Worst beginner reptiles you've ever heard of?

[bold sun]

Years ago I used to see Chinese water dragons marketed as beginner reptiles. They were dirt cheap too. I don’t think i need to detail why so many perish.

[late turret]

Worth mentioning that a lot are wc

[toxic river]

Axolotl, I remember them being advertised as good “classroom pets” for a little while

[bold sun]

Exactly the point. Mine was luckily CB, but even then it needs a lot of space and I had to compensate with a bunch of water bowls. After surrendering mine for a move i promised to never have one again.

[late turret]

The point with CWDs really should be that they are terrible "beginner" reptiles. wc or cbb is still an animal with large space requirements, three different components to keeping (water, arboreal, land) plus unique lighting and heat. Being wc is only part of the struggle.

Not for beginners. Really needs a commitment. Great animals, though.

[bold sun]

Oh yeah, I loved mine. He had a enclosure a little higher than a 4x2x2 but it was before the days of zen ect. But anoles get the worst treatment by far.

The only anoles I’ve heard of going to vets were at my college’s anthrozoology lab.

And they were green anoles

They are very under appreciated and thrown in as first pets way too often

[flint sierra]

they are sold a lot at my fish store they are in 2 gallon tanks in there in groups when they should be one per like 55g and better a 75g they arent even with chillers and its rrly bad cause they need cold temp, a axolotl setup costs as much as a 40gallon tank with coral

[toxic river]

1/ that store makes me sad 2/ every time I read about axolotl water requirements it stresses me out, that’s why I don’t understand how they were ever advertised as a classroom or beginner pet

[flint sierra]

the water requirements arent that bad but like no one should keep them in the first tank and a chiller will cost like 500$

[toxic river]

Oh definitely not the first tank. And they aren’t the worst water requirements I’ve read, but for me they’re too much right now, plus I don’t keep like anything aquatic so not something I want to throw myself into lol

[timber hearth]

Not so much of a reptile but an exotic. Tarantulas, especially when recommend to young children! They can be incredibly daunting due to how delicate they actually are.

Set up size, lighting and heating wise they are an amazing first exotic... But
I always recommend African snails and millipedes to young children for a first exotic before taking the next step of a tarantula

[flint sierra]

Tarantulas are hella easy, milipedes always die, I Got a T when I was a kid nów I have a room full of them and breed em

[timber hearth]

oh awesome! i have them as well! i just always fount millipedes easier over Ts but its cool to hear your experience with them!

[flint sierra]

idk why milipedes always die under my care

[timber hearth]

we all have that one species we struggle to keep 😂 mine was mantis. i think ive figured it out now though lol

[flint sierra]

i did everything i was recomended for a pede and still no

[versed oak]

some species require heat, like bumblebees

[flint sierra]

Udk i always found em dead

[analog snow]

Bearded dragons. They are fairly easy to take care of but when i had one crickets were costing about $7 a week and the cage was ginormous was like $250

[jagged hinge]

All animals are pricey and if you are shying away from an enclosure cost then dont get an animal as vet cost are way more expensive

[flint sierra]

I mean, crickets arent good roaches are healthier and bread easily

[signal saffron]

Yellow anaconda

[patent tree]

Iguanas beardies chameleons

[glossy dirge]

water snakes. why.

[queen flax]

super dwarf retic

[undone snow]

Tokays. ☹️ Cannot believe that vendors will still push a newbie into getting one because they're cheap WC.

[near slate]

beardies

[unique portal]

Turtles

[unique portal]

I used to have one (wild caught baby) and only fed it wax worms when it should have had more nutritious things

[sudden sand]

Turtles, Savannah monitors, Green iguanas, Really any species of aquatic/semi aquatic reptile

[sand hatch]

Dart frogs-

[jagged hinge]

Whats wrong with dart frogs

[sand hatch]

Amphibians are bad starters in general

Too easy to kill

[jagged hinge]

Oh yeah i knew that

[alpine geyser]

Green Iguanas

[sterile sage]

Iguanas are amazing idk what u talking about 🙄jkjk

[glass tapir]

anacondas are the worst to start trust me i started with one

[jagged hinge]

I really hope this is a joke

[distant crescent]

Some people's first snakes are yellow anacondas

But yeah they aren't beginner reptiles by any means

[sterile sage]

Some people start with harder reptiles, you can't force them to start with a Leo or something. 🤷‍♀️my 5th(?) Reptile is a green iguana, few people can do well with a harder one, but definitely not the majority of people. But yeah alot of people just jump right in.

