Once you have decided to get a lizard pet, you need to look at advantages and disadvantages of owning a lizard. While there are many pros of having a lizard, you need to make sure that cons don’t change your mind about getting a lizard as a pet. Think about all points to decide if you are ready to own a pet lizard so that you can take care of it when it comes into your life. We will also discuss pros and cons of owning different pet lizard types and what is the best lizard for beginners. You can also read an article on choosing the best lizard for you and 12 top best pet lizards.
General advantages and disadvantages of owning a lizard:
Pros of having a pet lizard:
- Lizards, unlike cats, dogs or parrots, don’t shed, so can be suitable for people with allergies.
- It doesn’t come out of its terrarium on its own and doesn’t walk around the house. Most lizards are also quiet creatures.
- Pet lizard mostly don’t have any specific smells, or if they slightly do, they always stay inside the terrarium.
- Most lizards don’t need to be fed too often, and don’t have a hard-to-follow diet. Just stick to recommendations and you will be fine.
- Lizards are fascinating to own, because you can watch them in their terrariums to see their daily activities.
- Most foods are readily available to buy for your lizard.
- They look beautiful and some are like mini-dragons.
Cons of having a pet lizard:
- You will have to set up a terrarium house for your lizard and get equipment for it. Without a terrarium with specific UV lighting your lizard will not survive.
- You need a big room to put your terrarium in as it can take a lot of space.
- Some lizards need a specific diet, so sometimes you will have to spend time to get required foods for your lizard.
- If you get an aggressive lizard type, it will be hard to deal with. You will have to be careful while cleaning its space, too.
- Not all lizards will give you love in return. Most will give no love, no attention, no thanks. You only keep it for your own pleasure and must appreciate looking after it.
- If your lizard runs away or gets lost, it will never come back and will most probably die in the wild.
- Most lizards need time to start being petted and there is a chance it will bite (even though it won’t be too painful or serious with small lizards).
- They can carry Salmonella bacteria, so you will have to be careful when throwing away its feces and touching your lizard.
- Some lizards, especially large ones, cannot live with other pets and can harm small children.
Let’s now talk about pros and cons of owning specific lizard types.
Pros and cons of owning a bearded dragon:
Cons:
- You will have to spend money on initial terrarium setup. UVB lighting, large tank (larger the better), plants, supplements and veterinary visits can cost some money.
Just make sure you can afford it before you get a bearded dragon. - They require a specific diet, consisting of vegetables and insects.
Just make sure you can afford it before you get a bearded dragon.Pros:
- Bearded dragons are considered one of the best beginner lizards. That’s because they are charming and friendly. You will enjoy watching them grow, learn and communicate with you. I wouldn’t say that they are affectionate, but they will make you smile and let you pet them. Bearded dragons are generally not aggressive, but as they are wild animals, their mood can also change and be unpredictable if they don’t like what you are doing.
Overall, getting a bearded dragon is a good choice. Once you set up its tank, caring for it will be easier. You will only have to spend some money on its food, occasional supplements, terrarium maintenance products, and veterinarian visits once a year.
As bearded dragons live up to 10 years you need to make sure you will be able to take care of it during this time.
Read the care sheets for bearded dragon on this page.
Pros and cons of owning a gecko
You are probably asking, is owning a gecko right for me? There are different geckos, and most popular ones are crested, leopard and gold-dust day geckos. So, what are pros and cons of owning a gecko?
Pros:
- They are one the best beginner lizard pets, as geckos have a friendlier nature and can be held and handled by children and adults
- Easy to-follow-diet
- They are quiet and have little or no smell
- Have a fun personality!
- Most geckos have long life spans – from 6 to 20 years!
Cons:
- Terrarium setup (but cheaper than other larger lizards), and requirements for daily feeding with veggies and worms.
- You need to set up their terrarium in the right way, and include screen lid, as they tend to run away. They are hard to find if escaped. Most of them also like hiding a lot.
- They can be more active at night!
Overall, owning a gecko is very exciting! If you can financially take care of this lizard and like daily care and interaction, gecko is an amazing docile lizard to keep!
Read full care guides on leopard geckos on this page.
Read full care guides on crested geckos on this page.
Pros and cons of having an iguana as a pet
Iguanas are beautiful, we know that. But they are certainly not for beginners. Let’s discuss why:
Pros:
- They are very intelligent and can be even toilet trained!
- Iguana will live a long life – 15 to 20 or even more years!
- Iguanas are curious and have fun personalities.
- They are quiet and can love other animals that you may have.
- Iguanas are herbivorous, so you can only feed it salads and fruits. No need to buy and feed it rodents.
- They are not too active and are not nocturnal.
- You can even take your iguana outside for a walk and basking, even on a leash!
Cons:
- They can bite and accidentally cut your skin quite deeply as they have long claws and sharp teeth.
- Iguanas need a lot of space and big tanks. They will probably occupy half of your room.
- Iguanas are very large lizards, with average size of 5 to 6 feet (150-180cm)!
- They require a high maintenance, with diets, supplements and terrarium.
- Even though they can live with children, they shouldn’t handle iguanas because of sharp teeth and claws.
- You need to find a veterinarian in your state that can care for your iguana, as you will have to get it checked occasionally.
- Not good for people who plan to leave for other commitments (such as studies etc.) as you will need to care for it for around 15-20 years.
- They can become aggressive from time to time, especially during breeding period.
Read care sheets for iguana on this page.
Pros and cons of owning a chameleon:
Pros:
- They are fascinating to watch, and they change colors.
- Chameleons don’t need much attention, so they are suitable for people that are often busy.
- They are quiet and don’t need too much space.
Cons:
- They will easily get stressed if held for too long. You shouldn’t handle them often unless it is required.
- Chameleons need a mixed diet of live food and vegetables.
- They are low energy pets.
With chameleons, everything depends on your needs. If you need a pet that doesn’t need too much attention and time, chameleon is for you. You will enjoy chameleon’s presence and watching it, with no touching or handling except when cleaning.
Pros and cons of owning a blue tongue skink
Pros:
- They are friendly and easygoing
- Blue tongue skins are quite large (around 20 inches) and can be handled well
- Very easy to feed them – they can eat vegetables, eggs, fruits, canned food – you get it!
- They are fine with you holding them for long periods of time
- You take your blue tongue skink for a long and potty train it!
- They bond with you and recognize you
Cons:
- They are not too active (can be a positive thing for some owners)
- Can be picky eaters
- Poo and pee quite a lot in a day, so you will have to clean their space more often
- Hard to find a good breeder
- Hard to differentiate males from females
Pros and cons of having a monitor lizard
Pros:
- Monitor lizards are very intelligent.
- They like being amongst people and living alone in their terrariums.
- They look gorgeous.
- Live a long life – most of them live 10 or more years
Cons:
- Not good for beginners as you need to be careful when handing them. Monitors have sharp claws and teeth and can bite
- Can become aggressive, so monitors are not suitable for children
- You need to build a secure terrarium as they can escape easily
- They can kill and bite other small animals, so you can’t let it out if you have other pets
- As they grow bigger, they need to be fed more food
- Monitors can carry infectious parasites, so you will need to treat them. They are mostly wild-caught.
- Monitors usually grow big and need a huge terrarium to live in.