The dimensions you gave for the iguana....are you talking in feet..meters.....??? They sound really big...My friend has one about 1 and 1/2 ft long that spends a lot of time sitting on a branch...I would be leary to get something that when full grown could have one of us to snack on. The one that got you...was that full grown.. I need a much smaller lizard...maybe an iguana wouldn't be such a good idea. Do they have a problem being alone all day ?? If I can't give it a good home...then I wouldn't have one. I would be interested in something that when full grown would be no longer than 2 ft. Does anything sound like that ?? Thanks so much for the information...cause I was just gonna surprise my son with it...but I need something we can watch grow and something as child proof as possible...am I looking for the wrong house pet ???
those dimensions are in feet and would be a minimum for a single animal. The adults are between 5-7ft long (half is tail) and the lizards are arboreal so need to climb so the tank needs to be significant in size.
1 and 1/2 foot is a juvenile by the age of 3 years it will be matured and significantly larger than this. Good homes are easy to provide for reptiles if the basic needs are met they're fine, with snakes it's typically easier to keep but lizards are just as rewarding and more personable.
ok there are a good number of fantastic species i reccommend to you but i'm going to give you animals up to 4 foot long because that's still a manageable size and a lot of great pets are 3 foot long:
* Leopard Geckos are the perenial favourite they average between 6 and 8 inches in length, very friendly however they are nocturnal and it's not very good practise to keep waking it up for handling as you may imagine.
* Bearded Dragons are a 2ft species from Australia, they are manageable and cheap in captivity they are diurnal so they will be awake when you are.
* Chinese Water Dragons these guys are a little like the iguana but stay at 3ft long so the enclousure is smaller they're diurnal too and i've kept a handfull of these guys for a very long time.
* Savannah Monitor also called Bosc Monitors, these guys are a little bigger typically reaching 4ft in length they can quickly become tame when bought as babies, they're among the smartest of animals out there capable of distinguishing concequences, puzzles and can count upto 6 these are also diurnal.
It depends what you want in a pet, they're cool little animals, they can be handled and they sure do grow, but if you want something to do tricks you may be looking for a dog and the larger monitors can enjoy cuddles-the black throat at work actively hugs first but the key word is large in that sentence.
I get the impression lizards are more what you're chasing than a snake, in many respects they are better pets because they seem to hold intelligence and have very unique personalities
child proofing for reptiles is quite easy i have several snakes capable of killing a human child, i still allow my 7 year old cousin in and my 3 year old sister. The reason is fairly simple, all my tanks have at least one lock on the doors-even for the non dangerous ones (they've handled my large pythons and things as delicate as my chameleon but that's supervised) just to make sure little over eagre hands don't do something by mistake.
lizards and indeed reptiles have no problem being home all day it's a good thing since it allows them some time to chill out and recharge before you all get home and the excitement of handling takes place. They're pretty fond of being let out of the vivarium but they won't be overly bothered and there's no negative effects if they aren't, my chameleon and male water dragon almost never come out and they're fine with that.
