Bearded Dragon

[nmb7895]

Soooo... apparently on Monday my family is getting a 1 toe-missing bearded dragon.

He's up for adoption (IE he's free) and my family has been jokingly saying they want a dragon for a long time.

But I have no idea where to start, what to buy or anything. He'll probably get pretty hefty, so he'll need a big aquarium, but we kind of don't even know what supplies to get.

For monday we're just going to buy a cheap lizard starter kit (10 gal) and when he gets bigger upgrade to a 40 or 55, depending on what we could find room for.

But yea, any real beginning things I need to know about bearded dragons? They kind of just said "Hey son you keep fish, how do you keep a lizard!" Which isn't really... uhh... reasonable as evident from me posting this question on a fish forum.

[nmb7895]

Looks like we're not getting it. It's too expensive to start up and I'm not letting them stick him in a 10 gallon because "it'll just stunt his growth and he'll be fine"

Oh well.

[SunSchein89]

Good for you for not getting it:22: . They're praised as a beginner reptile, but are certainly not one of the cheapest to keep. They plow through insects and require rather large terrariums with UV lighting and the works. They also need fresh veggies supplied daily. A leopard or crested gecko would be a good alternative if you're still looking for a reptile that's not quite as expensive.

[nmb7895]

Are there any lizards that can live in a 10 gallon and don't need crickets (or not many crickets)?

My little brother really wants a lizard.

[SunSchein89]

Crested geckos can survive solely on MRP (meal replacement powder), although I still give mine crickets now and then which she loves to hunt down. You could keep one in a 10 gallon as long as you don't clutter it up too much. I just have a hide and a few magnetic ledges and keep her on paper towels. Bigger is always better of course; they like vertically oriented tanks. They can be a little jumpy, however, but are still able to be handled no problem.

Most reptiles will eat insects, though, so there's not many choices that you would have for a 10 gallon tank, especially if he wants to handle it. Could always get a baby corn snake or something. They can be kept in a 10 for quite awhile before they outgrow it. Very cheap to maintain and very low maintenance to boot.