Large lizard

[coura]

i would stay away from the green iguana. It is a vegetarian which means it will need to eat basically every day and it will crap every day....which isn't that big of deal when it is small but a 6 footer will stink up the entire room. To keep it properly nourished you will end up making salads and spending a decent amount of money going to the supermarket to buy collard green, dandelion greens, etc....which rot in the fridge after a week and a half. They also need a massive cage when full grown. Few people are actually aware of the commitment it takes to rear a healthy green iguana to adulthood.
I would definitely go with a carnivorous lizard. They don't need to eat everyday...so less poop, the frozen rodents can be bought in bulk and stored for a very long time in the freezer and if you're going with the savannah monitor, which i think is a good choice, it won't require the cage size that the green iguana will eventually require.

Actually I think savannah monitors and green iguanas are closely matched, both are very large lizards with powerfull jaws, claws and tails, iguanas get larger but the average sav is more bulky then igs and also likes to roam more, so a bigger cage with alot of floor space is needed. Also I know of many people that dont mind going to the supermarket to get veggys or even growing them in pots, but not all people like having a freezer full of mice and dont forget also that savs do better and live longer on a more invertebrade oriented diet with the ocasional mice. And savs poo smells worse!

 

[coura]

most of the iguana species is going to work for you, you could also try a water dragon, they get very large but are fairly easy to tame...

All animals can bite and scratch, I agree on the water dragon, the ones I had many years ago were all big sweet hearths. The biggest pita with water dragons is that their water basin has to be kept sparkly clean and warm, otherwise they are prone to digestive and skin probs, but yea they are owesame lizards to keep.

 

[aidenb]

im actually leaning towards a savannah monitor. how people tolerant are they?

 

[latshki]

a healthy sav will never tame down as much as people say
they will hiss and tail whip even when "tame"
I would go with an aussie water dragon, i do believe they get bigger
also have you thought of argentine or blue tegus argentines can get more than 4ft but not by much and they usually tame down a lot, if you can get a blue tegu that would be your best option, they will be very tame and only get about 3ft

 

[bell3306]

what about an Uromastyx? They get a descent size and have some awesome colors. And like an iguana they are primarily herbavores.

 

[coura]

what about an Uromastyx? They get a descent size and have some awesome colors. And like an iguana they are primarily herbavores.

But they also need very hot basking temps.

 

[aidenb]

Not really a fan of uro's, they need to much heat to be handled very often, I like argentine tegus but I'd be looking at about $600 for a small one. I've worked with frilled dragons before and love them and there is a baby at one of the stores right now, my only concern is their lifespan, I've heard it's pretty short.

 

[coura]

Not really a fan of uro's, they need to much heat to be handled very often, I like argentine tegus but I'd be looking at about $600 for a small one. I've worked with frilled dragons before and love them and there is a baby at one of the stores right now, my only concern is their lifespan, I've heard it's pretty short.

No it isnt, if well kept they can live well into their teens or even more, but they dont like at all human interaction.

 

[aidenb]

i heard only 6 years, and if im paying 400 for it id like longer, but if its that long i think a frillie is what ill get, and we had an adult at work that loved people as well as two babies that put up with it

 

[latshki]

where on earth do you live that a tegu costs 600 bucks
I live in a canada too and they are only like 250