A lizard as a pet is not so rare nowadays.
However, to choose a reptile, which is suitable for keeping in the apartment, and to equip his home properly is only a part of the care. For full growth and development, it is necessary to provide proper nutrition. But what is the lizard diet? After all, different types of lizards eat differently. Let’s deal with it.
What do lizards eat in nature?
Most of them are predators and feed on insects, worms, and small vertebrates.
- Lizards are larger sometimes hunting fish, can catch another lizard, amphibian, snake, bird, mammal.
- They also like to eat bird eggs.
- Sometimes, they sit on a voluntary diet, eating only vegetable food for a while.
Vegetable reptiles are much smaller than predators, and they are not “pure” vegetarians, as they periodically switch to a carnivorous diet.
Thus, most of these creatures can be considered omnivorous.
What kind of animal food can be used in domestic conditions?
This type of food should form the main part of the diet. You can use flies, moths, grasshoppers, locusts, rainworms. To prevent them from scattering over the terrarium, it is better to give them with tweezers.
- Flour worms are also useful (they must first crush their heads with tweezers).
- Some lizards do not squeal with May bugs. But in general, it is undesirable to feed the beetles, because their cover is too hard.
- Also not recommended as food cockroaches, as they are too fast.
- You can try to give American beetles by ripping off their legs beforehand.
If the lizard is large, then fit mice, small rats, and other rodents recently hatched chicks. It is not often possible to give small or sliced fish, nonfat raw meat without bones, birds eggs.
Experts also advise to feed the cottage cheese left in the trough, or decomposed on branches of plants and stones.
What kind of plant food can be used in domestic conditions?
This type of food is about a third of the total diet. You can treat yourself to it:
- Greens – salad, parsley, plantain, spinach, clover, dandelion, etc.
- Vegetables – cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, raw potatoes (rarely).
- Fruit – apples, pears, melons, grapes, citrus.
Here you can experimentally find out the pet’s preferences.
Nutritional mixture and supplements
It is possible to prepare a nutritious mixture, which is very popular with lizards. For this, you will need meat and carrots (1:1). The meat should be grinded on a meat grinder, and the carrots should be grated on a grater. Then mix it all, add little salad leaves, calcium, vitamin supplements. The nutrient mixture is ready.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for the health, bright appearance, vigor, and liveliness of lizards. They are not given in a pure form but must be mixed with food.
Most often use raw crushed eggshells, calcium glycerophosphate in tablets, chalk, and specialized preparations for reptiles.
How to feed and drink
It is better to use troughs of the Petri dish type, i.e. transparent and similar to low cylinders. They are very convenient to give vegetable food.
Animal food is given with tweezers or also put into the trough. Gastronomic novelties should be introduced gradually, gradually adding to the already familiar products, otherwise, they may be abandoned.
The frequency of feeding for young lizards is twice a day, and for adults – once. Food is given during the period of the highest activity of the pet day or night.
Malnourished food is removed from the terrarium. If a lizard refuses to eat, but it drinks and is active, there is no need to panic, so it relieves your body.
Drinking in the terrarium should be obligatory. It should take the most stable container so that the pet can not turn it over.
Water should be changed daily so that it is always fresh and clean.
Some lizards prefer to lick drops of water from plants, so they will have to be sprayed regularly.
What you should not feed the lizards
Of course, these are dishes from the human table, which lizards categorically do not fit.
- You should not be too fond of the flour worm, because in vitamin and mineral ratio it loses to other food.
- You should not give cockroaches caught in the apartment, on the site, etc., as they can be poisoned.
- Insects collected in the field are not a good idea either, because they may be filled with pesticides.
- Maggot is the easiest to find, but it cannot be given to reptiles categorically, because it has external digestion, and lizards are easily poisoned with it.
- Cabbage should not be given to herbivorous reptiles because it washes calcium out. Also, pets do not want to give non-seasonal fruit and vegetables, as these products often require a high duration of storage, so they are treated with various chemicals, to which the animal body can respond negatively.
It is necessary to be prepared for the fact that fixed food objects lizard will not eat, so the insects must be alive or half alive.
So, we looked at the general issues of captive lizard feeding. Now let’s take a short walk through the preferences of some individual species, which are most often kept at home.
Each species has its own food
A lizard in vivo eats small yeasts, spiders, grasshoppers, and insects. In captivity, it can be fed with flies, crickets, mosquitoes, spiders, cockroaches, flour and worms, a nutrient mixture of meat and carrots, fruit, and vegetable mixtures.
Chameleons are suitable as food for flies, cockroaches, crickets. Do not forget about vitamin supplements. There is a special dry food on sale, but it is better not to use it very often. You can periodically treat your pet to pieces of banana, citrus, grapes.
