It has come to my attention that my family has yet to venture into owning a reptile. I doubt we will for a while, but what type of reptile, other than snakes, do you feel is the easiest to care for, for first-time owners? Do they enjoy being handled? What do they need to start out with? What do they eat? And if possible, how much, on average, do you think that they cost per week or month?

Leopard geckos and bearded dragons are typically "beginner" lizards.

They will tame down easily and become quite mellow. Leopard geckos will get I think about 6 or 8 inches with the tail, so they're pretty small. Beardies get bigger, more like 8 inches not including the tail.

The geckos are strictly insectivores and you feed them crickets. But with beardies, the majority of their diet is composed of leafy greens and some veggies, but they also need crickets, mealworms and they'll even eat small mice. I think the ratio is like 20% animal/insect and 80% plant or something close.

I'm not sure about caging or housing though. Once they tame down, they're really friendly and a beardie will sit on your shoulder or on your shirt forever.

I've actually never had either of those, I started out with advanced lizards. Currently I have 2 green iguanas, a frilled dragon, an argentina black and white tegu and an alligator lizard. You don't necessarily have to start with a beginner lizard. If you are dedicated to providing something like an iguana with what they need, then by all means get an iguana as a first lizard. Just be prepared to deal with the mood swings and taking a year to tame it.

Another one I heard was generally easy are ackies, which are a type of monitor. I haven't really researched them, but you can google it and find some good info.

Oh, and as for cost...

First you have the electic bills because you need to run a UVB lamp, a heating pad and either a CHE (ceramic heating element) and/or a nocturnal heat lamp. I can gaurantee that the UVB will be on about 8 hours a day and depending on where you live, it may get warm enough to where you can turn the CHE off during the day.

Then you have the terrarium. This can vary depending on where you get it and how big it is. I believe a leo needs a 20 gallon and a beardie a 50 if not more. If you buy it new, of course it will be more expensive, but don't forget to check out the classifieds as they sometimes have good deals.

Then there's cage carpet, decorations and other accessories. Cage carpet I'm pretty sure is less than $20 dollars. It's best to buy two so you have something to put in there while you wash the other one. They last usually about 6 to 8 months. Decoratios....depends on what you buy. I'd say you'll spend probably about $50 or less on this stuff.

And finally there's food. It depends on where you get it. Mealworms can be bought live or canned. I buy live from a fish bait store and they are about $3.50 for 50. Canned mealworms from a petstore cost a bit more probably. Crickets can also be bought live or canned. I can get 100 crickets for less than $5 at the bait store. You can also breed your own crickets very easily, I've done it a few times. Mealworms are a bit harder to breed. If you go with the beardie, you can get mustard or collard greens and some shredded carrots from a dollar store lol. Mice are $1.6o usually, less for fuzzies but I also breed mice because of the Tegu. For food, you'll probably spend less than $10 a month for leos and less than $20 for beardies.

I bought my gecko and his entire set up for $175 at the local pet store.

The gecko was more then the regular geckos because he was albino.

I bought:
*10 gal aquarium
*screen lid
*2 hiding rocks, one for cool side, one for hot side
*water dish
*coconut subtrate
*fake plant
*2 dozen crickets
*heating pad

My heating pad is very small and I doubt it uses much electricity at all.

I had a UVB lamp for growing plants, and I placed that over the screen top. Leopard Geckos don't need a UVB lamp, but my gecko LOVES it.

A turtle is a nice little pet to start off with. I had one as my very first pet. They eat both vegetable matter and insects. They can also eat live fish, but this gets to be kind of expensive. I'm not sure what start-up cost would be, probably between $75-$150 depending on type of turtle and if you had any accommodations already, such as terrarium/aquarium, heat lamp, substrate, and habitat accessories. Maintenance costs, from what I remember, are pretty low. Fresh vegetables from the grocery store makes up most of their diet, and, like sugarbird said, meal worms, regular worms, and crickets from a bate shop are cheap. Also we raised our own mealworms (not on purpose, LOL) in the grain we used for our chickens, and turtles are able to eat both the larval stage (the mealworms) and the adult bug.

On a side note, I had caught my turtle from a stream near the house we lived in, I realize now that this was NOT a good thing to do. Whatever animal you choose as a pet, please buy captive bred, this is easier on the animal and better for the environment.

Animal Planet has a nice little Reptile Guide, and PetTurtle.com is a web site specifically for turtles.

I bought a pair of leos from my lps about 2 years ago and they are easy to take care of.The whole setup+leos=about $150-200.

