When we talk about pets, we usually mean cats, dogs, and birds. But in recent years, more exotic options have become increasingly common - spiders, snails, reptiles, etc. Those who have visited warm southern countries were able to appreciate the charm of nimble domestic lizards, familiar to the tropics, and willingly purchase them in our colder regions.
Should you keep lizards at home?
Lizards as pets are still a less common and well-known option, so before getting one, it’s worth assessing its pros and cons for you. After all, these reptiles are also living creatures that will not survive without human care and outside the home.
There are even more options on the website: https://zeleniymir.org - these are our best friends!
By purchasing lizards, a person takes responsibility for their well-being, and it is worth assessing in advance the advantages and disadvantages of such pets.
Photos of pet lizards look very attractive, but are they right for you as pets?
What animals are profitable to breed for business and what is needed for this?
> > > Home-made products will always have an advantage over factory-made ones. That is why for people who live in villages or have their own plot of land, raising animals for sale is. However, first you need to figure out which animals are profitable to breed for business. Contents: Rabbit meat is a dietary product that is especially valued in the diet of children and those who suffer from food allergies.
In addition, it is very well digestible and quite tasty.
When breeding rabbits, you can also get it by selling their skins.
A small initial investment will be required. To open a farm for a thousand rabbit heads, you will need a plot of less than six acres.
You can also save money if you make drinking bowls, cages and feeders for animals yourself. Before opening a farm, you need to choose
Pros of keeping lizards at home
A significant advantage when choosing lizards as a pet is the absence of wool, fluff, and feathers in the house. This means that there is no risk of allergic reactions among the owners or guests of the house.
Another plus is their constant presence in the terrarium. After all, this makes it easier to maintain order in the house and ensures that there is no risk for your pet of getting accidentally injured from getting into the wrong place.
Lizards are calm inhabitants of the house, not disturbing their owners with an unpleasant smell, loud noise, or pestering in search of affection or play.
There are no special problems in nutrition either; you can use ready-made food or feed it yourself, following the recommendations of specialists.
Watching these interesting reptiles helps relieve stress and brings pleasure to the owners.
Note!
- Indian snakes: sacred, poisonous, most common and dangerous types of Indian snakes and their names (130 photos)
- Small snakes - an overview of popular and rare species, habitats, food and names of snakes (115 photos)
Sea snakes - appearance, description of habitats, distribution and overview of the most poisonous representatives (145 photos + video)
What to feed a fast pet
In their natural environment, lizards successfully hunt beetles, grasshoppers, earthworms, caterpillars and spiders, so when choosing a home diet, you should give preference to live food. Some lizard owners start catching insects for their pet, but it is worth considering that the “dinner” caught in this way may be infected with parasites.
It is much easier and safer to purchase live food at a pet store - many of them sell crickets and cockroaches. With pleasure, lizards eat mealworm larvae, tobacco hawk moths, and locusts. You can rarely give your pet meat - raw lean beef or boiled chicken, a boiled egg. Before serving, the products are crushed. When feeding a sand lizard, you should adhere to certain rules:
- the diet should not consist of the same food, for example, eating only worms can cause obesity in the lizard;
- You should periodically include special nutritional supplements in your pet’s menu, which are available in powder form;
- feeding should be daily - in summer food is given three times, in winter - twice;
- one serving should consist of 5-10 insects;
- Adults cope well with food on their own, but young animals can be helped by using tweezers to feed them.
All insects that have not become food for the inhabitant should be removed from the tank, since there have been situations where grasshoppers and crickets have caused damage to the skin of sleeping “predators”. It is important to avoid both overeating and undernutrition; in both cases, owners face serious problems - their charges get sick and most often die.
Cons of keeping lizards at home
In addition to the already mentioned cost of purchasing a terrarium and the necessary equipment, a lot of space is required to accommodate it.
It is necessary to study well how to keep a lizard at home, because unlike cats and dogs, their habits and needs are completely unfamiliar to us. Some require a special microclimate, others require special food, such as live crickets.
The need to be careful when caring for the terrarium and pets. Unlike cats and dogs, they do not become attached to their owner, no matter how long they live next to you, and can be aggressive.
Other indicators for pet comfort
Stable temperature is not the only requirement for living conditions for a lizard:
- Ultraviolet rays - the pet needs sunlight, for this it is recommended to equip the terrarium with a UV lamp (5% marking). It must be turned on constantly and replaced every 6 months. If there is a deficiency of ultraviolet radiation, the animal’s body cannot fully absorb calcium, bone tissue is destroyed, and the pet dies in agony.
