Got a plant delivered with a little brownish colored lizard hitching a ride. My son loves it so were going to try to keep it. What do I feed it? How often do I feed it? It's only a little over an inch long. Bought a tank and heat light. How long do I leave the heat light on? Only at night? All the time? What do I put in the tank with it? What do I put in as the base? How often do I clean it out? Any information would be great. I've looked on line, but thought some of you out there could help. I know I've been in floral shops before and they say these lizards come in on the plants all the time. HELP!
2007-10-17 04:23:41 · 10 answers · asked by Kass 3 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Take it to a shop that specializes in reptiles and they can direct you further. As for it coming in on a plant, I know that where we live that is considered contamination and the entire stock of those plants needs to be examined and destroyed. I am guessing it was a tropical plant you received? If you live in a warm climate I would still check out the local health department. Good luck.
2007-10-17 04:28:54 · answer #1 · answered by oy vey 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Where did you get the lizard? Could be a baby anole- check pictures and see if it looks the same.
You want the heat lamp to be on at least 12 hrs a day on one side of the tank. The otherside you want a little cooler so he can regulate himself. High temps- around 85ish, low temps- 65ish. It can get to 60s at night no problem.
In the tank- a couple large plants. Japanese money tree (that is what we cal it- it looks like a bunch of mini palms, but all herbaceous, hibiscus, ficus, etc. Even the species of plant you found him on. The floor can be eco-earth or newspaper. You clean it out when it gets dirty- if you have a big aquarium with a very small lizard, probably once a month or even less.
Also, it will eat crickets or other small insects. Make sure you buy pinhead crickets (just hatched ones) for your guy. He will probably eat 3-5ish every 2-3 days.
If it is an anole, you can put a water dish in, but he probably won't use it. You need to mist him down with warm water 2-4 times a day , depending on your area's humidity level. That mist will keep him hydrated.
2007-10-17 04:33:37 · answer #2 · answered by D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off, locate a reptile breeder/reptile shop as have them identify what the lizard is. All lizards have a slightly different temperature and needs. If you take a picture of it perhaps I can help identify it. For now give it BABY BABY 1/8 an inch of its head, crickets, dusted in calcium supplement. 2 every other night. If it was in a tree, then that means it's aboreal(tree dwelling). Buy some vines or a mini tree from the pet store to put in the cage for it to hide in and give it a log to hide under. Keep the temp at 75 until you know what it requires. It would be best to have it looked at by a breeder but, for now, keep the lizard in a room that gets sunlight so that uva-uvb rays can be accquired, just until you know if its nocturnal or not. Of course, keep a water dish but since it's tree dwelling, spray the cage once with water in the morning incase it licks drops off the leaves. Do not spray the lizard!
Seriously, a picture will help.
Also, locate the floral shop and ask them where that plant came from. The origin can also help with what type of lizard it is. You don't want to give the wrong conditions and kill it.
Place paper towel as a liner on the bottom for now. Some lizards can't have certain substrates.
If this lizard IS an arboreal as I think it is.. since it was on the plant you got... really depends on how HIGH your plant was. Either way, have plenty of hiding places.
Get a vitamin suplement for the lizard. Whether you know what it is or not, the vitamins should help.
If they think it as anole, look at this picture:
http://www.geo.umn.edu/people/grads/bair0042/anole.jpg
Does it look like that? Find a care sheet for it if it is. The lizard is only 1 inch then please invest in a smaller cage until it reaches 4 inches. He will find it difficult to catch his food.
2007-10-17 04:39:09 · answer #3 · answered by helloprissykitty 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok first of all try and calm down :-) Most lizards eat crickets which are readily obtained at most local pet stores. He should be eating small crickets right now since he's a baby. You should feed him once a week. You'll have to ask the folks at the pet store how many crickets at a time because, sadly, that I dont know. However, He's going to need a water dish and a heat lamp that's on all the time. Try and keep the tank in the warmest part of your home if you can. The tank should be cleaned out once a week as well and he's going to need a small rock in the bottom of the tank as well so he can shed against it when the time comes. Hope this helps. Just keep him warm fed and clean and you'll both be fine. :-)
2007-10-20 18:07:21 · answer #4 · answered by Moon 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
That's a cool idea! I bet your son will enjoy it. I would leave the heat light on because a reptile is a cold-blooded mammal. As for other tank occupants, add some plants and maybe a few small insects, such as snails. That way it'll have something to eat. If I remember correctly, most lizard terrariums I've seen have fish tank rocks in the base. I would go to your local Petsmart, observe the lizard tanks, and talk to a salesclerk about your new pet. I'm sure they could help you out.
2007-10-17 04:29:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
First off, you need to find out what kind of lizard it is as research it so you know how to take care of it. But, usually you can just put down that terrarium carpet and a bowl of water. Most eat things like meal worms and crickets. I would put in a heat pad (Not rock) also to help keep it warm. Use a UV light on for the day and off at night in addition to the heat lamp. This is just usually the case, but you really need to find out what kind it is. Good luck.
2007-10-17 04:29:28 · answer #6 · answered by Jacquie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Anoles aren't overly sensitive about how often their light is on. For the bottom id recommend wood chips like the kind you put in gardens.
If you have any other questions Id be glad to help
2007-10-17 15:27:44 · answer #7 · answered by leprecola 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like a baby brown anole. Quite common for them to be in plants or to hatch from eggs in the soil of plants from Florida. There are pictures on this link as well as care instructions. The people who wrote the link acquired theirs the same way.
http://users.erols.com/ziring/guido.html
2007-10-17 08:53:16 · answer #8 · answered by Thea 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like an Anole lizard. Here is a link for a care sheet.
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/lizardsaspets/a/greenanolecare.htm
Hope this helps.
2007-10-17 04:30:04 · answer #9 · answered by maxevans256 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
sounds like an Anole to me
2007-10-17 05:16:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