What about a blue-tonged skink? Those get pretty big but are easier to care for than a monitor or tegu. Captive bred individuals tend to be friendly too.
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She is actually very interested in a camiam lizard, if possible, could you tell me more about them. Food, cage size, temperament, temperature or humidity, cage items, etc.
You basically need a whole room for them complete with a pond for them to swim in and a safe source of snails, among other foods. Definitely wouldn’t recommend that for a kid. I would stick to beginner species first. Start small and go bigger later when she is older.
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Don’t caiman lizards need huge water receptacles though? Taking care of the food and such isn’t that hard, but water changes can be challenging
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The most difficult lizard I could recommend would be an ackie monitor. Intelligent, hardy so long as you provide the right care, get the extremely hot temps right, and don’t feed em too fatty a diet. They still need a huge enclosure for such a small lizard, but definitely the most reasonable monitor outside of the kings dwarf monitor or timor monitor. They need trust built with em slowly so patience will be needed.
Here is a starter video on them.
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You do not “need a whole room for them” nor does their water source need to be “huge”
Yes, they do need a large enclosure, and yes, they do need a sufficient water source. But I answered based on taking the OP at their word when they said that:
If that is really the case then my statement, word-for-word was a legitimate reply (emphasis added to illustrate the point):
Conditionality with regard to ability to provide for the size and the environment. Can I guarantee the OP and daughter will do the right level of research? No. But no one answering here can guarantee that for any of their suggestions either. So we are all in the same boat as far as culpability
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I have zero experience with caiman lizards short of some general conversation with a close friend that has one that they raised to adulthood. I will talk with them this evening when I get home and see if I can get them to jump in here and offer specifics. In very very general terms, you are looking at something that is a bit of a cross between a tegu and a water monitor.
As a bit of a primer, I would strongly advocate watching the below video from the MPR podcast, very specifically where Mike talks about his Mertens’ monitor set-up (starting around 1:24:30). Highlights are that he has them in a cage that is 2.44m wide x 1.83m tall x 1.22m deep with a 1135 litre water component
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We are looking in to ackies thanks to you, love the sound of them. She wants an animal that it will take time for them to trust her. Thank you so much! Looking for tanks and setup ideas. The video was very helpful! Looking for breeders too. Thanks!
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I spoke with my friend last night. Their advice was quite blunt (part of why I love them 
) - “For an 11-year-old? Hell NO!”
The large part of their reasoning (though not the only part) was the potential for harm to your daughter. The claws of caiman’s are razor sharp and, unlike monitors whose nails tend to blunt from scratching and walking on rough surfaces, they are more like cats in that their nails actually get sharper with use. They also have phenomenal crush power in their jaws from even a young age. My friend is an adult and they have permanent damage to their thumb from a bite they took when their caiman was still a youngin’
With those things in mind, I am inclined to agree that a caiman lizard is not suitable for a child.
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An alternative that did cross my mind would be a frilled lizard. A good sized adult is easily 1-1.5m and they are quite gregarious
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I actually found an inch credible breeder who I’ve been in contact with for a while that sells ackies and they gave me a sale on a female that they were selling. I have the entire enclosure and will be expecting them tomorrow.
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Yay she is beautiful, so happy for you guys
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Thank you!
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Nice! Enjoy!
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Great eater so far.
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