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> Care
So you've finally
gotten bored with all of those snakes, and now you want to keep
something else. Turtles take up too much room, frogs require too
much clean water; the next acquisition is going to be a lizard.
But what kind of lizard should you get? Before you decide on the
lizard itself, you should really think about what type of set-up
you can provide for it. A large percentage of successful
lizard-keeping lies in matching an environment with an appropriate
lizard. For example, if you have a reptile room that is always
damp and hot, a day gecko or an anole colony might be a good
choice, while a desert skink probably won't do as well. On the
other hand, a dry apartment might be appropriate for a leopard
gecko or a spiny lizard, as the appropriate heat and water
requirements can be provided easily.
Another important decision to make is the level of care that you
are willing to devote to an animal or habitat. Old World
chameleons usually need to be checked a couple of times a day,
while leopard geckos will breed for most people with only an hour
or two's attention a week. Lizards require more room than snakes
although usually not as much as turtles or tortoises. Can you
really give them the room that they need, especially in the case
of the large lizards (iguanas, for example)? Are you willing to
handfeed a lizard every day, or do you want to just dump in some
insects and water occasionally? These are extreme examples, of
course. Most lizard care is somewhere in between these two, but
the question of the amount of care and time you are willing to
devote on a daily and weekly basis is a question that you should
seriously consider before purchasing any lizard.
Most enclosures for lizards can be divided into three rough
categories: desert, temperate and tropical. Many variations on
cages are possible, but I am going to describe how to set up each
using a 20 gallon aquarium. These recommendations assume a small
lizard, such as a leopard gecko, anole, or swift. Larger lizards,
such as iguanas, blue-tongued skinks, uromastyx, or adult bearded
dragons require a much larger enclosure. I recommend that you
start with at least a ten gallon aquarium for all lizards;
generally, the more room you can give a lizard, the happier it wil
be. A few pieces of equiipent are common to all three setups: the
20 gallon aquarium, a metal screen top for the aquarium (get the
finest metal mesh that you can find - the smaller it is, the less
chance there is of any stray insects getting out and taking up
residence in your clothes closet, and metal won't melt under a hot
lightbulb), and incandescent lamp - the kind with the metal
reflectors that you can buy in hardware stores work wonderfully
and are very cheap, and a timer to turn the light on and off every
day. Many people also recommend providing a fluorescent light with
a full-spectrum bulb, in addition to the spotlight. Full-spectrum
bulbs are probably more beneficial to lizards active during the
day, for obvious reasons, and are virtually a necessity for those
animals adapted to high-intensity sunlight environments, such as
deserts or savannahs.
To make a desert enclosure, put a layer of pea gravel, available
in any pet store that sells fish (and what pet store doesn't?),
spreading it over the bottom of the aquarium until it is about an
inch thick. Into this substrate place a number of rocks - both
smooth and jagged types work well. Put in some type of hiding
space for the lizard. This can be either a hollow log, an
overturned clay pot or plastic tub with a hole cut in the side, or
a cave made out of rocks. Finally, the screen top goes on, with
the reflector light sitting on top of it at one end of the
aquarium. Check the temperature at ground level directly under the
light. You can vary the temperature by changing the wattage of the
ligthbulb; the temperature under the bulb should be 90 to 95 F.
For the temperate lizard set-up, place a layer of newspaper or
bark chips on the floor fo the aquarium. Place some plants in pots
into the cage. Ivy and similar houseplants work well - I prefer to
use pothos or philodendron. Put in branches and logs running from
the ground to the sides fo the cage, and also to and from the
plant pots. A hiding spot of the same types as described for the
desert cage should also be available. The lighting is also similar
to that of the dseert set-up, but the temperature should average
in the mid 80's, rather than the low 90's.
A tropical set-up is similar to the temperate enclosure, but much
damper. Instead of newspaper or bark chips, a layer of sphagnum or
peat moss, mixed with bark chips if you want, should be used as a
substrate. These materials absorb and hold onto water much better
than newspaper or gravel, increasing the humidity in the cage.
Plants are very desirable in a tropical set-up - make sure that
the plants you choose can tolerate a lot of humidity. Once again,
I recommend pothos. The temperature should be similar to that of
the temperate aquarium, but a portion of the screen top should be
covered. A blanket or towel can be used, but I prefer taping down
a sheet of plastic (plastic wrap like Saran wrap will do). This
will also help to increase the humidity in the tank.
Now that you have your enclosure set up and running, you want to
get a lizard or two for it. Commonly available lizards for desert
tanks include leopard geckos, crevice lizards, and swifts of
various types. Lizards that can be kept in a temperate environment
are leopard geckos, some of the swifts, iguanas, anoles, tokays,
house geckos, and some of the day geckos. Finally, tropical
set-ups can house day geckos, house geckos, and green anoles. If
you are not sure what type of environment to provide for a lizard,
put it in a temperate enclosure and watch its behavior closely
over a couple of days. If it is constantly thirsty or has trouble
shedding, chances are that it requires a more tropical
environment. If it seems lethargic or is constantly at the hottest
end of the tank under the spotlight, try a more desert-like
environment. The more closely you pay attention to how your lizard
is acting, the better you will be able to provide for it.
Most lizards are insectivorous, but some will also take fruit or
baby food, especially some of the geckos. A few, such as iguanas,
are herbivorous. No matter what they eat, however, variety in the
diet is extremely important. Crickets, mealworms, waxworms,
spiders, beetles, and flies are all good food items for most
lizards. I feed my lizards every other day, and only give them as
much as they will eat in one day. If I notice any food remaining
the next time I feed the lizard, I reduce the amount of food that
I give out. Vitamin and calcium supplements should be given with
some regularity. Depending on the type of lizard it may not be
necessary to give them supplements every time you feed them, but
they should not be eliminated entirely.
A water sprayer or mister, usually used on houseplants, is handy
for lizards. Most tropical setups should be thoroughly misted down
once a day, or even more, depending on the lizards. Temperate
enclosures should be misted daily, but not as heavily as tropical
tanks. For desert setups, the inside of the hiding spot should be
checked daily to make sure that it is somewhat moist. The rest of
the tank can be misted every other day. However, as I said
earlier, take your cue from the lizard itself. If it is always
thirsty, give it more water!
Before you buy any lizard, do your homework. Ask yourself the
questions I mentioned at the beginning of this article - what type
of setup can you reasonably provide, and how much care will you
actually give the animal? Then, do some reading or ask around bout
the lizards that do well in the type of enclosure you are going to
make. The NEHS bookstore sells a number of good books - Keeping
and Breeding Lizards, by Chris Mattison, The General Care
and Maintenance of Green Anoles, The Green Iguana Manual,
and the Right Way to Feed Insect-Eating Lizards, all by
Philippe de Vosjoli. The Mattison book is somewhat expensive, but
covers a lot of ground, while the de Vosjoli books are limited in
scope but excellent in content. They are also cheap; all of them
sell for under $8.00. Finally, ask around at meetings or check
your NEHS directory. Many of our members have kept lizards
successfully for years, and a number even have captive-born
hatchlings for sale at various times during the year. With some
thought and planning beforehand, lizards can make wonderful
additions to any herper's life.
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