Hi everyone, I need some advice on which lizard is right for me. I have decided on a Beardie or a Crested/Leopard gecko (I am leaning more towards a Beardie though). What are their personalities like? For all of you that own all three (or two) what are your views on them? What are their pros/cons? Are they hard to care for (work and money wise)? I have read the caresheets for each lizard so this topic is strictly for opinion (I posted in the Beardie section because I am more interested in the Beardie). Also, is there a personality difference between males and females? I may have more questions that still need to be thought of though. Many thanks!
sorry, i dont know about the geckos, but i just purchased a beardie, and i love him already. it is very expensive to set up and get the correct equipment, and you need to be able to pay for the live food every week/2/3/4 weeks, however much your beardie eats, although its not expensive. when i purchased mine, i knew nothing about it, and the pet store did sell us alot of crap and we wasted alot of money, so do make sure you research before you get one, know what the best things are to buy, and so on. As a pet, ive heard beardies are lovely. i havnt had mine out much as ive only had him 5 days, but i did give him a bath yesterday, and i loved it i felt like we really bonded ( cheesy, maybe? haha) but i cant wait till i can get him out everyday and have him sit on my lap fall asleep and everything. i cant wait till he starts swimming and just being himself. i would definately recommend you get one, they are lovely pets sorry i didnt really answer your question.. just my opinion on beardes.
Thank you for your response! That sounds soo great...good luck with Charley! By the way, about how much per month do you spend on upkeep costs (i.e. food, vitamins, etc.)?
Click Here For Bearded Dragon Care Sheets You should be able to find out everything you will need to know about bearded dragons there. Click Here For Leopard Gecko's Care Sheets All you will need for Leopard Gecko's There. Click Here For Leaf-Tailed Gecko Care Sheets Leaf-Tailes Gecko Care Sheets There. Click Here For Other Gecko Care Sheets Hope that all helps.
If you have already read the caresheets & can quite happily handle the set ups for all 3 reps... then it really depends on what kind of pet you are looking for. One HUGE difference is that beardies are diurnal whereas cresties & leos are nocturnal. So when will you most likely be around to see them/spend time with them? Day or night? Beardies, leos & cresties are all well known for being quite hand tame reps that tolerate handling quite well. However, they do all have completely individual personalilities- so you don't know for sure until you get one! lol. I wouldn't say sex makes a huge difference to personality. I personally have a crestie, a leo & 2 lawsons dragons. And I adore them all in their own unique ways As for the financial side of their set ups & general up keep... Crested geckos are by far the cheapest to set up & care for. With no heating required (as long as you don't live in a really cold area), no special lighting requirements- initial tank set up is not too costly. They don't need to be fed live insects (although you can if you want to), can live quite happily on crested gecko diet & they love a bit of fruit Leopard geckos need more heat, so you have the cost of a UTH & thermostat to control it. Feeder insects are their sole diet- so that is slightly more costly than the crested gecko diet. Bearded dragons would cost the most. They need a much bigger viv than the geckos. They need UV lighting as well as lighting to provide heat from above (they are basking lizards). You can do the two jobs in one with a mercury vapour bulb- these are not particularly cheap to buy (but apparently well worth the money). If you choose to heat the viv with a normal spot bulb & provide the UV lighting by means of a tube- these need replacing on a regular basis, so it is an ongoing cost (not just set it up & leave it be i'm afraid!). Their feeding requirements cost by far the most as well- needing both live feeder insects & also greens in their diet. As growing babies/juvies they can eat up to 100 bugs a day! Although some are slightly more complex than others & require a bit more research before you get going... Once you are set up correctly & ready to go- I wouldn't say the care is any more hard work for any of them
Well...currently I have a 30 gallon long tank which is perfect for a leo and baby beardie. And I can easily find a 100+ gallon tank for $100 on craigslist for the beardie when it grows. I do have school from 6:50 am-2:30 pm so I will not be able to spend time with the Beardie then but will have time to spend with the leo in the evening. One thing I'm concerned with is afterschool activities that I will participate in and won't have as much time to spend with the Beardie as I'd like to. But to socialize with the Beardie, I can take him out while I'm doing homework and let him hang out with me while I finish it and hang with him after. By the way, how do you feed them crickets? Do you put them in the tank or put them somewhere else?
