Dragons, Geckos or Turtles???

[junglejane]

Hi,
I've been thinking about Xmas and because i have a unused 2ft tank i might get the kids (2 and 5) either some dragons, geckos or turtles. My mother has 2 penny turtles and my 2 yo loves them!! What do others reccommend? I dunno about dragons coz they can give a nasty bite, but what species of dragons, geckos or turtle would be good for kids?? Thanks
Jane

[cyclamen]

bearded dragons and blue tongues make the best pets for children. my daughter has them and she is 5 . my beardie is now a adult same age as my daughter and she has him out all the time. i have lots of lizards and none have ever bitten or tried to bite her or us. i would say either blue tongue or beardie as at least they can hold them but u will need a bigger tank as they get bigger.
turtles are good, i have one. but he gets bigger and evry 6 months i have to put him in a bigger tank
geckos are lovely. but are in my opinion (and i dont want to offend) boring. they dont do too much. so theres somthing to think about

[Auzlizardking]

Blue tongue

[junglepython2]

If they want to handle them don't get gecko's, but otherwise they are great. Beardies are good but might be a bit big for a 2foot tank. Never kept turtles so maybe someone else can help you out there.

[junglejane]

I've heard beardies are good for kids but i didn't know how aggressive they are, thats the main thing i'm worried about with them. I think i might go penny turtles for the tank...coz i do have space under my snake tank for beardies.....hehehe........maybe they'll end up spoilt and get both yet......i think beardies would be fun and you can get some awesome colours....

[Magpie]

2' is a bit small for dragons or turtles - despite what your mother has been told, there is no such thing as penny turtles and they will grow quite large.
Geckos are usually only active at night, the best ones for day time viewing require a very secure tank. Not great for kids.
Blueys or Beardies are really best for kids, but you'd have to look at getting a bigger tank in 3-6 months.

[cyclamen]

magpie, i always thought penny turtles was just a myth as well. they do get huge. my turtle is a murray river and i was told his shell will get the size of a dinner plate.
go the blueys or beardies.

[junglejane]

Fair Dinkum!! No such thing as pennt turtles!!! We used to get them as kids out of this dam in Cobar, it was full of them, they seemed like they never grew, must just take a long time. Well there you go. Magpie you've been very helpful today, ta mate. How big do beardies grow i thought they got to around 30cm. Is it better to have more than 1 at a time?

[cyclamen]

i have 1 beardie. but he lives with a shingleback and 2 blue tongues.
if u get beardies or bluetongues, try adn get two. honestly, my 5 year old has them out all the time and they are great with her.
dont forget about shinglebacks they are just as gorgeous and well behaved

[junglejane]

Oh cool you got a girly princess girl too by the looks and she looks pretty happy cuddling up to your beardie!!! My 5 yo is a girly girl and my 2yo is a monster child who loves everything gross and disgusting. I'm leaning towards beardies or turtles, but turtles are pretty boring too, they are cute but they don't do much. Beardies have a fair bit of character, we get bogeyes everywhere here, we usually keep them in the yard to keep snakes away, but they are generally pretty placid, bogeyes are too common here to want one for a pet...

[cris]

I cant think of anything suitable that can be kept in a 2' tank as an adult.

If your kids are going to be handling it you should get a slow animal like a blue tounge or bearded dragon species. Central beardies(pogona vitticeps) get up to about half a meter with about half of that being the tail. Bluetounges also get to about the same overall length but they have shorter tails and are more heavily built.

It is also important to teach your kids that the reptiles generally dont like being handled and that they can get sick and die if they are stressed out from too much handling.

[cyclamen]

beardies are great. i am on the lookout for another soon. but ours is 5. even when it was tiny when i first got him as a baby he never ever tried to bite me. as long as you handle them every day for even just a few minutes they turn into the best of best. i can take my beardie outside and sit him in the sun and he his happy to roam. and he never tries to run off. but i sit with him constantly incase birds look at him for a feed. but they are gorgeous, and they have heaps and heaps of character.

[cyclamen]

my reptiles are handled quite a lot and dont get sick or stressed. i think it comes down to there enviroment. if they live in a happy and healthy enviroment they make happy and healthy pets.

[junglejane]

I plan on having rules and they know not to touch lizards and snakes when out in the bush, I would help them look after it of course but they would have jobs that need to be done evry couple of days. If i got a dragon i would obviously have to upsize the tank when they're older, but how long from a hatchie would they live inn the 2ft tank? I have a 6ft tank but OH want a tropical fish tank setup :-(

[junglejane]

I would think they would get stressed depending on what they are used to, if you have something that has been handled regularly from hatching it would stress out not getting handled and vice versa......I spose it just comes down to keeping an eye on your animals and see how they handle things...