Christmas Stocking Stuffer Gifts for Lizards and Their Owners

In addition to hanging up stockings for our aquarium fish, we also used to set out Christmas stocking for our youngest son's pet lizards. How did we start this silly tradition? When our boys were still quite small, they used to grumble how Santa forgot their beloved pets at Christmas. We added a few last minute Christmas stockings and made a midnight run to the local pet store for tiny animal gifts.

Over the years, we've continued the tradition by hanging those tiny stockings and filling them with gifts suitable for a family pet and its human owner. The gifts we chose for our family pets weren't anything fancy, but a collection of odds & ends we thought that both the children and their pets might enjoy.

Lizards can be a bit tricky to shop for since they really don't need much in the way of supplies. For our son however, there were a number of things we knew he would enjoy seeing in his lizard's Christmas stocking.

Reptile toys

All caged animals need activities to keep them happy and healthy. While lizards don't exactly "play," they do enjoy hanging out on platforms and warm rocks. An electric warming rock is a great cage accessory, along with ropes to climb, suspended slings, and instant landscapes. Most reptile cage accessories range in price from $3 to $20, and are readily available at all pet stores.

Pocket lizard care guide

Everyone can benefit from brushing up on small animal care. Both book stores and pet stores sell affordable priced small pocket guides with useful information about lizard feeding and care. Our gift pick? Lizard Care from A to Z by Richard Bartlett is full of excellent information with descriptions of the many different species.

Lizard fiction books

If your child enjoys reading, include a few books from the wildly funny, Chet Gecko Mystery series by Bruce Hale. The tales of this hardboiled lizard detective will have adults and children alike laughing at the silly puns, funny similes, and snappy dialog. The Chet Gecko paperbacks are available for $4.95.

Pet store gift card

Buying all those crickets for the family lizard can get pretty expensive. A gift card to a favorite pet store is a wonderful stocking stuffer for reptiles and their human owners.

Stuffed plush

Lizards aren't cute and cuddly, but plush lizard toys are. The Fiestaware company produces a 15" frilled lizard that is totally realistic. This plush animal is available for $17.99.

Godzilla on DVD

Godzilla was the biggest, scariest lizard of all time, and the longest running movie series in history. While the modern remakes are pretty cool, the old black and whites from the 1950s are hilarious fun for the entire family. The Showa series from 1954-1975 includes 28 classic episodes that your children are sure to enjoy.

During the mad rush of the holidays, even the most well intentioned families often forget to give their pets the attention these animals may have come to expect. While it may indeed be silly to buy a Christmas stocking stuffer for a lizard, including your family pet in the festivities is a fun way to rekindle the excitement of responsible pet ownership.