Geckos agree only on live food: spiders, crickets, flies, cockroaches, locusts, and others, as well as worms. Large animals can be fed mice and rats naked, as well as quail eggs. In the terrarium, be sure to put water and “bird stone” powder. Bananas, oranges, marmalade, and honey are delicacies for geckos.
Moloch (thorny dragon or thorny devil) is difficult to keep at home, but in zoos, it is found. This Australian lizard eats only ants and can eat them 600-2500 at a time!
Skinks can be given the same food insects as the above species, supplemented by snails, pink mice, caterpillars, squid, day-old chopped chickens, ready-made food mixes for reptiles, and even dry dog food. They will not give up on vegetables, fruits, seeds, buckwheat, rice. Occasionally, you can give liver beef and heart (chicken or beef).
Iguana is a herbivore, and it is very selective in food. In nature, it eats only the leaves of trees. In captivity, it can and should be given spinach, cabbage, turnip, broccoli, and other dark green leafy vegetables. The second half of the diet consists of other vegetables, such as carrots, peppers and potatoes sweet, peas, beans, and others. Alfalfa in the form of pellets is very useful (sold in the pet store). It is recommended to give fruit infrequently and little by little. Vitamin and mineral supplements are obligatory.
Monitor lizards. It is believed that they are unpretentious and eat with pleasure as fresh food for other lizards, as well as games with perfume. In captivity, they can be given frogs, mice, chickens, small vertebrates, insects, cockroaches, earthworms, fish, pieces of meat, chicken eggs, etc.
Agamid lizards prefer protein food at a young age, adults are more likely to eat plant food. These curious lizards can be given dolls and Hawkman larvae, flour worms, bought in the pet store crickets, and cockroaches. From the vegetable, agamid lizards can offer leaf salad, pumpkin, cucumbers, and other vegetables from the list of permitted products.
Here we have learned what the lizard diet is. What they can be fed and what they do not want to eat. We hope that this information will be useful because the right and balanced diet directly affect the health and life expectancy of these animals.
The Lizard Diet
A lizard can live happily on a wide range of foods, but most of them are not suitable for its dietary requirements. Insects are the best option for a lizard’s diet, as they are cheap, easy to get, and delicious. Begin feeding your lizard a few insects a day, or experiment with different combinations of insects and vegetables. If you’re feeding a growing limbless lizard, you should try giving it about half a dozen crickets. You can also mix in some super mealworms or waxworms, which are the young stage of developing beetles.
For a lizard to thrive, you should focus on providing plenty of insects as a primary food source. They prefer smaller items that don’t contain too many indigestible parts. You can also try offering your lizard some fruits and vegetables. They’ll enjoy the taste of fresh fruit and vegetable products as much as you do! But remember that these are just a small portion of their diet, and you should avoid giving them too much.
A good way to help your lizard thrive is to give it some vegetables. They’ll love this and will help reduce the risk of your reptile developing vitamin deficiency. However, remember that these foods must be given in moderation, with the seeds and peels removed. Veggies are best given in smaller portions – as little as a quarter cup of spinach is enough for a small lizard. Spaghetti is a great choice for a lizard’s diet, as it contains an enzyme that binds calcium.
A lizard’s diet is made up of different food items that can help it grow strong and healthy. The best foods for a lizard are those that are digestible by the reptile. The more complex the food, the easier it is for the reptile to eat it. A lizard’s digestive system can’t handle large pieces of food. So, you can always offer it smaller portions of vegetables.
While lizards are not able to digest large objects, they can eat small items of food. For example, a larger lizard may want to eat a mouse, which is tasty and nutritious food for a lizard. You should also be aware of the size of the foods your lizard is able to digest. This will help you find the best diet for your pet.
Some lizards feed mainly on vegetables. A variety of vegetables will help your reptile avoid vitamin deficiencies. Make sure you give your lizard fruits in small amounts. Ideally, vegetables should be cut into small pieces. You should also discard the seeds and peels. Various fruit can be given to your lizards. They do not need to be fed large quantities, but they can be a source of a healthy snack.
As a rule of thumb, lizards should be fed only with fresh fruits and feeder insects. You should never feed your pet garden produce to lizards because the chemicals in those produce a toxic environment. Apart from fruit, insects are also good sources of calcium and potassium. You can also provide your lizard with vegetables if you are feeding a lizard. But remember that if you don’t want to endanger the other members of your household, you should be careful about the size and type.
The Lizard’s diet is based on the food it eats. While most lizards are vegetarian, others eat meat. If you don’t want to give them meat, make sure they are fed vegetables. They are the best food for reptiles. A lot of lizards prefer small-sized foods and vegetables are a good option for them. And, for their health, a healthy diet is a key part of what they eat.
Unlike humans, lizards are mostly vegetarian. So, you can easily give them meat. Vegetables are not the only lizard’s diet, but they are a lizard’s best friend. They are omnivorous and love plants, and you can’t go wrong with these choices. A lizard’s diet should be balanced and rich in vitamins and minerals.
