How to Care for an Emerald Swift

The emerald swift is a generally docile small lizard which may be a good starter lizard for those interested in herpetology. The emerald swift is not a lizard to be handled regularly which also means they need less from the owner and may be good for beginners. Owning an emerald swift can be rewarding if you can provide for them properly.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Enclosure with locking screen lid
• Substrate
• Heat lamp
• Thermometer
• Full spectrum lighting
• Water dish
• Spray bottle
• Terrarium plants
• Reptile vitamin and mineral supplement

1. Purchase a 30 gallon glass terrarium and a locking screen lid for it as well. Also purchase enough substrate to cover the bottom of the cage two or three inches deep.

2. Place the aquarium where you want it and then add the substrate to the cage.

3. Attach a heat lamp to one end of the terrarium to maintain a 95 degree Fahrenheit basking area. Maintain about an 80 degree temperature during the day and 70 degrees during the night in the rest of the cage.

4. Provide full spectrum lighting for your emerald swift to help it synthesize calcium and other minerals correctly.

5. Put a water dish on the bottom of the cage that is large enough for the lizard to fully submerge his body. Fill it with non-chlorinated water and keep it full at all times.

6. Mist the cage on a daily basis to keep the humidity level an average of 60 percent.

7. Add plenty of plants and branches inside the cage to provide hiding and climbing spots for your lizard.

8. Feed your pet feeder insects like crickets, wax worms, meal worms or butter worms from your local pet store. Dust the insects with a reptile vitamin and mineral supplement before feeding them to your lizard.

9. Clean your terrarium thoroughly once a week. Change the substrate and scrub everything inside the tank with a dilute (three percent) bleach mixture. Rinse everything until you can no longer smell bleach.

Tips & Warnings

• Soil, mulch and bark make good substrates for the emerald swift. Soil however is a bit harder to clean than the mulch or bark. The main point is to get a substrate which helps retain humidity; it is also good to allow the swifts to burrow in.

• Turn the lights off on a consistent daily schedule to simulate night and day for your emerald swift.

• Avoid using gravel or pebbles as a substrate as they can be ingested which will injure or kill your swift.

• Never grab your lizard by the tail, it may pull right off!

• Remove your lizard from the cage when cleaning it as the bleach fumes can be toxic.