Where to buy a Lizard (Vanc.)

[leezard]

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

[Diana]

Originally Posted by leezard

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

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

[brizzo]

Originally Posted by leezard

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.

Don't forget the calcium supplements! Very important.

+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?

[Bartman1818]

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

[alfredshouse]

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.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by High tide

Meal worms have a hard exoskeleton and are hard to digest, this can lead to impaction.

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.

Originally Posted by Ephraim

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.

That's true of any feeder insect.