what type of lizad to buy!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question
hi Tara, i am a twelve year old boy that loves and have been studying reptiles for a while now. im looking for a good pet lizard that dose not have cost alot and dosent have too much requirments... not a beardie, a lepard gecko,any gecko. it needs to be at least 12-15 inches. the cage can be 48 by 12 by 12 or less. i was wondering about the uromastyx ... can you tell me anything about it or ant other lizard you recommened. i dont want to spend over 300 dollars for everythng the lizard needs.

               THANKS A BUNCH ! ! !

Answer
Hello Rico congrats on being able to get your first lizard.

I can say thou you just dismissed the two top reccomended first pet lizard's!  

Bearded dragons can be crossed of your list because like I'm sure you know they are expensive to maintain...they eat ALOT and need UVB lighting lus a rather hot basking spot(90-110 F)

The ne Id reccomend for you is a Leopard gecko cheap to keep and feed and an ok size...doesn't need claw clippings of UVB lighting and a ten gallon tank is suitable fr permanant housing.

If your read the page before asking me a question you'd noticed I know nothing on Uros other then they are skidish...need Hotter temps then bearded dragons and eat soley salad which takes more time to buy/prep and feed then feeding a insect eatting reptile and need a large tank plus need UVB lighing.

I am afraid I can't think of a cheap to keep lizard of that size thats ok for a begginer I'm sorry.

The setup for a lizard plus the lizard and its food will always cost $200-300 +++++ depending how nice you want to go and you never want a reptile from a Chain petstore  they are likely to be less well cared for you want a healthy baby from a breeder....which can be cheaper then a petstore anyway but you might need to drive to one or ship one to you.

Reptile are expensive. Honestly I tryed to keep herps when I was your age failed because I couldn't afford everything they needed since I hadnt had a job and sold them...today I am just getting restarted in herps with Bearded dragons and snakes and still I find it an expensive hobby.

Are you DEAD Set on a lizard? Would you not consider a snake? a corn snake or ball python eats once a week and is therefore cheap to feed and make nice pets. Another pet I could reccomend would be Firebellied newts..not really handleable but very beautiful and eat frozen or live brine shrimp and blood worms.  Water frogs dwarf or clawed ones are fairly cheap to keep as well and entertaining to watch. Then there are hermit crabs...cool little guys to have and very entertaining to watch in the evening hours and rarely pinch. If all else fails and you find yourelf unable to afford the setup for anything listed above Try a good old fasion  tank of gold fish or guppies.

I added other critters you never mentioned because if one can not afford the animal/feeding/setup then one wont be able to afford emergency vet bills and shouldn'tkeep sure an animal.