Lookin for a lizard...

[DragonBeards]

For my 45 gallon long. Something a little larger, that can be handled good. I've been thinking about a BTS, but I'm open to other ideas as well.

EDIT: What about a Uromastyx?

 

[T-ReXx]

Uromastyx aren't bad, some can be tempermental. I think either BTS or Bearded dragon is your best bet if handling is a high priority.

 

[Salt4Sam]

I love my uro, he's very personable and is easily handled. He loves to burrow so make sure you have something for him to dig in. That's my two cents. I don't know much about bts.

 

[DragonBeards]

Yeah, from what I read, either bts or uros would be good, its just deciding which one I want. I'll probably go with a bts, just because I can find supplies for a planted terrarium much more easier than I can a desert (such is why I'm hesitant to get a beardie yet, even though they are my favorite lizard). I want to do this as inexpensively as possible

 

[Dog Shrink]

A lot of the bts I have seen for sale start at $100-$150 so not that inexpensive whereas a lot of the beardies I see are between $50-$100 for normal morphs. BTS are diggers and any plants you put in might just end up getting torn out and pushed around. Desert set ups are way easier IMO. They both seem to be easy to handle.

 

[T-ReXx]

Beardie setup: play sand, large piece of drift wood for basking area, water dish, feeding dish, basking lamp, UVB lamp, Thermometer. That's about it.

And just so you know, BTS are not from tropical areas, it's more of a savannah type habitat. They don't do well with the super high humidity of rainforest setups. And a BTS will quite happily spend it's time digging up any plants you put in there.

Uromastyx require almost the exact same setup as a bearded dragon, they are not any cheaper to setup.

IMO, if you want a beardie, get a beardie. If you settle for another species just because you want to try and cut corners on habitat cost, you're going to end up disappointed in the end. Reptile setups for any of the three species cost about the same amount when done properly.

 

[DragonBeards]

Ok, sounds good to me . I'll have to see how it goes. My mother is what I'm worried about... I'm not sure if she'll favor the idea of me breeding dubias for a lizard. But who knows?

 

[T-ReXx]

Ok, sounds good to me . I'll have to see how it goes. My mother is what I'm worried about... I'm not sure if she'll favor the idea of me breeding dubias for a lizard. But who knows?

What I'd recommend is showing her what the cricket bill would be for a beardie, then compare it to the 0 to little cost of producing your own feeders.

 

[DragonBeards]

True. And not to mention how disgusting crickets are. I don't like insects at all (deathly afraid of them), but I would much rather do roaches then crickets. They don't jump out at you. And hopefully can be kept out in the shed.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I don't know that in washington state you'd be able to do that unless you provide them with a heat source. I believe they need to be kept room temp, but don't quote me on that, I don't do roaches.

 

[T-ReXx]

Yes they need a heat source. I keep mine in plastic bins with a strip of flexwatt on the bottom, it stays around 90F, which is optimal for production. If you're really squeamish about insects, you might want to go with a Uromastyx, as they are completely vegetarian, and other than that very similar to beardies in care and personality.

 

[Dron2124]

one thing to rember when gettign a beardie is how much they eat they are pigggggggggggggggggs. I had a bearded he ate a good 60 to 100 crickets a day. I was getting them at 10 cents a piece. this getts very very expensive as time goes. I would of started a roach colony but most of the roaches are illegal to have in florida so i sold my bearded and ended up with a crested big difference in cost and general type of the animal.