[mossy patrol]

its not a joke that many people start with harder animals xD

[jagged hinge]

Yeah i get that i started with one but an anaconda

[sand hatch]

Mhm my first reptile was a red slider..

My mom thought it was a land turtle and kept it in a 10 gallon on land..

We released it 3 days later at least

I was like 6-7 so I had like 0 play in it

[glass tapir]

i was joking

[glad meadow]

I always try and let people who want one know that they are “pet sooky rocks” beforehand

[cedar jungle]

Bearded dragons, iguanas, chameleons, axalotles these guys require a lot more care than most beginners are ready for.

[edgy quartz]

ball pythons for sure 😮‍💨 they are so picky about their husbandry and i see so many teens buying them or people that are just not prepared for how difficult they can be.

[sand hatch]

Ehh beeps are definitely not the worst starter but definitely not the best

[distant crescent]

Worst reptiles you've heard people advertise as a "beginner species."

[late turret]

Plains hognose
It's debated on if these North American colubrids benefit from UV. Like rat snakes, they probably do but no research has been done. They are poop rockets and have care guides that vary all over the place.
And then there's the hunger strikes where they only want to eat hand. Pair that with rear fanged venomous that you can develop a hypersensitivity to... Probably not the best start. Don't make me talk about crypto.

Honorable mention to the Jeweled Lacerta which is an amaaaaaaazing pet but they're fast, bite very hard, and absolutely need tropical UV with a varied diet.

[soft veldt]

european legless lizard.
just why? its native here in croatia but its so little known about them, no products just for them and you just cant find care guids for them. they aslo eat baby snakes witch is just wild and expensive. not a great pet for master keepers after all

[dusty cosmos]

Bearded dragons you can do them it’s just a lot more than most people are prepared for with how much space and general upkeep care they need I would never really advertise them as beginner pets after owning one

[mossy patrol]

Iguanas

[crimson escarp]

Chinese water dragons, iguanas, and most turtles in general

[pliant spear]

• Bearded Dragons. They need large enclosures, high temps, decent UVB, insects and fresh greens (which can be expensive for an animal of that size)
• Ball Pythons. Again, large enclosure size, picky eaters, and overall they don’t tend to move as much (and thus I have ended up with too many rescues because the snake “was too boring”)

[soft veldt]

u look dumb

[flint sierra]

burms and savannah monitors

[bleak cliff]

Any really big snakes or lizards
Beeps and beardies (not as bad but i wouldnt say the best beginners)
Chameleons
turtles

[versed oak]

turtles and tortoises. even i, a person who is generally educated with herps, would say i’m under qualified. doesn’t help that they’re probably the most irresponsibly sold animal available on the market

[glad meadow]

Crocodile monitor, King cobra, Parson’s chameleon, Green tree monitor, anaconda, snapping turtle, any large reptile that requires a large filtered water feature

[glad meadow]

I seen people fuck up really badly with Chinese Water Dragons though

[flint sierra]

Who tf says chameleons are For begginers

[bleak cliff]

Ive seen a few people say 😭
Definitely not tho

[flint sierra]

None of those are considered beggibers

[bleak cliff]

Not good beginners i mean

[flint sierra]

Chameleons are the only animal My pet store isnt begginer friendly

Thats serious then

They didnt put that on retics

[glad meadow]

Ohhh that’s what you mean

[full cape]

Iguanas

Literally just saw someone saying they’re easier than skinks, that’s enough Reddit for 1 day.

[jagged hinge]

U look dumb

[late turret]

Don't clutter up the forums.
Zip it. 🤐
Zip.

[analog root]

ball pythons

[pliant spear]

Retics or savannah monitors

[glad meadow]

someone i was talking with said that a nile monitor is good so probably that one

[flint sierra]

no one says retics are for begginers but savannahs are considered and they arent good pets for begginers at all

[pliant spear]

Around here the super dwarfs are marketed as beginner snakes by one of the pet stores nearby. Even super dwarfs shouldnt be beginner animals ngl

[woven rain]

Monitors