If you are getting a baby beardie keep in mind that they can eat up to 100 crickets/day. You can feed them in the cage but remove any uneaten crickets or you can feed them in a seperate enclosure. I own leos, a beardie and have worked with cresteds before and beardies are by far more personable.
I love my beardies.. I honestly think they know there names I can say spike or Lydia and the will look. They are very personable I find they are expensive to feed.. I find them easy to look after and are a hardy reptile
my beardie response What are their personalities like? my beardie is 5 months old and has a lazy and lovable attitude. He loves to sit beside my neck and we watch tv together for about a hour a night. His name is Raikou and I love him to bits. It is my first beardie and I would not go back to any other animal. I was previously a rat breeder. What are their pros/cons? pros.... easy lizard to care for, easy going attitude, good around kids, get better with age, can walk on a leash, likes to sit and be pet, more friendly than most lizards in my opinion, eats fresh vegetables and fruit most of what you have on hand allready, easy to clean up after. Does not take any more time to care for than a cat, dog, rat or bird. cons... can be expensive for set up, live food can get pricy, escaped crickets around the house, not for the squeemish when it comes to feeding live food, emergency vet bills, making sure fresh live food is always available Are they hard to care for (work and money wise)? initial setup can be pricey but asking here will ensure you buy the right equipment with good advice that way you will not buy unnessesary equipment. Keeping an emergency fund would help for times that come up out of the blue. In canadian funds I pay about 100$ a month in live feed. I have a cheap breeder for pheonix worms which only cost me $5.00 canadian for 100 pheonix worms. Its the lighting setup, tank or enclosure that costs the most at the start. Having on hand extra bulbs is a must. It is not as bad as I thought it would be. Baby beardies can eat up to 150 small crickets a day. Some days will be more due to growth spurts and some days will be less due to shedding. Atleast my beardie eats a bit less on the shed days. Is there a personality difference between males and females? I own a male so I am not sure on this question. I really like my boy though.
RE: my beardie response This personality thing everyone keeps talking about gets me... Every human/animal/bird/fish etc all have completely individual personalities. As I stated above "Beardies, leos & cresties are all well known for being quite hand tame reps that tolerate handling quite well. However, they do all have completely individual personalilities- so you don't know for sure until you get one!" In general most of them are easy going, hand tame etc. But that doesn't mean they all are. For example- my leopard gecko is a complete nutter. She is completely hyperactive, hardly ever sleeps (day or night) & is a well practiced escape artist! She will NOT sit calmly in my hand- she sees it as an escape route & promptly legs it! She is 2 & a half years old & I have had her since she was a baby- so it's not like she isn't used to me yet! She is friendly & happy & doesn't bite or show any signs of aggression towards me- it's just that you can't handle her without her running off. Most other leos I have come across (owned by friends etc), are really calm & accept handling really well. Now leo's are well known for being beginners reps, easy to take care of/handle etc. But you get one like mine & it's not so easy My lawsons dragons are great- really friendly & very content to sit with you for ages out of their vivs. But I have read numerous threads on these forums & others about people with anti social dragons (both beardies & lawsons), who don't like being handled, show aggression etc. Some of these problems can be due to lots of factors such as bad husbandry/poor care/stress/illness etc etc. But you are always going to get the odd one that is just generally a stroppy so & so- for no apparent reason! There's enough humans in the world that are just mean/nasty/cruel- just because thats who they are.
RE: my beardie response I have both beardies and geckos. Keeping my own personal preferences out of this, I have to say for a beginners reptile, I would have to recommend the geckos. Their care is much simpler, and they are far less expensive. Beardies are hardy and rewarding reptiles to keep as pets, but they are also very high maintenance and expensive to care for. I think a lot of beginners who start with beardies find themselves in for a lot more than they expected, you can tell just by reading all the new owner threads in this forum. I agree with munchkin about individual personalities, I don't think one reptile is better than the other in this case. Both reptiles can be very friendly and tame, or not, it's up to the individual animal. Though both beardies and geckos are more likely to be calm and handled than some other species, it's not a guarantee with any reptile. Both of my beardies are docile and were raised by my hand, but one likes to be handled a lot more than the other. The other is skittish and will trash almost everytime you pick him up. One of my geckos is terrified of everything and only comes out to eat (he was a rescue case), and my other gecko is a complete joy to hold and interact with.
