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What lizard food and treats are best?
From tiny anoles to iguanas, humans keep species of lizards of all shapes and sizes as pets. And now that we understand what lizards need to live long, healthy lives, manufacturers have come up with several nutritious food and treat options for your cold-blooded companion.
Featuring a mix of whole vegetables and insects, Zilla Reptile Food Munchies Omnivore Mix provides great nutrition suitable for a range of lizard species.
What you should know before buying lizard food and treats
Know your lizard’s natural diet
In order to provide your pet with the best nutrition, you need to understand what they would naturally eat in the wild.
- Herbivorous Lizards only eat plant-based foods. Iguanas like to eat a varied diet including leafy greens, vegetables and the occasional fruit treat.
- Carnivorous Lizards, like monitor lizards, are carnivores that consume meat. Most lizards fall into this category, especially insectivores that prey on insects and invertebrates. Geckos and chameleons are examples of insectivorous lizards.
- omnivorous lizards require a diet that includes both prey and vegetables. Bearded dragons, for example, are omnivores.
Your pet’s habitat
Lizards cannot regulate their body temperature and need UV rays from the sun to synthesize vitamins. As house pets, reptiles are entirely dependent on their owners providing them with enough light in their habitat. Most reptiles don’t have an appetite unless they have a healthy environment. Make sure you research your lizard extensively to create a home for your pet that will keep them healthy and hungry.
Competition among your pets
If you have more than one lizard in a tank, be aware that the most dominant one can prevent your other lizards from getting enough food. If one of your pets is larger or more aggressive than the others, consider feeding them all separately to ensure smaller lizards aren’t hungry.
Live food is often the only option
Predatory lizards like geckos rarely show interest in freeze-dried crickets or other dead prey. In many cases, these animals like to hunt live insects. For this reason, these animals cannot be fed with ready-made food. However, they can still dust their prey with powder to provide them with additional food.
What to look for in quality lizard food and treats
insect ingredients
Insectivorous lizards need a diet rich in insect protein. You can achieve this by choosing a food that is either made entirely of prey items, such as dried crickets or grasshoppers, or one that has insect protein listed as the main ingredient.
Vegetable content for vegetarians
Omnivorous and herbivorous lizards should be fed high quality plant matter as the top ingredient. Look for ingredients like carrots, dandelions, and clover.
High quality protein for carnivores
Monitor lizards, skinks and tegus lizards require a meat diet. They may supplement live or newly killed prey with foods rich in whole protein, such as: B. Chicken.
texture and smell
While this will vary from one lizard’s preference to the next, sometimes a change in texture or smell is enough to entice your pet to eat prepared food. If freeze-dried bugs don’t attract your pet and you prefer not to deal with live bugs, try a canned option. Canned insects offer an odor and texture more similar to live prey.
How much you can spend on lizard food and treats
Depending on the size of the container and ingredients, lizard chow costs between $10 and $20. However, if you feed multiple lizards, you’ll end up saving money by buying in bulk.
Frequently asked questions about lizard food and treats
What if my lizard doesn’t eat all of its food?
A You should remove uneaten food after a few hours to prevent clutter or bacterial growth in your pet’s habitat. Live food should be taken out promptly after the feeding time to prevent crawling insects from disturbing your darling or from multiplying in the terrarium.
Can I feed my lizard “human food”?
A Aside from vegetables and fruit, you should not feed your pet “human food.” They should only eat foods that are specifically formulated for their diet.
Do lizards appreciate treats?
A Unlike mammals and birds, reptiles do not typically value treats as a reward. However, the enrichment and stimulation they receive from experiencing a new or rare food is both nutritionally and physically beneficial.
What are the best lizard foods and treats to buy?
Top lizard food and treats
Zilla Reptile Food Munchies Omnivore Mix
What you need to know: This blend is fortified with extra calcium to promote healthy bones.
What you will love: With ingredients like dried pak choi, peas and crickets, this food has everything an omnivore needs to live happily ever after. You can add water to this mixture to soften it.
What you should consider: Particularly picky eaters may turn down this food in favor of fresh options.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top lizard food and treats for the money
Fluker’s Bearded Kite Medley
What you need to know: This mix is great for insectivores or to add to an omnivore’s diet.
What you will love: This medley is made with whole crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms, and contains no artificial ingredients. Although these snacks are marketed for bearded dragons, they’re great for any insectivorous lizard that eats ready meals.
What you should consider: This medley should only complement an already varied diet. It must not be used as a main food.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
It’s worth trying
Pangea Fruit Blend with Insects Crested Gecko Complete Diet
What you need to know: This mix of insects and fruit is a complete diet for crested geckos and other fruit-eating lizards.
What you will love: Some of the fruits in the mix are banana, apricot, papaya and coconut. Insect meal is still a key ingredient, so don’t worry about protein.
What you should consider: You cannot feed this to lizards that do not eat fruit. Some people found the mixed food has a strong odor.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Derek Walborn writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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