How to Care for a Lizard

Lizards can be fun pets. While most of the time they stay in their cage or aquarium they enjoy coming out to play as well. Lizards move very fast so it is a good idea to keep your lizard on a leash utilizing a lizard harness to prevent escape. Most lizards prefer a main diet of fresh vegetables and fruits prepared daily. About once a week, depending on breed, some enjoy meals of silkworms, mealworms, live crickets or pink mice. In the summer, most lizards enjoy eating fresh dandelions blooms, dandelion greens and red clover blooms. Dandelion greens are a good source of calcium and antioxidants.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lizard
• Cage or aquarium
• Fresh vegetables
• Sand or aspen bedding
• Feeding dishes
• Heat lamps
• Ultraviolet light
• Sunning rock
• Climbing sticks
• Calcium powder
• Vitamin powder
• Crickets(optional)
• Silkworms or mealworms(optional)
• Pinky mice(optional)

1. 
   Turn on heat lamps - Bearded dragons

   Turn on heat lamps and ultraviolet lights each morning and leave them on all day. Lizards are coldblooded animals and they need the sun to warm up and get active. There should be at least one heat lamp for every two lizards. Lizards need the ultraviolet light for vitamin D absorption just as humans do.

2. 
   Prepare fresh salad

   Prepare a fresh salad each morning for your lizards. Salads can consist of Romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, collard greens, small amounts of other assorted greens, chopped carrots, green beans, corn, freshly picked dandelions and red clover blooms. Sprinkle a little calcium and vitamin powder on top of the salad. Lizards also enjoy fruit occasionally, especially melons. Never use iceberg lettuce as it doesn’t contain enough nutrients. Also place a dish of dried food such as juvenile iguana or bearded dragon, even if this isn't your breed of lizard. They also enjoy dry birdseed to nibble on.

3. Scoop out the lizards’ droppings and any rotten vegetables from the habitat. You can use a scoop similar to the one you use to clean a cat’s litter box.

4. 
   Mali Uromastyx Lizard soaking

   Soak your lizards about once a month. You do not need to water your lizards they get moisture from the fresh vegetables and they absorb and drink water when you bathe them. Put a couple of inches of really warm water in a pan (hospital plastic tubs work well.) Place each lizard into the warm water. Some will stay for several minutes and others will jump out almost immediately.

5. 
   Trim toenails as needed

   Trim your lizards’ toenails if needed after soaking.

6. Change your bedding when needed. If you use newspaper, you may need to take off a layer each day. If you use play sand and you scoop out the droppings everyday, you may not need to change it for several months. Aspen bedding works well and is a bit easier to change but it is harder to scoop the droppings out of it. Therefore, you need to change aspen bedding about every month.

7. Soak the rocks, logs, tunnels, feeding dishes, and shelters in mild bleach water to disinfect them while you are cleaning out the habitat. You should also wipe down the inside of the cage with mild bleach water when you change the bedding.

8. Seek veterinary intervention if you notice worms in fresh feces, tail rot, or unexpected weight loss.

9. 
   Turn off lights at night - bearded dragons

   Turn off heat lamps and ultraviolet lights when you go to bed at night.

Tips & Warnings

• While adult lizards do not need to be watered, juveniles do. Keep a water dish in the cage.
• Juvenile lizards should be kept on newspaper and it should be changed daily.
• Juvenile lizards need additional calcium supplement and ultraviolet lighting.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling lizards or their accessories.
• You can get salmonella from lizards.

Resources

• Find Bearded Dragons
• Find Uromastyx
• Lizard rescue