Lizard food

Your lizard is an omnivore, meaning that it needs a balanced diet of meat and vegetable matter. A hatchling lizard will eat mostly small insects. As your lizard grows, it will start to eat more vegetable matter. The diet of a juvenile lizard (2-4 months of age) will consist of approximately 80% insects and 20% greens. Young lizard should be fed 2-3 times daily. If insufficient food is fed, young lizard may nip at the tails and toes of their cage mates.

Meat food sources for your lizard can include pinky mice (for adults) and insects such as:

Crickets; pinhead crickets for juveniles
Mealworms
Wax worms - high in fat, so feed sparingly
King worms
Earthworms
Cockroaches

Freshly molted insects are easier for your lizard to digest. You should coat feeder insects with calcium supplement (powdered calcium carbonate or calcium gluconate) 3-5 times per week for adults; every day for juveniles. Feeder insects should also be "gut-loaded," which means the insects are fed nutritious and vitamin-rich foods before they are given to the lizard. Feed your feeder insects food such as: ground legumes, corn meal, carrots, sweet potatoes, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, spinach, apples, oranges, cereals, and rolled oats. Several commercial products, formulated to be rich in calcium and vitamins, may also be used to gut-load feeder insects. Insects may be purchased or wild-caught (without the use of pesticides). Feed insects by placing them in a small bowl. After feeding, check that none of the insects escaped and fouled the water supply in the cage. You can also use a specially designed feeder rock, which allows insects to feed, but not escape until you're ready to feed your lizard. To improve hygiene, some owners prefer to have a separate cage for feeding the meat-based portion of their lizard's diet. Be sure the size of food you feed is proportional to your lizard's size. Malnourishment, seizures, and intestinal blockages can occur if hatchlings and juveniles are fed insects too large for them to capture or digest.

Plant matter should make up approximately 20% of your lizard's diet and should consist mainly of green leafy vegetables. You may also include other vegetables. Fruit should make up the smallest portion of the diet. Shred or tear vegetables and fruits into small pieces and mix them together to encourage your lizard to eat all that is offered, and not just pick out his favorite foods. Following is a list of some popular plant-based lizard foods.

escarole
kale
collards
bok choy
Swiss chard
parsley
clover
alfalfa pellets
dandelion greens
turnip greens
mustard greens
beet greens-only occasionally
spinach-only occasionally
broccoli
okra
peas
green beans
zucchini
squash
grated carrots
sweet potato
bell pepper
frozen mixed vegetables
figs
kiwi
papaya
melon
apple
grapes
dates
peaches
apricots
strawberries
plums
tomatoes
bananas

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