Lizard Advice

[CAC]

Hi, im looking into getting a lizard, but i cant really make my mind up as to which would be best...
Theres one major question that still illudes me, and that is, would i be able to leave a lizard without feeding, for a few days? I know it sounds quite general, but hey.

The lizards im thinking about are bearded dragons, or rankins dragons. The problem is, beardeds get bigger, but it will be easyer for me to find a bigger one cos they are more common, cos i have heard that the babies need insects everyday, and adults need it much less often (ive heard adults have 90% veg 10% insects). Which is the seccond problem, large boxes of jumping crickets!!! Im not really afraid of them singaly, or even when theres a couple, but hundreds just make me uneasy, what if they got out!?!?!
I could get just a few from the local shop, rather than a big box every few days, or once a week or something and just feed them when i get them. From what i can make out from what ive read, a bearded will need a 48x15x18" min, and a rankin 36x15x18 min, and that care is basically the same for both...

Any input? Any surrgestions/ideas?

Thanks alot, Mikey

P.S. Ive kept reptiles before (not lizards) so i know about lighting and heat etc.

 

[grahamsokel]

ve left my beardies for a couple of days,I normally gove them a good feed on veggies on the morning i go and a good bath to make sure they are fully rehydrated,then give them quite a lot of locusts in the viv and that keeps them going for a 2 or 3 of days.The reason i use locusts when i leave them in as locusts are veggies so wont nibble at the beardie.You would need to have the spotlight and the uv on timers though and it would really be advisable to have someone pop in to check that the heating is ok.

 

[Morquinn]

Beardies
Hatchlings need 80% insect/protien 20% veggie
Adults 20% insect/protien 80% veggie

You will be running to the petstore every day to get a baby beardie crickets if you do it that way. Fed properly with appropriate sized crickets, baby beardies will eat up to 100 crickets per day. Fed 3x a day, as much as they will consume in 10-15 minutes. It was usually about 60 per day with mine.
A 40 gallon BREEDER tank is minimum sized enclosure for one adult beardie. Hatchlings should be kept in a 20g long aquarium, or section off a 40 gallon breeder... a breeder tank is not an aquarium, and its not used for fish, its an actual reptile tank and has more floor space. Just so you dont get that confused. A 4'x2'x2' enclosure is recommended.

I personally wouldnt leave any of my reptiles alone for days without food, im sure it will be fine if you had someone feed them just veggies for that time though. (Well except snakes I guess)

And yes you will have a harder time trying to find a rankins beardie, some normal beardies end up being quite small too, maybe look for a female if you wanted a smaller one.

 

[grahamsokel]

you can not get such a thing as a rankin beardie.If you go to a breeder rather than a shop there is plenty of rankin Dragon breeders out there.Just make sure you do not get a vitkin dragon sold to you.A vitkin is a cross between a rankin dragon and a bearded dragon and can range in size anything from a rankin up to a beardie.
If you went for a rankin you could keep a pair in a normal 3ft viv no problem

 

[kimbowee]

Another lizard you may want to consider is a Uromastyx. They like similiar conditions as a Bearded Dragon only a little warmer. They are vegetarians so no feeding crickets. Also they are desert animals and don't need baths or water in their cage. They get all they need from their food.

Depending on the species they can grow from about 12-14 inches for a Mali upto 3 ft for an Egyptian. An enclusre of 4ft X 2ft X 2ft would be a good size for an adult Mali.

Here is a pic of my hatchling Mali Uro.

 

[CAC]

I can actually get rankins where i live, £70 each, but ive heard that they need more insects than beardies...
If i could get hold of an Uromastyx then i would but ive never heard of them and i imagine that they would be near impossable to get here in lil' old england... Do they eat only veg???
If i got hold of an adult beardie, then how often would i be needing to feed it crickets or locusts? Would once a week be ok?

