How to Care For Lizards

Lizards can make very interesting and even adorable pets, as long as they have the proper home sweet home. You can care for lizards with some general tips, but make sure to fill in the specifics based on the type of lizard you have.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Aquarium with locking screen top
• Light
• Hygrometer to measure humidity
• Water bowl
• Lizard food

1. Get the proper home. Lizards should be kept in a glass aquarium with locking top, have lighting for warmth and sunlight simulation and a shallow water bowl that gets cleaned and filled daily.

2. Give him a suitable climate. Tropical lizards are going to need a very humid tank whereas desert lizards will need a drier environment. Get a hygrometer to measure the tank’s humidity and control it by adding or removing moist plant life and other damp objects.

3. Choose décor that consists of a bottom filled with moss or/or wood chips, branches, moss, rocks and other things on which the lizard can bask or climb.

4. Figure out your lizard type to determine what he eats. Small lizards eat insects and will thrive on a regular diet of crickets and meal worms a couple times each week. Some lizards will also eat fruit chunks and leafy veggies. Larger and certain types of lizards will eat baby mice and other small mammals.

5. Keep his house clean. Remove debris and lizard waste daily and scrub down his entire habitat, after removing everything, about twice a month.

Tips & Warnings

• Before you buy any tank setup, determine the type of lizard you have or want to have and choose items accordingly.
• You may have to trim a lizard’s claws if they don’t get worn down in captivity. Do this with a small pair of dog nail clippers, making sure to cut only the tips where no blood vessels flow.