I need help

[FLAherper]

Hey guys. Well Ive been trying to decide on a new species and well its not going good. My parents arent fond of the idea of another snake in the house and are willing to pay for a lizard frog anything but another snake. So Ive been looking and have come to black and white tegus and savannah monitors. I would consider myself average keeper I have 2 balls sitting at home with me that are going to breed this year. Theres many diff opinions on the net on these and I want to know what you guys reccomend. Tamesness, diet, caging, housing, which one is easiet. And If I have a 3ft lizard do I seriously need a 8*4*4 tank. Thanks alot

[FLAherper]

Tamesness? haha sorry for the spelling

[cinderbird]

You could try something like a bearded dragon or a tegu.

Savs get pretty big, and yes you will need an 8x4x4 cage for a 3-4 foot lizard. Lizards are MUCH more active than snakes.

I don't own either, but 99% of the savs in the US are wild caught or captive hatched, most likely wild caught so you're going to need to acclimate a wild caught animal. Their diet consists of mostly insects with some other stuff thrown in (turkey, mice, etc) but insects make up the BULK of monitor diets. (Experts, if I'm wrong please correct me, I don't own monitors).

Tegus are usually CB as far as I know, more vegetarian in their diet choices .

[FLAherper]

Thanks. I was reading a care sheet type deal on reptiles and it said svannah monitor are good begginer pets and I was like WTH? they are mainly huge insectivores with a varied diet. So black and white tegu is my way to go? Thanks alot

[theodore]

Hey! From what i've heard Tegus and Moniters usally dont make very good pets for begginers (not saying your a begginer just know what your doing if you want one! I've heard that bearded dragons make great pets so do leopard geckos, and crested geckos, hope I helped (even if I didn't)

[Zombree]

Hm, I would definitely go down the route of a bearded dragon. Or a water dragon could be really neat!
I see some at PetsMart sometimes. They make very great pets, too if you can do the research on them (: I am not too informed on them, but if you look them up I am sure wikipedia or even this forum would love to help. Sorry it just came to mind. I am not too knowledgeable on the water dragons. Just wanted to give an idea.

My fiance had one when he was younger and he said it was great and easily tamed down.

[Dracoluna]

Thanks. I was reading a care sheet type deal on reptiles and it said svannah monitor are good begginer pets and I was like WTH? they are mainly huge insectivores with a varied diet. So black and white tegu is my way to go? Thanks alot

I hope that you understand that even a black and white tegu is going to require a large enclosure once it reaches adulthood. Neither that or a sav will be able to be kept in a small area and will get quite large. Tegu's are calmer by nature but you're still looking at probably at least 12 square feet of floor space for their enclosure once they are grown. If you're still living with your parents, I'd highly recommend something that won't get bigger than will fit in an aquarium because chances are if they have an issue with a small snake like a bp, they are not going to like it when the cute baby lizard gets over 4 feet long with a head larger than a grown man's hand. If you do feel that you are ready for such an animal, however, talk it over with them to make sure they understand what it will grow into and require because I'd hate to see you get one, take care of it, love it, then be forced to get rid of it when it gets too big. You never know, they may be alright with it if you're upfront with them on it.

Wow... Just saw the age of the original post. Wonder what he got...

[wideglide]

Hey guys. Well Ive been trying to decide on a new species and well its not going good. My parents arent fond of the idea of another snake in the house and are willing to pay for a lizard frog anything but another snake. So Ive been looking and have come to black and white tegus and savannah monitors. I would consider myself average keeper I have 2 balls sitting at home with me that are going to breed this year. Theres many diff opinions on the net on these and I want to know what you guys reccomend. Tamesness, diet, caging, housing, which one is easiet. And If I have a 3ft lizard do I seriously need a 8*4*4 tank. Thanks alot

Lol. I hope your parents like chirping crickets and other insects. Definitely go for a bearded dragon. Everyone who gets one adores them. Can't go wrong.

Rob