Lizards
Should You Buy A Lizard?
Put a lot of thought into it before you just impulsively purchase a lizard. Find out a lot about them and decide which type you interested in having for a pet. Look in the library for information. You can often see pictures of the various types and maybe that will help you to decide which lizard you want to purchase. Also, consider the following questions:
Can you afford one?
You will need to purchase the lizard, the tank or vivarium, the heating and lighting accessories and, food.
You will also have vet bills to pay.
Can You Maintain It?
Actually, the cost of keeping and taking care of a lizard is not very steep. The food you will need will depend on the type of lizard you get. A quantity of insects from the pet shop should not be very expensive at all each week.
Heating and lighting costs vary according to your area but should not be too expensive either.
You will also need to feed your lizard frozen rodents (still interested? *smiles*).
Do you have Time For A Pet Like This?
Lizards do not require a whole lot of human interaction like some other pets do, in fact, the majority of lizards don't welcome it either. Most lizards are quite content when they are just left alone. However, they have to be fed a few times a week and their "houses" need to be cleaned up when they get dirty. You should also observe them regularly to watch for any health problems. Some lizards require a lot more time than others. Consider this before you make your purchase.
Also you must take into consideration the fact that a lot of folks find snakes and lizards and any other kind of reptile kind of repulsive so you must think about how others in the household will feel about your new pet before you buy it rather than afterward when it is too late.
Can you Commit to a Lizard? When you compare a lizard with smaller pets such as rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, and the like, lizards have much longer lives. The shortest life span of a lizard us about three years, but usually a lizard can live for about ten years and sometimes twenty or more. Quite a few Leopard Geckos are still living in captivity after twenty years or so and amazingly enough, a slow-worm (or legless) lizard was once found to be over fifty years of age! Circumstances may change but please know that the commitment you are making to your pet lizard is just the same as for someone who purchases a puppy! Even though you may be able to transfer ownership of smaller lizards to someone else, know that today there are just too many iguanas and all types of lizards that are languishing in animal shelters! If you have thought about all of the above information then you are prepared to purchase a pet lizard of your own. Since I have pointed out most of the possible pitfalls and responsibilities above, I will now tell you some of the advantages of owning a pet lizard compared to many other pets: They don't take up a
lot of room Of course there are some exceptions with certain types of lizards which is exactly why you should research them before you buy! |
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Lizard Care
Proper lighting is important to your lizard's health and there are many products are available that produce the best lighting for lizards.
Never place your lizard's glass enclosure directly in the sunlight!. This will overheat the animal and it could die.
Proper heating is a must as well.
Including in your lizard's diet both a multivitamin and calcium/vitamin D supplements Crickets, mealworms, greens, etc. with vitamins and minerals will help prevent health problems and promote the lizard to grow and develop properly.
Housing
Find out if your lizard is tree dwelling or not. The cage should be big enough for the lizard to exercise in.
The best materials for a cage are plastic and glass.
Housing should have good ventilation
When using a glass aquarium, have a screen lid on the top. . Make sure that any wire is non-abrasive so the lizard won't hurt himself on it.
The bottom of the cage should always be kept clean. You can place newspaper in it. It is cheap, very easy to change and it holds any wetness.
Avoid wooden branches for a cage decoration if possible. They hold bacteria.
Don't use any cedar because although it is toxic to many animals, it is toxic to ALL reptiles.
Temperature
The temperature of the enclosure should duplicate the natural habitat of the animal as closely as possible. Requirements are different for various lizards.
Include a heating element just in case the lizard needs it and feels most comfortable with it. Most of them do but you should always have a thermometer in the cage to keep track of the temperature.
Feeding
The diet solely depends on the type of lizard you have. There are a lot of very good web sites that give nutritional values for all the foods recommended for different kinds of lizards but it can get complicated.
One thing that is a must though is to make sure that you get both a Calcium and Vitamin supplement. They can be found at pet stores.
A large water bowl is great for three reasons:
The lizard needs to drink.
It assists in maintaining a higher humidity level.
Many lizards enjoy defecating in the water bowl for some reason so make sure that the water is always fresh and clean. Put the water on the side of the enclosure that is opposite any heating element.
There is quite a bit more information that you will need to know before buying a pet lizard if you want to care for it properly. Research is what you need to do. Look up lizards at your local library and ask questions at your local pet store! Good luck with your new lizard! Enjoy it!
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