hi all

i recently got my new flat and im looking for a pet to take care of!

my cousin has a bearded dragon, who i love, but to be honest the insects put me off!!!

can you get any lizards that dont require live linsects?

id ideally like one which can have a little pool in its habitat too...

is there such a thing?

thank you

most of the lizards do indeed eat live foods. And they require some knowlege as some are not for a beginers . Id get online and have a read up on the lizards your interested in as if there not kept correctly it can be serious for there growth bones etc and can cause deformaties. I hope you can find something suitable. Would you not consider some gerbils there great little pets and once you have read up on them are reasonably easy to keep and are very interesting little pets. I had a LEOPARD GECKO FOR MY FIRST LIZARD AND SHE WAS QUITE EASY TO KEEP ONCE I READ UP ALOT. bUT YES THEY REQUIRE LIVE FOOD TO.

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Have you kept reptiles before?

Iguana's and Uromastyx don't require insects - however I would not recommend these to the beginner.

I have seen vibrating plates, which you put dried insects on so it looks like it's moving...... but I would recommend these either. If you can't give an animal a natural life, then you shouldn't keep it as a pet.

As Sullivan said, what about small mammals? I have 4 rats which are adorable, silly tame and full of character.
Guinea pigs and indoor rabbits make fab pets....

In terms of not feeding live insects, Crested geckos can be fed on dry foods such as those from Repashy, which comprises of two mixes which are combined to create a complete diet. Mashed fruit and even honey can also be offered.

I know of several people who are keeping their animals on such a diet and they appear to be thriving, which is evident in the number of high-quality animals that are produced every year from parents that are fed in this way.

I'd not suggest Igs or Uros, personally. Especially not Igs.

Crested Geckos and Blue Tongued Skinks are what I'd suggest.

For Cresties you can buy a forumla name Crested Gecko Diet which is literally an all in one diet that you just add water you. They can live off of that and you needn't supliment it at all or keep live insects.

Blue Tongued Skinks can be fed cooked chicken, snails (I know these are inverts, but they're far more appealing than crickets and far less likely to escape.. ) and the occasional egg (scrambled or raw.. but I'd suggest scrambled as it's just less messy, both going on and out, heh).
Cooked chicken as a stable meat portion is perfectly acceptable though, and there isn't any desperate need to feed snails, they just love them.

For a pool in their habitat, well, that'd be the BTS rather than the Crestie, Blueys need a large, shallow water dish anyway because they like to sit in it.

Blue Tongued Skinks are also much more similar, in size, care and so on, to Bearded Dragons than Crested Gecko's are. They just have a much more flexible diet and are generally slower lizards. Very friendly, lovely reps.. if you want more info there is the most amazing care sheet for BTS I can link you to.

If that was aimed at me, I didn't recommend them either.

In fact I didn't and wouldn't recommend a reptile full stop.

I know you didn't. It's just the fact you mentioned them, I wanted to hammer the point in a little more that although they're veggies they arn't good first reptiles.

Was aimed more at the OP than at you, just.. agreeing, more than anything else. Sorry.

Why not?

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Because I think a small mammal would be better suited.

I have to agree, reptiles can go downhill very quickly and a certain degree of skill is required to keep parameters such as temperature and humidity stable. Crested geckos for example, are generally hardy when well looked after, but any problems can cause them to go downhill.

A certain attitude is also taken towards snakes on some things, handling springs to mind. I've heard people saying that their snakes like being handled. however, the fact is, that snakes don't enjoy being handled, it's not in their nature they simply tolerate it. People that want a 'cuddly' pet would be better off looking into something like Guinea pigs.