- Humidity control – it is recommended to install a small reservoir of water in the lizard’s home, into which it can climb on its own, and it is placed in a cool area. In addition, you can spray the interior surfaces of the terrarium daily or use moistened sponges. It is important to avoid excessive humidity, as fungi often grow in such conditions. You can avoid such a nuisance by ensuring good ventilation.
- Decor - the pet needs shelter and a pond, you can also mark twigs and snags on which the lizard will climb.
- Soil - it is placed at the bottom of the tank; any material intended for these purposes can be used. Only small shavings and sand are not suitable, as they can penetrate with food into the animal’s gastrointestinal tract and provoke various kinds of problems.
Types of domestic lizards
The world of these reptiles is so diverse that it is difficult to list all the names of domestic lizards. Therefore, we will name the main groups of lizards that can be kept at home.
Even within groups, different species may differ markedly in size and appearance, but still have some common characteristics, which we will name below.
Feeding
As we wrote earlier, the diet of the common iguana consists of 100% plant foods. An adult animal should eat once a day, babies are fed several times a day. The basis of the diet is all kinds of salads and greens. Offer dandelions, clover, alfalfa, spinach, all different sprouts, salads, beet tops, radishes, pumpkins, etc. Vegetables are given as a supplement to the diet: zucchini, eggplant, carrots and more. Vegetables are finely chopped or grated.
Several times a week, the iguana needs to be offered fruits and berries: apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, currants, and so on. For young iguanas, try to choose a food high in protein, offering: green beans, peas and beans. It is necessary to add special fertilizers for reptiles, vitamins and calcium to the food.
Food is served during the daytime so that after eating the iguana can warm up and digest it. The amount of food offered should be enough for the iguana to eat within an hour. Uneaten food is removed, as prepared salads quickly spoil.
Do not give iguanas cold food from the refrigerator; defrost frozen foods and warm them to room temperature.
Many iguanas often refuse to eat something, why? They might have gotten used to something specific. Still, persistently offer other products; it may take quite some time before the iguana tries them. Try to create a varied diet for your pet.
Do iguanas drink? The iguana absorbs most of its moisture from food and lush greenery. Don't be alarmed if you rarely see her drinking. Bathe your iguana, this will help it replenish the water deficiency in its body; there should always be access to fresh drinking water in the terrarium. Spray the terrarium and leaves; the iguanas will lick the dripping drops of water.
Young iguanas that do not yet know how to drink from drinking bowls on their own should be provided with a waterfall or drip system.
Pet dragons
This is what iguanas could be called for their appearance and size. This is a relatively large species of reptile, some of them can reach a length of one and a half to two meters. They have a stern and slightly frightening appearance.
But at the same time, arboreal iguanas only eat plants, which makes their maintenance easier. Due to their origin from hot countries, tropical forests, they are quite demanding on temperature conditions.
Temperature maintenance
The owner needs to take care of the microclimate - he should equip the lizard’s home with a thermometer and monitor the indicators, even at night. It is advisable to equip the tank in such a way that it has 2 zones - hot (34°-36°C) and cold (not lower than 30°C). At night, the thermometer should not fall below +21°C, otherwise the animal’s metabolic processes slow down, activity decreases, and some individuals begin to prepare for hibernation.
To maintain the temperature, it is best to use special devices that can be purchased at any pet store. The following devices are suitable for terrariums:
- lamps - they come in a variety of varieties: mirror, incandescent, halogen, etc.;
- Thermal stones are artificial minerals that, when turned on, heat the tank and are an excellent decoration for it. There is only one drawback - they can heat up to higher levels than stated;
- thermal cords - they are used to heat the lower part of the terrarium, stretching under containers or inside;
- thermal mats - used in the same way as the previous device.
Skinks
This is the largest family of lizards, numbering more than 100 genera and 1.5 thousand species. Therefore, in this family you can find specimens of both bright colors and discreet modest ones.
There is the same spread in the size of different representatives of skinks: some barely reach 10 centimeters in length, others reach 70 centimeters.
They are all quite unpretentious, calm, and love privacy.
Reasons why the leopard gecko does not reproduce
Often, novice breeders' first attempts to breed pets are unsuccessful. There are several reasons why lizards do not reproduce.
Ovulation cycles
One of the main reasons for the failure of leopard geckos to reproduce is the lack of ovulation in the female. Until the ovulatory process begins, the lizard will not be able to become pregnant. A non-ovulating female will not allow her partner to approach her, and attempts to mate them will, at best, end in separation in different corners.
Sexual maturity of females occurs at 8-12 months with the appearance of the ovulation cycle, which corresponds to the seasonal breeding periods of leopard geckos from January to July.
