Hi

Does anyone have any, what r they like to keep. We are going to look at some today. Do they stink real badly. Are they easy enough for a near 8 year old to look after.

Thanks

Have PMd you :)

Debs

Hi!

I haven't kept beardies myself, but do know a bit about them, and have kept and Bred Water Dragons, Desert Iguanas and kept Green Iguanas. Interested in all things herp! :-)

Beardies are fairly easy to keep compared to some types of lizard, but I would have to be entirely honest and say they are not suitable for an 8 year old to handle or take care of. They don't smell though, if they are looked after properly, so not sure where you heard that.

All reptiles are extremely specialist and even a lot of shops don't pass on the correct information. Leopard Geckos make good first lizards to keep, although they are nocturnal. I would suggest visiting a few good reptile shops and/or rescues first, then read up on any species that might be suitable. Not doing this coul lead to a sick lizard and there are still painfully few vets that can deal with these, so you're then likely to end up with a dead pet on your hands.

Sorry to be so negative, but reptiles require as much, if not more thought before keeping than dogs and I ave three children myself, what an 8 year old likes today, they are not likely to be interested in next week! :-)

Yes, I have been doing alot of reading up on them, N I have read in lots of places that a bd is a gd 1st time lizard, as well as gecko's. But as these only come out at night. A bd might be more appropiate.

The reason I am looking into this, is my child has very bad attention problems. The 1 thing that he has a genuine interest in though is reptiles He has done since he was 3. He will sit for hours reading books & watchin dvd's. And already knows an awful lot about them. Knows different breeds, habitat etc. etc.

It will be at least 4 months before we get one anyway, if we do get one. In the meantime, we can research them together. So this is not the pet for christmas scenario lol

Cool. Sorry, I have worked with a lot of Reptile Rescue, and it makes me nervous of people buying herps for children. I might be slightly over-sensitive about the subject! I think with children you just have to be prepared to look afte rit yourself if they don't, and especially with a lizard, you would need to handle it. Also, be aware, crickets get everywhere,a nd whennt hey live behind your fridge are incredibly annoying! :-)

What area of the country are you in? There is an excellent Reptile shop in Darlington, Co Durham, that breeds as well. They have an especially good record with breeding Beardies,and are extremely knowledgable. They will also be honest with you, and not feed you any nonsense. I'm not sure if I am allowed to post their details, but they do have a shop and a website with a forum, and even if you aren't in their area, would probably be happy to speak to you at a non-busy time for any advice. They really care about their animals.

I know there are rescues with them in.
I would go to a rescue more than a pet shop. As they seem to be pets that are just abandoned when people get tired of them!!
Lea :)

Just to add my fourpenceworth - my eldest son has ADHD and has also got the same interest in reptiles. Being dyslexic he avoids any opportunity to read, but he WILL read reptile books.  We got a leopard gecko (Speckle) when he was 11, however I read everything I could get my hands on as well before we made the decision.  The reason we got a LG rather than a beardie was down to size, temperement and feeding requirements.  We have a purpose built vivarium together with uv light/spotlight/red bulb/heat mat and temp probe and this means that being on timers he doesnt have to fiddle with the lights and Speckle has the right day/night cycle. I understood that LG were not nocturnal, they were crepuscular, which means they are active at dawn and dusk.  We have the vivarium in a dark area of the room, and arrange the lights so that Speckle is active when my son gets home from school and before school.  After all it doesnt really matter if the lizard is active during the day, as your child will be at school.  Other things to consider, we didnt want a large lizard due to wanting to be able to give them the right size vivarium, a Beardie would need a massive viv to be able to keep them correctly.  Also feeding requirements, a LG needs a lot less feeding than a beardie, we have to order our livefood online as its better quality and you get more for your money.  When you have postal strikes, keeping a constant supply of food is hard.  You will spend a lot of money on decent quality live food with a larger lizard.  Could you cope with crickets or locusts escaping?  We get silent brown crickets rather than chirpy black ones, but then the first thing you know about them escaping is finding one walking across the work surface in your kitchen.  Also you have to be aware that reptiles can carry salmonella, and that you do have to be careful with hygiene.  Personally I think 8 is too young, unless you are completely prepared to look after the reptile yourself in every way including handling/cleaningout/removing or feeding live insects when the novelty wears off. Im lucky, my son adores Speckle (they have boy/gecko chats on his duvet ) and has done for the last three years.  Hope that helps a bit.

We have one- gottta make sure light and heat is just right... I never found a heating rock to be the best, we do have a rock that does warm up from his heat light and that works great. Offer lots of veggies and fruit- the people who owned ours first mostly only fed him crickets so he won't eat his salads- have tried and he will just not eat. I found crickets to be to much so I only give them once in awhile as a treat (must have them gut loaded before you feed them to your bearded)- we mostly feed ours super meal worms- much easier to keep ( throw in some potatoes ect very easy to feed and no worries of losing them and not noisy like crickets). The bearded don't lap up water but it drips off their head- they will tilt their head down and drink the water as it drips down- I always drip water on ours- we are planning on putting in a fountain to see how that will work, they usually get their water from the fruit and veggies they eat. Ours enjoys just sitting on our lap or shoulder very calm lil animals. For an 8 year old as long as your prepared to be primary caregiver then yes I can see that working- but would never expect my child to be fully responsible. Our bearded is in the living room. We use that reptile calcium sand- it kinda clumps so makes clean up alot easier- just scoop and doesn't harm him if he taste his sand lol which he has when he's gone after his food. You have to make sure the phosorus (sp) and calcium is just right. When they are going threw their shedding they seem to lose their appitite.

Ours was already an adult when we got him given to us :)

We did have an iguana as well but he passed away about 4years ago I think.

Our friend has a blue tongue skink- what an appitite on that one...