Friendliest Lizards You Can Own – The Ultimate Guide

Lizards are cold blooded animals, but can they make friendly pets? Yes! We have put together a list of the friendliest lizards you can own.

Many people are attracted to the reptile world and want to own a beautiful lizard. However, just because you like cold-blooded reptiles, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t want a friendly lizard that likes to be picked up and enjoys human interaction.

Or you might be picking a friendly lizard for your kid. As your kid will also be at a beginner level, the ideal lizard is not only friendly but also easy to care for.

As we all know, children like to interact with their pets. Therefore, you’d want to pick one of the friendliest lizards you can find for your child.

In this article, we have put together a list of the friendliest lizards along with the following information on each lizard:

  • Physical characteristics
  • Diet
  • Temperament
  • Lifespan
  • Cost
  • Negatives

Bearded Dragon

Friendliest Lizards

Bearded Dragons are one of the most popular lizards. These beautiful animals are also known as “beardies”.

The part of the name “bearded” comes from the lizard’s ability to flare out the excess skin on their throat when it feels threatened or territorial.

Physical Characteristics

Normally, the Bearded Dragon come in colors ranging from a mix of green, yellow, tan and red. However, if you’re after a Bearded Dragon that’s in one solid color, you need to look for selective breeders.

In addition to the colors mentioned above, there are also rare white Bearded Dragons. These lizards are completely lack patterns and colors and are very beautiful.

Size

The male Bearded Dragon can grow up to 21 to 24 inches in length.

On the other hand, the female Bearded Dragon grows up to 16 to 19 inches in length.

Diet

Bearded Dragons are omnivorous. Furthermore, their diet consists of a variety of fruits and insects.

In captivity, they should be fed at least once a day and also need a calcium supplement.

Temperament

The Bearded Dragon’s personality is gentle, friendly and curious. These lizards are well-known for being friendly and enjoy being handled.

Although, the Bearded Dragon is a good choice for anyone, it’s especially suitable for beginners and older kids.

Lifespan

They have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, or even longer.

Cost

Baby beardies typically sell from around $25 to $65. However, older Bearded Dragons sell for up to $100, and more.

Negatives

Unfortunately, the Bearded Dragon can be prone to various health problems.

When caught in the wild, it’s not uncommon for these lizard to carry diseases. This will not only reduce their life expectancy but some diseases can be transferred to humans.

One of those diseases is salmonella bacteria. This disease is found in their feces. When handling the lizard, even the smallest trace of it could be ingested by accident and result in the transfer the salmonella bacteria to humans.

Argentine Black and White Tegu

Friendliest Lizards

The Argentine Black and White Tegu is also known as the Argentine Giant.

Physical Characteristics

Normally, The Argentine Black and White Tegu are black and white in color.

Size

The Argentine Giant can grow up to 4.5 feet long and weigh 20 pounds.

Diet

Argentine Black & White Tegus are omnivores. Their diet consist of insects – including crickets, mealworms, and waxworms. In addition to that they need high calcium fruits.

Temperament

The Tegus lizards are very intelligent and inquisitive. They make for great pets and are one of the friendliest lizards.

Although, the Argentine Giant is a large lizard, they accept handling quite willingly. However, it’s important that you start handling them from a young age, so they get comfortable with it.

These lizards are not only friendly but they’ve even been described as “dog-like” because of how they act towards their owners. Furthermore, they can be house trained and allowed to roam around the house as long as you don’t have any other pets.

Lifespan

In the wild the Argentine Black & White Tegu can live for 15 to 20 years. However, in captivity they can live even longer when provided with the appropriate care.

Cost

Because of their size and their uniqueness, these lizards can cost anything between $150 to $500.

Negatives

The lack of appropriate care, interaction and socialization can lead to aggression.

Blue-Tongued Skink

Friendliest Lizards

These lizards are also known as “blue-tongued lizards” or simply “blue-tongues”. In Australia, they are known as “blueys”.

Physical Characteristics

Usually, the coloring of the Blue Tongue Skink is white or cream colored body with wide brown bands. These lizards are distinctive thanks to their black markings around the eyes and blue tongue.

Size

The Blue Tongue Skink can grow up to 24 inches in length and weigh 0.6 to 1.12 pounds.

Diet

Blue Tongue Skinks are omnivores. Their diet is a variety of proteins and vegetables.

It’s important to note that when young, the skinks should have half of their diet from insects. On the other hand, as adults, they should have more vegetables and plants.

In captivity, this lizard should be fed every other day.

 Temperament

The Blue Tongue Skinks are one of the friendliest lizards. They are known for having a great personality. This lizard loves attention and gets attached to their owners.

In addition to that, they are also very calm, quiet and can’t climb. Therefore, if you allow them to roam around the house, your belongings are safe from being destroyed.

The Blue Tongue Skinks are a good choice for any level of experience and are also great with kids. This is thanks to their docile and slow nature.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of the Blue Tongue Skins is 15 to 20 years.

Cost

This unique lizard can cost anything between $150 to $250 depending on their size. However, rare species can cost more.