To determine whether a lizard is ovulating, you need to look at its belly. If the process is ongoing, then you can notice a pink dot, which indicates that the egg in the female’s body has formed and is ready for fertilization. After successful mating, it descends to the lower abdomen to the right or left, where it turns into a full-fledged egg.
A female leopard gecko can lay 80-100 eggs in her lifetime
Men's problems
There are situations when males are not ready to mate with a partner, even if they are left alone during her ovulation period. There is no scientific explanation for this; the reptile does not want to show sexual activity. It is better to wait a while and try again later.
A male interested in copulation can be recognized by his shaking tail, like a rattlesnake. If this does not happen, then he will not mate.
Health problems
Even an ovulating female may have some health problems and during mating will reject the male’s advances. The natural instinct of self-preservation protects the lizard from reproduction if it is not ready. For example, she is not well-nourished, has not gained the required weight, or has not fully reached childbearing age. If a lizard with poor health is left alone with an aggressive male, there is a high risk of losing the animal. Therefore, in the case when she is not ready and refuses copulation, it is better to separate the pair.
Wrong mating time selected
Under natural conditions, the mating season of leopard geckos begins in January and ends in June. Peak breeding occurs in February-March. If you place a couple together outside of this period, the likelihood that mating will occur is almost zero.
The females of many reptiles are able to reproduce for the rest of their lives. However, the sexual activity of leopard geckos begins to fade after 5 years and by the age of 9 the females become completely infertile. Therefore, the older the individual, the less likely it is to be successfully fertilized.
If the breeder chooses the wrong mating time, the couple will behave aggressively towards each other. Or copulation will last a long time, and the female, tired, may move away from her partner. She will also not let him near her if fertilized eggs are already developing inside her.
The breeding season of leopard geckos is preceded by hibernation.
Chameleons
These lizards have a bright appearance that will make them a real decoration. In addition, they easily get used to people, are unpretentious, and rarely get sick, which makes them a popular choice for keeping in the home.
At what age can the sex of a leopard gecko be determined?
The sex of a leopard gecko can be determined starting from 4 months. By this time, males have developed all sexual characteristics. The same cannot be said about females - they are not physiologically ready for childbearing. Their fertile age occurs after a year. Therefore, it is better to keep teenage leopard geckos separately from females to avoid fights and injury.
The sex of reptiles is directly affected by the temperature of the eggs in the incubator, so by adjusting it yourself, there is a high probability of getting offspring of the desired sex.
In newborn animals, you can try to determine the sex using a flashlight (Rob Wagner's method). To do this, it is necessary to highlight the cloaca area. In males, the veins of the hemipenes should be visible in the light.
Geckos
These are small, but very active and funny lizards. Thanks to the special design of their legs, they can run on any surface - from floor to ceiling.
Another feature of geckos unique to lizards is the ability to communicate not only through tail flapping, but also through sounds.
Peculiarities of reproduction of agile lizards
First of all, by looking at the male, you can find out about his readiness to mate. He lifts his body off the ground and begins to look around, looking for a potential “bride.” Having discovered a suitable individual, he pursues it. If the “race” is completed successfully, and the female falls into his arms, he, holding the base of her tail with his mouth and her body with his paws, begins to mate.
After some time, the female lays a clutch, burying 6-16 fairly large eggs in a small hole. All stages of the development of the offspring occur in the egg, and an independent young individual is born. Particularly large and confident males are capable of eating young.
Sandy lizards are perfectly adapted to living in the natural environment, which confirms their wide distribution and the presence of numerous populations. However, in order for such a pet to feel comfortable in captivity, the owner needs to try. Of course, these inhabitants are not too whimsical compared to other lizards and amphibians, but they need suitable conditions.
All the efforts made will pay off with interest - active and agile lizards will delight children and adults with their liveliness, interesting behavior and charisma. It is almost impossible to pass by the terrarium where this animal lives and not stop.
Agamidae
In this family you can find arboreal lizards, terrestrial and aquatic species. They also differ in diet. Among agamas there are both carnivores and plant eaters.
Everyone will need to create appropriate conditions for which they are quite demanding.
How often does shedding occur?
Baby leopard geckos shed every two weeks, and adults no more than once every 1-2 months, and this process often depends on external conditions.
Molting can be determined by characteristic signs: the lizard’s skin becomes lighter, peeling and cracks appear. The leopard gecko can eat the shed skin, and this is not dangerous to its health and life.
During the molting period, it is recommended to install a damp chamber or substrate in the terrarium to moisturize the skin, which promotes its rapid renewal.
