Mike’s Fish Tank – Reptiles

This week, Lizards and not fish. I get a lot of people wanting friendly easy to care for lizards. Most anything that is raised in captivity will be friendly. So things like baby bearded dragons, leopard geckos, baby green iguanas, and baby veiled chameleons are 4 of the friendliest lizards. The iguanas are vegetarian and eat things like romaine, escarole, endive, red leaf, kale, carrots, yellow squash, things like that. Basically dark leafy greens. Since Iguanas live a long time and get big, they need UVB lighting. That helps them process the calcium so they can grow normally. Just like people, If we don’t get sunshine, we cannot process the calcium into our bones. Uvb bulbs give off the same rays as the sun thus the Iguana gets what he needs to have healthy bones. Bearded dragons also need Uvb  as  they  get  big and have a need for proper bone growth too. They will not get as big as an iguana and beardeds like crickets, mealworms and also dark leafy greens. Iguanas should be strictly fed greens and veggies.

The leopard gecko is a night animal. They live in hot desert areas where they hide from the heat during the day and come out at night, so they do not need a uvb bulb. Leopard geckos mostly eat crickets and small mealworms. Since they do not get very big, they have low calcium requirements and uvb not as important. Iguanas and bearded dragons should also have a ground up calcium powder added to their food a couple times a week. The veiled chameleons do not get real big but uvb and calcium would be beneficial to them. They will not eat veggies.

Remember Reptiles are cold blooded. You need to regulate their heat. If they are too cold, they will not eat.So the proper heat bulbs are essential. White bulbs are good for day heat and red or black bulbs for night heat. These lizards are easy to care for and hardy if set up properly. Just keep in mind that the Iguanas will get huge. And you need to handle these lizards often in order to keep them friendly.

Pets A Plenty is located in the Blockbuster Video Plaza, Rte 281 Cortland, 753-9213. Open 7 days a week. We now have a website. www.petsaplety.biz. check it out. I post care sheets, coupons, new animal arrivals, contests and more. Any questions, email me at friskyy@hotmail.com

[mappress mapid=”2″]