A question of smell.

[reptilecool]

Hello all, just out of curiosity which lizard emits minimum odor and has the least offensive stink. I live in a shared unit with others and am a little worried that if the smell is too strong, I might be evicted from the apartment that scorpions and leaf insects don't stink and some of the geckos too. At least not bad enough to be a real problem. I am able to clean the vivarium/cage as regularly as possible and am open to any advice given.

I'd perfer something that's more placid and easier to handle but can take something that's not either. It's a pity because I heard Beardies and Skinks smell very bad, they were what I originally had in mind. Do I have to stick to geckos? Or are there larger alternatives? How do they compare in tameness? Will a Gillen's do?

Thanks.

 

[reptileKev81]

I've got a beardie and there is no stink at all. As long as you clean the waste products in a timely fashion you won't have any smell problems.
My beardie is also quite placid, easy to handle and easy to care for IMO.
Can't comment on any others as I have only kept beardies so far.

Cheers
Kev

 

[sookie]

You need a beardie in your life,and the only time squish smells is when he drops a freshly lit candle,either on my lap,or he sneaks one off on the kitchen table.....now that will clear a room out.thats the only time tho.

 

[bigi]

the smaller the animal the less poop,therefor get some form of ctephorus, say a central netted
less poop, less smell, simple

 

[-Katana-]

I have BTL's and I found that if I feed them egg their poop absolutely reeks so I avoid that.
Now I feed them a preservative free beef loaf style dog food, shredded greens and grated hard veges and they smell much, much better.
Enclosures are spot cleaned as soon as feces are noticed.
If your husbandry practices are lax then any animal will stink.

 

[reptilecool]

Thanks for the answer and tips. I was asking because I heard people saying skinks smell no matter what you did, and that a beardie stank more than any monitor. In your opinion, rank which lizard is the least intrusive provided you clean their cages daily.

Blue tongue (All types)
Shingleback
Bearded dragon
Geckos (Milli)
Geckos (Amyae)
Geckos (Ring tailed)
Frilled lizard
Gillens Monitor
Ackies
Merten's
Lacie
Spencer Monitor
Land Mullet
Cunningham's Skink

 

[SYNeR]

My two (pygmy) bearded dragons don't smell. However, the tank smells heaps gross and the room stinks
if their tank is not cleaned quickly enough (as already noted).

I'm usually pretty good with the cleaning, however sometimes they'll eat in the morning and by
the time I get home from work, they've pooped and walked all through it. The key is to clean
it as quickly as possible. The heat in the tank definitely doesn't help matters, either.

 

[Chris1]

none of my beardies smell cos they all poo in their daily bath,...the shingles mostly poo in their bath too, but theyre not as good with that as the beardies.

i was having smelly probs with the shingles till i started using ozpet, now they mostly use the ozpet section for toileting and there is no smell at all,...

they dont get alot of meat though, they reeked horribly when they ate dogfood at the start,....(they still get a small foil my dog tin shared between them monthly) but being so rare it doesnt seem to affect the smell,...

beardies can absolutely stink tho, i babysat 1 at the beginning of the year and my eyes would water when i walked thru the front door he smelt so feral, by his last week he was toilet trained and i was really starting to enjoy him, and then he got picked up! doh!!

if i hadnt had him i would grade the shingles as stinkiest, but he out did even them!!

fresh amyae nuggets are awful too, at least they all poo in one corner tho and never spread it around, so its a 2 second job to clean the amyae enclosure.

cant comment on the others,....

 

[reptilecool]

none of my beardies smell cos they all poo in their daily bath,...the shingles mostly poo in their bath too, but theyre not as good with that as the beardies.

i was having smelly probs with the shingles till i started using ozpet, now they mostly use the ozpet section for toileting and there is no smell at all,...

they dont get alot of meat though, they reeked horribly when they ate dogfood at the start,....(they still get a small foil my dog tin shared between them monthly) but being so rare it doesnt seem to affect the smell,...

beardies can absolutely stink tho, i babysat 1 at the beginning of the year and my eyes would water when i walked thru the front door he smelt so feral, by his last week he was toilet trained and i was really starting to enjoy him, and then he got picked up! doh!!

if i hadnt had him i would grade the shingles as stinkiest, but he out did even them!!

fresh amyae nuggets are awful too, at least they all poo in one corner tho and never spread it around, so its a 2 second job to clean the amyae enclosure.

cant comment on the others,....

