Where to buy a Lizard (Vanc.)
 

My son has been showing us that he is becoming more responsible and would like a lizard. We are still trying to decide on the type, I vote for Leopard Gecko but he is a light sleeper and it's nocturnal behavior might not mesh. We bought a tall 25gal tank at PetCetetera sale. Where might be the best place to buy the actual lizard. I know PetSmart has them but I would hesitate to buy a fish there, should I be as concerned with a lizard?

Thanks for any input.

Joe.

Leopard Gecko's and fat tailed Gecko's are probably one of the best for 1st time Lizard owners and the 25 gallon tank should be fine for either of these types. They breed in captivity quite often so you may actually find one from someone locally via some type of reptile association or something. Bearded dragons are quite nice and fairly easy to look after IMO, but the 25 gallon tank wouldn't be even close to the space they would need.

Good luck

Don't buy from chain pet stores... generally lesser quality than breeders. I would suggest buying/adopting from a shelter such as here (doesn't look like they have any leopard geckos though)...
http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org/special.htm

...or buy from a breeder. check out this local reptile forum (quite a few breeders and reputable sponsor vendors here)...
http://dasnakes.com/bcrc/

Leopard geckos are great first choices if you're okay with keeping live crickets all the time. I'm lizard sitting for my brother and personally, i find the crickets to be the most annoying bit. I know they're not for everyone, but have you considered a snake? A cornsnake eats thawed frozen mice (a lot easier to keep than live food obviously) and is very undemanding yet very beautiful and rewarding as a pet. I got a hatchling cornsnake from a breeder on the above forum...
http://www.rrrcorns.com/index.htm

Thank Justin,

Great info, just the type of thing I was looking for.

Joe.

Aquatic Addictions also has a large selection of reptiles i saw last time i was in there

I know there are a lot of people feeding canned crickets now, not sure how they compare to live though.

Great advice! The leos themselves do not make much noise but the crickets do (depending on size, adult crickets sing, smaller ones don't, if you always buy smaller subadult crickets you will be ok)
I think corns are excellent beginner snakes as well, the site justin mentioned also has corn breeders, and corns come in some WICKED colours these days.
(You will have to join that forum to view the classifieds, but, it's free and full of helpful people!)

I've never used these myself as once you open it you have to use it all within a couple of days, which one leo just can't do. Then it gets pretty pricey. Plus some leos don't like dead food, so I wouldn't count on that 100% but that's an idea :)

Check out Rogers Aquatic in Surrey. He has all kinds of reptiles and supplies. Anoles are a great beginner lizard. He has an excellent staff that can make a recommendation to you.

aquatic addictions has a wicked selection. i'm starting to lean toward the reptile side. uh oh

bearded dragons are grreat pets.

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]
+1

http://www.okanagangeckos.freeservers.com/

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

http://leopardgecko.com/
+1

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

I couldnt agree more with the impaction comment. I never like mealworms, for one they do have the hard exoskeleton and further more, they tend to bury themselves under any substrate you use, eventually coming out as beatles that apparently are very bitter and not something the lizard will eat. It is really a pain to feed mealworms, the only benefit is you can keep them in the fridge for months.

I would deffinetly go with a leopard gecko if this lizard is intended for a child. They are very hardy, handling will not stress them out very much, and I have only heard great things from beginners that started with leopard's. I know I started with leopards 5 years ago, and it was a great dip into the reptile world.

I also agree that Crested Geckos are deffinetly an incredible lizard compared to leopards. They are highly addicting, come in a plethora of colors, hardy and eat less insects than leopards. The only thing I would be wary about is handling, especially for a child. These lizards tend to hop around and if the child gets scared it is easy to injure it. As well, they tend to lose their tails very easily if grabbed by a person/other animal. Bad part is it does not grow back, where as leopards do grow back. Crested geckos also require higher humidity and their tank set up can be slightly more involved.

Beardies are VERY high maintenence. They require very large enclosures, poop a lot and eat even more. You would be going through about 10 dozen crickets a week at the very least, feeding vegetables more often as they get older.

Comparing all three reptiles, I would definitely go with a leopard gecko. If you have any questions at all, give me a shout. I worked at a reptile zoo for a while so I am used to the questions :D

My son has a breeding pair of Crested Geckos . They are very easy to care for, they require no special light or heat rock.
They eat baby food and crickets that you can buy in a self contained container. Crested Geckos are very easy to handle and they have been great for my 8 year old. Another bonus is they do not require a large enclosure.

I suggest you don't use the baby food, I have heard many things that the high sugar content is not good for the long term.

There is a brand of prepacked powder you mix with water and is perfectly supplemented for cresteds.

You should visit www.Northerngecko.com if you are interested in crested geckos. The fellow, Mark Orfus, is very educated on this species and keeps over 400 hundred of them. He is a great guy, email him.

wow, over 40,000 crested geckos? that's a lot of lizard :mrgreen:

This is the lady I got my two female geckos from, she is very nice and was helpful giving me pointers on housing. :)

I am sorry I must correct myself... its Renee not Rene. :redface::mrgreen:

Um, 400, but 40,000 would be nice :wink:

This was an question in my mind as well. I'd certainly not keep other lizards on that kind of diet.

I can't remember the exact quote from the leopard gecko manual but the information on the all mealworm diet is presented as part of a write up on the longest captive longevity in leopards. AVS books are really well researched and with Ron Tremper participating I'd say you'd have to give it consideration. There's nobody in the world with more hands on geck experience than Tremper.

That's true of any feeder insect.

+1, and calcium supplements are very important! I'm sure your research has explained why already :)

One thing to keep in mind when buying a leo; is their life span. Is your son prepared to be looking after his gecko for 10+ years?

Make that 20+ if properly cared for. ;)

Bump for picks from Renee.