RE: my beardie response Thanks so much for all your help guys! Before I was so fixated on a Beardie but you guys have really made me come back to reality! About how much on average do you spend on each one per month? Right now I know someone who is trying to rehome their adult Leo and I showed him to my parents and they both were like "Wow! He's so beautiful!" My mom even started asking me questions about Leos. It's a great start. And what's even better is, I have a 30 gallon long tank with tons of equipment that I previously used for hermit crabs. So I have the fortune of already having a lot of supplies on hand. I have about $850 to spend on the new member. Boy, would I love to own both. :roll:
visit or hold one It truly depends on you. I held a beardie in a petstore and that is what got me hooked. He was 2 years old and huge. I asked a ton of questions and did research. I wanted to get used to the size my raikou was going to get. I kind of liked how he looked although I think maybe the leapord gekos as well won me over with the cost of their setup and the way they were. My middleson just bought himself an anole. He is about the neatest looking little guy as well, eats so little compared to my eating machine. It is up to you. I was looking at baby beardies the other day while picking up my 200 crickets for the day and boy do they grow. I wish you luck with your decision. Either way, they are all good choices. I went from raising rats for feeders to lizards. I love the look of gekos eyes, they are very cool.
RE: visit or hold one Thanks for the advice. I saw a few ads on Craigslist about people trying to rehome Beardies and Leos. I emailed some of them a couple days ago but still haven't gotten a response from any. Are babies hard to take care of (both Leos, if you know, and Beardies)? I think I'm going to try to start out with an adult that is already hand tame and has it's personality. Do Beardies and Leos (if you know) take a lot of time to care for? Like how dogs take tremendous amounts of time?
RE: visit or hold one Oh man... I thought I had decided on a gecko but I went to the pet store (don't worry, I would NEVER get one from there!) to look at and hold their geckos and just fell completely in love with the Beardies. They were just so gosh darn cute! When I bent down to look at them they would run over to the glass and just stare at me. Oh my goodness they were adorable! Now I'm having second thoughts but I'm not sure if I have the time to meet all of a Beardies needs! I'm a freshman in high school and have just joined the rowing team so I am going to be extremely busy (I get home at about 6:30 and then have dinner, then homework, then bed). I know I have time for a Gecko but will I have time for a Beardie? About how much time and money do they require? It would be so unfair to the Beardie if I just get one and never spend time with him! oh Beardies, why must you be so ridiculously adorable.
RE: visit or hold one I am in highschool in grade 12, and I got my beardie in the sumemr at about the age of 3 months. I foudn that after I got her into the routine, she got used to the times where I have to be away for school. I get up early to feed her, and feed her as soon as I get home. I know you don't get to spend much time during school, but it'd be like that for any pet for that matter.
RE: visit or hold one Thanks for your response! I just got back from visiting a Beardie from a breeder and fell completely in LOVE. I think I'm stuck on a Beardie now. Permanently. I'm not sure if I should still visit a gecko though because I love everything about a Beardie and they seem to be everything I'm looking for as a pet lizard. The Beardie I visited is for sale and he was about the cutest thing in the world. He seemed very healthy (clear, bright eyes, rich color, and no discoloration) and he is a Chris Allen Red. When I was holding him he kept trying to get up my arm to sit on my shoulder but my jacket didn't allow him to do that because of it's material. It was quite hilarious. He's 3 years old, 22" long, and 670 grams. My parents totally are for me getting a Beardie but they just need me to get rid of my 30 gallon tank first and then I would have to find a nice larger tank for a good price and set up and everything and then get the Dragon. Meanwhile, I already have almost everything I need for a Gecko...of course, my parents are for the Gecko but I'm for the Beardie. Another dillemma that's in the way is, the breeder is moving across the state tomorrow so the only way I'd be able to get that specific Beardie that I just met, he'd have to be shipped which would cost another $50. Oh dear...opinions and advice please! EDIT: I forgot to post a picture of him! His name is Sheogorath. He used to be her prized stud but unfortunately she must sell him. She just wants him to be a pet lizard and is asking $175 for him.
