherever he stays iguana safe. That means warm, with uvb access, and humid. Not many people want to completely heat a room/rooms/have multiple basking spots if it has multiple rooms to go through. With the humidity added to the mix, and worrying about if he will hurt the cats(he could) or if the cats could hurt him(they REALLY could) you will end up having a lot more of a headache. That's the nice thing about a proper sized cage. But if you want to do free roaming.. You'll need to be incredibly clean. OCD clean. I have seen many iguanas need surgery/die from eating stuff off the floor! This one woman was very clean, vacuumed often, but not daily, but she had long hair which shed quite a bit. The iguana later needed surgery from eating hair that had gotten in the carpet or in the bathroom. Seriously, not big chunks of hair, like, one single hair touched his tongue. But it would get caught and stay in his stomach. The hair built up over the next month, just because they lick the ground curiously sometimes. I can't remember if he lived or not, but it was expensive and terrifying. Just in the last few months on the forums I visit I have seen at least a dozen iguanas who have eaten bad food(trash, plastic toys, hair, sponges, cat food, cat poop, dirt, toilet paper, etc.) and many of them didn't make it. Same rules go for other lizards. If you want to free roam, get ready for the headache. "Free roaming" a single room/basically giving the iguana a bedroom is very different to me. But still, basically make the room the iguana's cage, but bigger. And if anyone knows the difficulty of just making a 55 gallon tank warm enough...a room is a lot harder!


In general I think a black and white tegu will be cheaper, safer, tamer, and easier for a first big lizard..I know it will be my first big lizard(since the iguana is technically my boyfriend's parents iguana)

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Originally Posted by Nektu

If you have a cat, stay away from the monitor. It'll eat your cat. An iguana can roam your house freely if you let it. Can even get a leash for it. Pretty cool temperament too. I've heard of some being aggressive around age three though. They can also have some cool colors.

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I don't personaly know, but I hear iguanas are a pain in the butt to care for.