On the other hand, there are many adult Blue Tongue Skins that you can adopt for free. The reason that happens is because of their long lifespan and owners that couldn’t take care of them anymore.

Negatives

If you decide to get this lizard, you need to be able to provide them with a large terrarium. The Blue Tongue Skins will need a minimum of a 40 gallon tank.

Uromastyx (Spiny-Tailed Lizard)

The Uromastyx, also known as the Spiny-Tailed lizard, is a unique reptile that not too many people know about.

Physical Characteristics

The Spiny-Tailed lizard can come in various colors including red, orange, yellow, bright green, or a combination of these colors. However, the most common colors are dark brown to light brown or tan.

When it comes to their appearance, as many other reptiles, these lizards also change their color depending on the temperature. Therefore, this can be quite misleading when trying to establish their genuine coloring.

Size

The Spiny-Tailed lizard can grow anything from 14 inches to 30 inches in length depending on the species. In addition to that an adult Spiny-Tailed lizard weighs an average of only 1 pound (450 g)

Diet

The Spiny-Tailed lizard is entirely herbivorous. This means they eat mainly vegetables, including leafy greens. In addition to that they will also eat insects. However, when kept as pets, they should be fed insects only once a week.

Temperament

The Spiny-Tailed Lizard is known for having a great personality and being extremely intelligent. Furthermore, these lizards can recognize their owner.

The Spiny-Tailed lizard is included in this list as one of the friendliest lizards because they are perfect for beginners. Furthermore, if eased into handling from a young age, these lizards can become very tame pets.

Lifespan

The Spiny-Tailed lizard’s lifespan is anything between 15 to 20 years.

Cost

The cost of the Spiky-Tailed Lizard is $75 to $300. However, the price depends on the species.

Negatives

If you are thinking of getting a Spiny-Tailed lizard, one of the negatives is that they are not as easy to find as other more popular species such as bearded dragons and leopard geckos.

To get a hold of a Spiny-Tailed lizard, you will have to locate private breeders.

Another negative is that many of these lizards for sale might be caught in the wild. Therefore, it might take longer for the lizard to settle and it can have parasites.

Crested Gecko

The Crested gecko, also known as “eyelash gecko”, is a species of gecko found in southern New Caledonia.

Physical Characteristics

Crested gecko’s come in any of the following colors:

  • Very pale cream to almost black
  • Buckskin and olive to reds and yellows

Most people are after a Crested gecko with vibrant colors or high contrasts as these very unique looking.

Size

Crested Geckos are relatively small and can growing up to 8 inches in length, including 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) of tail length.

Diet

The Crested Gecko’s diet consists of plants, seeds and insects. In captivity, they should be fed 3 times a day.

Temperament

Crested Geckos are one of the friendlies lizards. They are very calm animals and are not aggressive towards their owner. This makes them easy to handle and good for beginners.

Lifespan

This gecko’s lifespan is 10 years or more when cared for properly.

Cost

The Crested Gecko can cost anything between $30 to $300.

Negatives

Crested geckos are more likely to drop the tail, and they don’t grow them back like some other lizards.

Final Thoughts

Getting a pet lizard is a big responsibility as most of them have a long lifespan, with some living up to 25 years. Therefore, before choosing your pet lizard, it’s important to research what are the their care requirements such as environment, diet, health, etc, so you can provide your reptile with a safe and happy home.

Another important thing that you need to research is the lizard’s personality. Many people are interested in keeping reptiles as pets. Although, cold-blooded creatures, many people still prefer their lizard to be friendly and to enjoy being held.

Lizards are not only for adults. They also make great pets for kids to look after. In these cases, parents are usually after the friendliest lizards they can find.

In this article, we have picked the top 5 friendliest lizards that will make a great pet for anyone!

  • Bearded Dragon is always a popular choice. These animals are beautiful, friendly and sociable
  • Argentine Black and White Tegu is a rarer choice for a pet. They are large in size and their personality is often described as “dog-like”. These lizards are friendly and allow being handled
  • Blue-Tongued Skink is a unique looking lizard. It’s most prominent feature is the long blue tongue. They are also known for being friendly and a good beginner lizard
  • Uromastyx (Spiny-Tailed Lizard) is also a less known lizard species to keep as a pet. However, the Spiny-Tailed Lizard make for a great beginner pet and can become very tamed
  • Crested Gecko is the perfect choice for anyone that is looking for a friendly lizard that is small in size. The Crested Gecko grows up to 8 inches in length, including 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) of tail length. They are very calm and easy to handle

If you want to learn more about what lizards make suitable pets click here 9 Types Of Lizard Pets: How To Pick The Perfect Pet

Whichever lizard you end up choosing, you must ensure you research how to care for them and be prepared to have them for 10 years or more as most of them have a long lifespan.

unusualpetsguide

My name is Iliyana and I'm a passionate animal lover and pet owner. As there is significantly less information online about unusual and exotic pets, I decided to found this website and recruit expert writers to help pet owners.

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