Leopard Gecko vs. Bearded Dragon

[onthefritz]

I'm looking into adding a lizard to my humble abode. Lately I've been leaning towards bearded dragons because of their personalities. They seem to really enjoy being handled and cuddled. For some reason, I had never really considered Leos until just a couple of days ago.

I've been doing some research on them but I have found that speaking with people with experience is normally more viable than crap you find on google alone.

Can anyone give me some info about them? Are they pretty easy to maintain? Do they like to be handled and hanging out with their people? I've read that a 10 gallon tank is okay for an adult. Is this true? Seems kind of small so anything but a hamster to live in. Are they happy being alone (only gecko, I always seem them piled on top of each other at pet stores).

Thanks!

[jclaiborne]

I dont think any reptile truely "enjoys hanging out with us", that being said they both are calm lizards. Beardies require a pretty hot basking spot and UV, whereas leos can do with a heat pad. Both eat insects and require calicium supplementation. Beardies also need a fresh supply of greens. So it really comes down to which one you want, both have pros and cons, beardies will climb and are more active than leos. Some of the beardies I have owned have attitude issues, but with calm gentle hand work they calm right down.

While it is commonly stated that leos do fine in a 10 gallon tank, I personally don't agree with the bare minimum requirements for any animal. I kept my leo when I had him in a 2x2x1 ft vision cage, my beardie is in a 4x2x2ft cage. Both are good "entry" level lizards because their captive care is pretty well documented.

[EasiGregory]

Check out http://geckoforums.net/, it is a fantastic site to go and learn all could ever want to about leopard geckos. As for beardies check out http://www.thebeardeddragon.org/.

Both are quite hardy lizards with some fairly drastic husbandry requirements. Bearded dragons like to bask in the sun so a heat lamp is required and they also like to eat fresh veggies. They are fairly docile and I have even heard of people having leashes to actually walk them. They also get to be about twice the size of a leopard gecko.

Leos required an UTH(under tank heater) and like to hide during the day and are mainly active at night. They eat live bugs such as mealworms or dubia roaches which may be a problem for some.

For each of these lizards I would say a 20 long tank would suffice for both with a 10 gallon being to small for an adult of either type.

This is to just give you a quick few facts about each. If you have more questions please feel free to PM me any time.

-Greg

[MarkL1561]

Beardies are way better. I've owned both and from my experience bearded dragons have better personalities and are hardier. Here's a pic of my bearded dragon Sunny.

[Sauzo]

I've never owned Leos but I do have a beardie and she is a sweetie. I got at 6 weeks old from a breeder and she is a neon orange/red. I've had her about 2 years and she LOVES to sleep on me wrapped up in her blanket. They definitely have personality. Harley was terrified when I took her to the vet. She watched me the whole time while the vet did a physical check up on her and then she pooped all over the nurses shoes, the floor and the exam table blanket. Then she jumped on me and ran up my shirt and hid under my chin. I felt so bad for her. She also hides under my chin when I take her outside but she has been really shy even as a baby. Now I've read stories of evil beardies but like I said, Harley is a sweetie and loves sitting on me or next to me on the couch back stretched out. Also Leos are nocturnal and beardies are diurnal so keep that in mind too.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

For each of these lizards I would say a 20 long tank would suffice for both with a 10 gallon being to small for an adult of either type.

This is to just give you a quick few facts about each. If you have more questions please feel free to PM me any time.

-Greg

20 gallons for a Beardie?

An adult beardie will require a minimum of a 55 gallons tank an hatchling can be kept in a 20 gallon to start

20 gallons is fine for a Leopard gecko.

[HVani]

I've been making the same debate lately. More and more I'm leaning leopard gecko for a couple reasons

-They are small and don't require a large enclosure
-No UVB needed
-Don't eat as much. I hear from a lot of beardie owners that they eat a lot as they are growing.

[Sauzo]

I've been making the same debate lately. More and more I'm leaning leopard gecko for a couple reasons

-They are small and don't require a large enclosure
-No UVB needed
-Don't eat as much. I hear from a lot of beardie owners that they eat a lot as they are growing.

True. Beardies need lots of UVB and lights in general as they are diurnal. I got a 100 watt basking bulb, CHE for night heat, T5 Reptisun 10.0 UVB tube and a T5 daylight tube. Some do need larger spaces than others. I know most people say 40 gallon breeders will work. I got mine in a 55 gallon. She is a slug though and spends most time basking or watching tv or people. Some are more active though. And as babies they eat a TON. Harley was going through 1300+ dubia roaches a month as a baby for about 8 months. Once they reach adulthood, they eat a lot less and switch over to veggies mostly. At least most do. Harley still loves bugs so she gets silk worms, horn worms and her dubias. So yes, Leos eat a lot less but they are also smaller and imo not as social as a bearded dragon. You cant lose either way. Oh also don't forget beardies need vitamins. I give Harley calcium with D3, calcium without D3(switch it every week) and Herptivite multivitamins twice a week.

[alucard0822]

Haven't kept Leopards, but have kept Beardies. They are fun and rewarding, active during the daytime, but take a lot of work and expense, especially compared to BPs or most other snakes. Humidity isn't much of a concern being desert dwellers, but high temps and UVB are. A wire top with a 40B at minimum tank works fine, basking lights/CHEs for heat and to lower humidity, something to climb on, and a UVB tube or mercury vapor bulb work. It can take a few hundred watts in the winter compared to 100 or less for a BP enclosure, UVB bulbs are expensive and degrade, so they need to be replaced every 6-12 months too. Some use sand or other loose substrate, I used carpet to prevent impaction from eating substrate, especially when they are small. They eat and crap constantly, I spot cleaned with a small shop-vac daily, pulled out and cleaned everything weekly. when small, they eat crickets 3 times a day, and barely touch their salad, adults eat more greens, and can eat cheaper, easier to keep and quieter superworms. Ours was nervous, never bit, but start paddling all 4 sharply clawed feet if something spooked her, frequent handling helped, and it was fun to take her for rides on my shoulder outside on nice days, or inside when there wasn't much going on. A teacher that works with my wife really wanted our beardie as a classroom pet and for a breeding project, so we gave her up. She was taken care of, and we did enjoy her, but have no plans to raise another, between $15 boxes of annoying crickets every couple weeks, keeping fresh greens constantly, and a pet reptile that is active and needs a lot of attention, I would rather keep my snake, the beardie ended up being more work and expense than our dog.

[LivingwithBalls]

Similar to the beardie is the Uromastyx. Beautiful, calm, sweet lizards, AND they are herbivores!


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