My two (pygmy) bearded dragons don't smell. However, the tank smells heaps gross and the room stinks
if their tank is not cleaned quickly enough (as already noted).

I'm usually pretty good with the cleaning, however sometimes they'll eat in the morning and by
the time I get home from work, they've pooped and walked all through it. The key is to clean
it as quickly as possible. The heat in the tank definitely doesn't help matters, either.

Thanks both of you for your help. From what I can see, beardies are wonderful, but smellier than skinks. I really liked their looks too. Geckos are easiest to clean, but can't tame down and have a short life span. Bluetongues smell not as bad as shinglebacks. And monitors generally don't stink up a room as much as other lizards of similar size. And there's always solutions to help prevent stink. Thanks, I think either a beardie or shingleback/bluetongue is ideal. Unless the monitors are better.

 

[Chris1]

i read somewhere that amyae have a 30+ year lifespan,...not short by any means,...!! (i hope thats right, i'll be devastated if mine dont make it to 30!!)

from what ive read monitors arent as awesome for handling as beardies and shingles/blueys, but more active and interesting to watch, so whats better depends on if ur a hands on person or happy to watch,...

 

[pythonmum]

A lot of the smell has to do with your husbandry. Chris's lizards don't smell at all, but she keeps them very clean and has the beardies trained to poo in a morning bath. Another friend of mine keeps beardies in enclosures which don't get the substrate replaced - just spot cleaned. They stink. I'm very big on cleaning up right away.

 

[Sock Puppet]

My bluies smell pretty bad. I keep them on newspaper so I can change it easily, cheaply, & frequently.
I can clean them in the morning, & by the time I get home from work, the room smell of bluey poo, & I'm changing them again.

My amyae don't smell at all, kept on sand & spot cleaned as required (I just use one of those mini trowels with holes in the scoop that are sold for hermit crabs, very handy).

 

[nathancl]

my housemate winges about a smell all the time. i dont care she knew what she was getting in to when she moved in so screw her.

 

[Chris1]

seriously Sock Puppet, try Oz Pet litter, you'll love it, i promise!!

 

[Sock Puppet]

seriously Sock Puppet, try Oz Pet litter, you'll love it, i promise!!

Actually I'll be moving them outside. Was going to do it before this winter, but I'll keep them inside now until around Sept, then move them out. The newspaper is fine til then, it's quick & easy to change, which is good considering the frequency of their dumpage haha.

 

[Chris1]

hehe, fair enough, outside is def a better solution!

 

[SYNeR]

Sorry, I should have mentioned in my original post that I don't use a proper subtrate.
I use linoleum. This would make a BIG difference. I'm sure the smell would be much reduced
if you used an absorbant substrate.

 

[LippyM]

I've been experimenting and I reckon male skinks (bluetongues and shinglebacks) have worse defecation smell than females, and I think it's the wee that smells, not the faeces because it's the wee that will soak into substrate, crakcks, get on cage furniture etc. By the time you get home from work/school etc it's dried and evaporated and all you're left with is the turd and so it's an assumption that that is what smells.

When my females defecate I can hardly smell the wee at all, but in the males it's a strong odour that if left (baking under a heat lamp!) you'll know it ! My males also tend to crap more frequently, smaller in quantity but more than once a day, but my females will just drop a nugget every couple of days (depending on feeding frequency).

I'm beginning to think it might be a good way to sex skinks! If you've got confirmed girls and boy skinks I'd love to know if anyone has found the same result.

Diet will also play a big part. As mentioned earlier, a diet high in protein or meat, or eggs can produce not only smelly but also softer crap that tends to seep into cracks.

At the end of the day, it's a waste product so it's gonna smell! But there are plenty of substrates, plus a good diet and a well ventilated area and it can be negligable. If my animals had odour issues I'd know every time my Mum walked into my house because she's not one to hide noticing such things!