Thanks alot, Mikey

 

[grahamsokel]

there is quite a few uro breeders in the uk and i am sure that i have seen quite a few on the classifieds down your way

 

[CAC]

Yeah ive seen someone selling Uromastyx Occelata and Uromastyx Hardwicki for £120 and £110 each, as adults...
From what ive read, the Hardwicki get to 10", but im not too sure if thats right....Any info?
Are they compleatly vegitarian?

Thanks alot, Mikey

 

[grahamsokel]

I have never kept uros but a friend of mine breeds them she has some gorgeous babys at the min.
I do know they have to be kept hot but not sure about differnt species and sizes but will ask her.
Yes Uros are 100% veggie

 

[mantis147]

I had leopard geckos & fat tail gecko's i only used to feed every 3-4 days but when they ate about 4-5 locusts which would last them anyway.

Beardies in my opinion would need feeding everyday as they are eating machine's!

 

[kimbowee]

Here is a link to a breeder in the US that gives very detailed descriptions of the breed and their habitat and food needs.

http/www.deerfernfarms.com/Uromastyx_Species.htm

They are vegetarians and can be kept on a diet completely void of insects by offering another source of protein. You can do this by feeding finch seeds or even bean soup mix minus the kidney beans. They do require UVB bulbs and a high basking spot of about 125 degrees F.

As for size the Hardwicki can grow to be 12-14" as an adult. Not sure about the Occelated full grown length. Egyptians are the largest and can grow to 3 ft. in length as an adult.

 

[CAC]

Thanks for the advice guys
Do you know of any sites with relieable info on uros, so that i can see what they actually get to, cos one site said that the Uromastyx Hardwickis get to 10", so i spose a 48x15x18" tank would be suitable for just the one, but i could go bigger if really needs be...I have also email the guy who has them for sale, and see what size he says for them.
If you type Uromastyx Hardwicki into google, some sites come up and the 10" comes from the top site (leezard.net) so i dont know if its a good description of them..

Many thanks, Mikey

 

[kimbowee]

Uro's are very active. I don't think a 48X15X18 tank would be suitable for a full size adult even if they were only 10". Think about standing in a space about the same width as a refrigerator box, you wouldn't have much room to turn around and would probably feel quite clausterphobic.

The best advice I can offer is to of course have everything set up ahead of time. Make sure you have the correct temperatures for at least several days and of course have a good reptile vet already picked out.

They love to dig in sand and climb and are great to watch. Mine loves music and likes to be talked to. He will eat from my hand especially if I have fresh flowers to feed. I chose the Uromastyx because I just can't handle having creepy crawlers in my house. If crickets got loose I wouldn't be able to sleep in my house until they were all caught.

I wouldn't recommend leaving them alone for a couple of days without fresh food. If you could get a neighbor to give them a fresh salad every morning you should be fine. Put your lights on a timer and you know they would be getting the light and heat they need.

 

[CAC]

Ok cool, i think maybe a 4x2x2 would be better, maybe id get a pair...
Do you handle yours often? Is he/she ok about being picked up, or does he/she want to get back to the tank most of the time?
How do you keep the temp up at night?

Thanks alot, Mikey

 

[kimbowee]

From everything I've read a pair isn't a great idea. They can become aggressive towards one another. If you did decide to get a pair you should have a backup of everything just in case they needed to be seperated right away. If you did go for a pair you would want a larger tank approximately 6X2X2 and you would need double everything such as food dishes, basking spots and hides as they are known to be territorial.

At night I let the temps drop to room temperature just as they would naturally in a desert environment. My house gets no cooler than about 67 degrees at night. If your house gets cooler then mid 60's in the evening you could always get a ceramic heat emitter which would produce heat but no light for evenings.

My guy seems to enjoy being held but I don't keep him out more then 10 minutes or so or they get too cold. He doesn't get free time on the floor or he would be gone in a second and can wedge himself into very small spaces. He is currently a little over 5 inches long. Most of our interactions are while he is in his tank. He loves being hand fed and loves to have his head petted.