Chuckwalla lizards are really easy to care for. They eat vegetables, and the only cage matanice required is to clean the sand. The only equipment they need is a big tank, heat lamp, and UV bulb lamp. They're really adorable and sweet once they get used to you. I can take care of my lizard easily and he's my first non-butterfly pet ever. They also make really good freinds, but be warned. If you have really young children in the houshold and they are mean to the lizard, they lizard will not hesitate to bite them. Chuckwallas live on a be nice to me, I'll be nice to you principal. But they are really awesome pets!

Oh by the way, when I got my lizard, all I got was:
1 large ceramic heat bulb holder
1 small ceramic heat bulb holder
1 heat light
1 black light that makes heat (Chuckwallas can't see purple)
2 cinder blocks
1 paving stone shaped like a sandal (not nessicary, but he looves it!)
1 food dish
1 tank
Sand
1 sand scooper filter thing.
All the stuff that wasn't the rocks and the black light (which I already owned) cost about $300 together with the lizard as a starter kit. The rocks cost me $20, and his food is kale, collard greens, sweet potatoes, Zuchini, acorn squash, lima beans, peas, and any fruit that's not citrus (fruit is a treat). You just have to sample whatever you want to feed them. If it's bitter or chewy, or leafy but not green, they won't eat it. Lettuce is VERY bad for them, and bugs givve them diareah. But their food is cheaper and you can eat it too.

One more thing about chuckwallas...
If you ever go on vacation, it's much easeir to find someone to care for your lizard. You do have to have some were to put the lizard once a month while you clean everything in his/her tank (and the tank) in bleachy water in the tub, throw away the sand, and get new sand. I asume I don't need to tell you why it's important to get all the bleach back off the suff before you set up the tank again. Okay, I think I'm done now.

You guys write to much for a simple question.I will keep my answer short.1. leopard geckos2.Bearded dragons.3. if u think about snakes, corn snakes.

I am now done!

i wold say hermit crabs i have two they eat appels graps bannas um thats all i can remember bet they cost like $5 a month they have to have spring or salt water and you have to play with them every day and if your scared they will pinch and my bros say it hurts but they dont pinch my lol

oops me

I just wanted butt in and say my first reptile was an iguana. I paid $20 for him!!! BUT THEN..... I spent sooooooooooo much more to make him a nice cage with all the heat and light fixtures (well worth it though). But the greens and other stuff for his meals are really not that costly, usually less than $10 a month.

My first reptile was a bearded dragon, and he still is my only one for now. He's not too hard to take care of, just the typical lights and basking areas and feeding. You also would have to keep water in the tank at all times. Mine doesnt drink out of the bowl, so I just give him baths every couple of days. Some beardies hate baths, some love them. Speedy is in the middle... One note for you when you do get a reptile: do NOT use the walnut shells for substrate, as it can cause impaction. Beardies are easy to care for because they eat most veggies, with exeption to spinach, broccoli, carrots, and some other watery things like iceburg lettuce.Beardies eat insects and pinky mice too. Also, most like to be handled. Before you get any reptile, be sure to read up on it or research the care for it, so he/she will be as happy as possible in your care.

I would probably agree with alot of the above people that a leopard Gecko would be the best to start of with. They are easy to care for and have a docile nature about them. Bearded dragons are also fascinating and are completely adorable but they tend to get significantly larger than one would expect. They grow to be around 22-23 inches (being one of the largest species in the genus pogona). I would go with a leopard gecko, but if you've done your homework and think you are prepared, beardies are a good choice. Do not purchase an iguana, which grow to be over 6ft in length and require a room to meet its needs.

leopard gecko or beardys and if you are going to get a snake ball python or cornsnake

IF you get a beardy NEVER pet it the wrong way, i dont have one, i just know this from reading books, i suggest starting with a whites tree frog, its not exactly a reptile b/c its a frog, but they dont mind handling , infact mine semms to like it, and require little space since all they do is sit, I should mention they can boaring, but its a good starter.

hi forgive me but I'm a fish enthusiast, part of this site so I'm curious to know, since you're spending all that money on a tank anyway, and you're not really going be able to pet the critter cause he might take a chunk out of you, and well, just because hey, I like aquariums, can I ask what is making you decide to get a reptile rather than an aquarium? Just out of curiousity - i like seeing the way people think that are different than me. Thanks.

I would suggest a turtle for a first reptile. They are easy to take care of. My turtle is a red eared slider. He has a 20 gallon tank filled with water and a big rock from the back yard he can sit on and a heat lamp. Really simple. Oh and you will need food I give mine little pellets and some stuff to put in the water to prevent soft-shell and other things

Oh anoles are great little lizards too and I had an Iguana and he was harder to take care of but was sweet. They do take up a lot of space my tank for him was like 150 or something like that