New To Reptiles

You don't have to feed a beardie crickets, you can feed them mealworms, silkies, or butterworms. maybe you can find a juvenile, and not a baby. Or even a sub-adult. Uromastyx are cool. I saw one in the pet store and they are very interesting lizards!

 

Mealworms are not a good choice....Very hard to digest. Just thought I'd point that out.

 

Why would you want to neglect and famish any animal?

 

I was just saying that you don't have to use crickets, mealworms are definately not the best choice. And they eat salad, too. More salad than bugs when they are adults.

 

Is there any thing I can substitute a Beardie with instead of living organisms like crickets and worms?
(supplements like with the crested gecko)

I dont know about the Uromastyx, they are kinda chubby, and i want a more "dinosaur" looking reptile.

Thats what im trying to say. If I get a beardie I might not be able to feed him crickets as much as he needs them, and that might retard his growth and cause bone disease due to lack of calcium and more crap that I dont want to happen.

 

Weelll, if I were you I would go with a Uro. They don't need bugs, just veggies I think that they looked more "dinosaur" than beardies do actually.. hehe I'd get one if I had the cash (or at least FIND one)
I have a baby beardie at the moment.. and he's a HANDFUL

 

I dont know, the Uro's look kinda chubby and all.
Could u post some good pics of them?
Also, are there any other vegetable diet reptiles out there?

 

Meal worms are hard to digest. I understand the whole appeal thing, but there is not always something perfect. Get what you would like as long as you have room for it and do what has to be done to take car of the thing. How is your mom ok with a lizard and not crickets? You could buy some freeze dried crickets but its always better to feed live.

 

If you get a young beardie you will need to feed him hundreds of crickets or silkworms or some type of insect, there's just no way around that, they need the protien.

HOWEVER.

If you get an adult, you could easily get away with feeding it a primarily veggie diet, and maybe 10-15 crickets or silkworms a week. You see, as babies they need 75-90% insect protien for growth, but as adults they only need 10-25% insect protien and are mainly vegetarians. So if you don't mind skipping the baby phase and adopting an adult, that would be a great solution for you.

Otherwise, you are really limiting your options. There aren't a whole lot left that fit into your requirements.

 

How long until adult hood? 1-2 years?

 

Well, by the time it's a year old it's not "technically" an adult, but I think at this age you can reasonably cut back on it's protien intake, as it's done with most of it's growing.

 

there are giant normal coloreds
-Richard

 

This guy told me bout the Jesus Christ lizard.
They sound real cool and look like it, but I also heard they are no touch pets?
Is that true?

 

I would suggest that as not a begginer pet. They need a large enclosure and they are called a Jesus Christ lizard because they can run so fast they walk on water. If it got out you would most likely never catch it. They are not easily handled either.

 

Do they like being played with, or do they just consider everything as their enemy?

 

I think its more like they move to fast to catch.

 

Do these basilisks LIKE humans? Could you grow with them the same relationship as if you would with a beardie?

 

Ok, I did some searching and found this:
"Females are more skittish than males as a general rule... If you do not have a working relationship with your animals as they get bigger, be SURE to wear gloves during handling. Basilisks are especially fast, and seem to be able to tell the exact instant you are distracted.. as opposed to running, they seem to want to flip around and bite the offending hand, even if it DOES feed them Spend time with them, hold them, etc., and most of them will probably turn out at least handlable.. "
This is from http://www.icomm.ca/dragon/basilisk.htm
I really don't know alot about them but I hope that this helped.

 

Bloody hell, I cannot win with this can I?

Anyway, I might be going to a reptile expo in Long Island, and my friend is gettin like 4 of em there and could sell em to me for 50$ a piece.
Its July 12th I believe, not sure where though (if anyone could help me with the address).

Anyone actually have feedback from having these basilisks as pets?

 

My friend Mike has 4 Basilisks in his herp collection and they are according to him "nippy, skitterish animals" and this from a man whose Tokay Gecko likes to be held. Anyway Zoggy I am thinking if you don't want to go the Uro route and can't handle feeding insects you should pat yourself on the back for doing some good research and skip the reptile route altogether. Beardies are popular and somewhat unique because of that relationship, and even adult beardies need some crix. There is just no way around it. But kudos to you for knowing you couldn't handle crix than getting a BD and finding out the hard way.