if you want to get a small lizard, look at crested geckos over leopard geckos. You will see more activity out of them during the day. And dont even bother with a fat tail, the things are only active at 3am or so. (i know this cause i havent seen mine outside of his in 3 years) Cresties take very well to handling and are readily available. As long as your house does not get too cold they can do without a heat lamp (helps to offset initial cost as cresties cost more than leos).

If you want to go larger, beardies are a great option, but be aware of much higher setup costs, mainly due to lighting. They will get 18" long so you will need to have space to house it.

Pm me if you want me to expand more on this.

I agree Leopards make great first time lizards... they were my first reptiles. :D I do think cornsnakes are easier though because you dont have to deal with crickets.

For my leopard gecko setup I tiled the tank floor with travertine-looking tile to create the 'desert sand floor' look. It was awesome and super easy to wipe clean. Leopards will poop in one spot so I just put a paper towel down in thier "bathroom" area. :)

As far as breeders I got mine from a lady out in Mission, she had tons of geckos and they were all really health. I think she did bearded dragons as well. Rene that works at J&L also breeds Leopards and crested geckos(she is on the board). :D

-Diana

Where to buy a lizard
 

Pet lovers in Abby. They have a lot of reptiles.

try Aquatic addictions they had a good selection last time I looked

There is ample evidence to support mealworms as being a better diet than crickets long term and they are definitely easier to deal with. When I was breeding I had no issues with the all worm approach.

Get yourself a good book, the Leopard Gecko Manual from Advanced Vivarium Systems and Ron Tremper is by far the best one.

http://www.amazon.ca/Leopard-Gecko-M...8307194&sr=8-1

Outside of breeding season they don't really make much noise at night.

I wouldn't shop there. I used to breed Veiled Chameleons and overheard staff selling one of my Chameleons as "wild caught"....very unethical.

Aren't they on the exotic pets list banned in B.C.? Doesn't make much sense but that's what I heard.

BTW, I was born in PA.....ink,pink, the pulp mill stinks, riding on a horses ****. lol

Meal worms have a hard exoskeleton and are hard to digest, this can lead to impaction. There are many other types of worm/grubs like waxworms,silkworms,butterworms etc. that will be better long term. It is best for your reptile to vary it's food anyway.

I don't know when Cricket breeding season would be, since they breed all the time.

There is no way that a meal worm can supply everything the gecko needs nutritionally unless you are gut loading it with a broad spectrum of foods, = PIA. It would be better off feeding a variety of insect prey to the animal.

Beardies are not on the new BC banned exotics list, see link.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife...s/species.html

The best diet for ANY animal (people included) is a varied one. While you can usually get away without crickets, it's still best if they get a nice variety.

Mealworms I would generally stay away from -- I use them mostly for carnivorous arachnids, but not for any of the reptiles. The exoskeleton causing impaction is one reason, the other being that, if not chewed before being swallowed, they can and will live long enough in the stomach to eat through it, killing the animal slowly and painfully. Kingworms and superworms are great staples, to be supplemented with hornworms, silkworms, butter worms, phoenix worms, maggots and the occasional wax worm. Don't forget the calcium supplements! Very important.

Cresties also need a variety of fruit and vegetables in their diet, and tend to eat well on baby food.

Crested, fat tails and leopard geckos are all nocturnal and do not need UVB lighting, but fat tails and leos need heat. A UTH generally works for most setups.

Stay away from sand for babies and juveniles -- this can also cause impaction and kill them.

African Fat Tail and crested geckos are a little more needy than leos as far as humidity, and AFTS tend to be not quite as nice.

One of the most important things to know is that your child can grow tired of the pet. A friend of mine has a leopard gecko named libby who is now 22 years old -- please be prepared to care for it this long before getting if for children, because if they DO tire of it the animal is just going to be passed from home to home to home. Not fair for the lizard. They get issues just like any pet.

Buying from breeders is very much the best way to go.

http://www.theurbangecko.com/index.html[/url]
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http://www.okanagangeckos.freeservers.com/

http://www.mountaingeckos.freeservers.com/

http://leopardgecko.com/
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BUYER BEWARE on faunaclassifieds.... make sure to utilize the Canadian Board of Inquiry for anyone you are thinking of buying from. Either search the sellers name, or post a new inquiry. Just like any classifieds section, there are bound to be a few "bad seeds". Most of the stuff I hear of are good transactions, though.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...play.php?f=486