What Do Lizards Eat: Lizards are scaly reptiles that comprise a wide variety of species ranging from very small to medium sizes; lizards inhabit a large number of ecosystems in temperate as well as tropical climates in all parts of the world.
These small reptiles are usually easy to find in weedy spaces with sufficient access to sunlight since being cold-blooded animals, daily exposure to sunlight is essential for their survival. Some types of lizards are currently used as pets. However, most of them live in a natural state where they feed on a wide variety of insects.
Characteristics of Lizards
Although we can find a great diversity of lizards, there are traits that differentiate them from other types of lizards. One of the main characteristics that make lizards unique is the emission of small screeching sounds that they use for interaction with other lizards.
These animals are nocturnal, which is why they have large eyes with vertically oriented pupils and a very wide aperture capacity. Their legs are provided with specialized pads that allow them to adhere to steeply sloped or vertically oriented surfaces.
The place where lizards live can be very diverse, and in urban areas, they can even be found inside human homes where they feed on insects. Being reptiles, lizards are born through eggs, which have an incubation time of approximately sixty days. Reproduction occurs in certain seasons of the year, and each lizard can lay from three to eight eggs.
Suppose you wonder who the enemies of lizards are. In that case, you should know that one of their main predators is birds, which is why these small reptiles have evolved and developed different defense techniques, ranging from quick escapes to very ingenious camouflages.
What Do Lizards Eat?
Talking about what lizards eat becomes simple and, at the same time, complicated because we cannot point out one type or another of a specific food, and much of their food will be proportional to the size of the lizard. However, we can generalize by saying that lizards feed mainly from insects.
- Flies
- Spiders
- Crickets
- Termites
- Ants
- Cockroaches
- Grasshopper
- Beetle
Knowing this, we can say that the lizards’ nutrition is based on small insects such as spiders, worms, crickets, cockroaches, flies, moths, and other insects of similar dimensions. In natural environments, ants and termites are usually a type of food that is easily obtained for lizards.
To know how to feed a pet lizard, it is enough to know what garden lizards eat and pay attention to their eating habits; With this, we mean to refer to the fact that if lizards usually hunt the insects that they feed on in the garden, it is up to us to find these insects and provide them alive to our lizard so that it can hunt and eat them.
What to feed my lizard?
Each species of this reptile family has specific needs.
“Lizard” is a generic name to refer to a long list of reptiles belonging to the Lacertidae and Gekkonidae families. While it is true that each of these species has its own preferences when it comes to feeding, there are many similarities between them.
Likewise, if you have a lizard at home and you want to guarantee it a long and full life, you must comply with some hygiene conditions and with healthy habits.
How Much and What to Feed My Lizard
To feed a lizard, it is necessary to be an attentive and careful person. These reptiles have very specific needs and, if you neglect them, you could cause health problems.
- First of all, you need to identify which breed of lizard yours belongs to in order to be able to adjust to their needs more precisely.
- Keep in mind that the youngest specimens need to eat several times a day, while the adults can eat once daily or even once every two or three days.
- While some lizards can feed on inert insects, most will prefer live bait: crickets, worms, moth larvae.
- Many lizards supplement their diet with vegetables and occasionally fruit. Never add insects in excess to your lizard’s terrarium, as these could end up damaging the hygiene conditions of your pet.
Proper Conditions for a Healthy Lizard
Now that you know what to feed your lizard, do not forget to take into account some basic rules of cleanliness and well-being.
Remove dead insects that may remain inside the terrarium regularly and clean the water container regularly so that bacteria or fungi do not appear. Your pet will appreciate it and will be much safer.