If you don’t have a pet lizard in your home, but have a lizard or few in your backyard, you might want to care for them. In this post, you will find a list of tips on how to care for a backyard lizard, or a lizard from outside (without bringing it in).
Please note that most lizards that are native in your area can survive on their own – by finding food, basking and doing other activities. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t help a lizard living in your backyard – this way it might decide to stay.
Tip 1: Identify what lizard it is
To take proper care of your backyard lizard, you will need to identify what genus and species this lizard belongs to. Often, it might be easy to identify the lizard, especially if it’s common and native in your state/country.
For example, you are likely to encounter a Western fence lizard in southern California, or a common collared lizard in many dry states and so on. There are countless of various lizards that you might see in various countries of the world. If you are unsure of species, try to ask around and show pictures to those that might know.
Tip 2: Read more about the lizard’s needs
Once you know the type of a lizard you have in your backyard, you will be able to learn more about its needs and care.
Lizards can be omnivorous (eating both bugs and vegetation), herbivorous (eating vegetation) and carnivorous and insectivorous (meat and bugs). Depending on what your lizard is, you will need to offer specific treats if you wish.
Most wild or backyard lizard find their own food, but you can also help it and offer more fresh greens or even bugs. If your backyard lizard looks healthy and of normal weight, you can sometimes offer it treats.
Food is often one of the way to build trust with a lizard. It has to associate you with good things.
However, don’t make it dependent on hand feeding, because it’s not a pet if you keep it outside. If it decides to leave, it won’t be able to survive.
Tip 3: Help your backyard lizard find food
If your lizard lives in your backyard, it needs to eat there too. While insects are naturally found in backyards/gardens, you can help attract more of them. If you attract more bugs, your lizard will have more to eat.
You can attract some bugs to your garden by planting flowers/plants that produce nectar and even berries. All edible berry plants are fine.
Wild caught bugs can get in contact with pesticides and other chemicals and harm your backyard lizard. If you have a garden, please don’t use any harmful chemicals as the lizard is likely to eat bugs from your garden.
Both wild baby lizards and adults will be able to find food for themselves. For wild baby lizards it can be harder, but they will feed on smaller live bugs that they can find and eat.
Tip 4: Offer food and water
If you want your backyard lizard to trust you and stay, make sure you have a bowl with fresh water at all times.
If you have a pond/fountain, make sure to include rocks so that the lizard can come out and doesn’t drown. The lizard is very likely to drink from a fountain or a water dish.
Tip 5: Help your backyard lizard feel secure by introducing plants and hides
To make the lizard stay in your backyard, you must make it feel safe. And to do that, you need to provide it spots to hide. There are plenty of options to do that – you can use things like roofing tiles, bricks put together, PVC pipes, a box and even special reptile hides.
Anything will suit – make sure it’s big enough so that the lizard can fully get in and turn around inside. Put few hides in your backyard – one in a spot with most sun during the day, another one in a spot with shade. This way, your lizard will be able to thermoregulate – when it’s too hot – it will be able to hide from heat.
On top of that, you can plant a bush or other hardy plants in your backyard. In the wild, lizards find hiding spots under trees and bushes. Make sure not to use any pesticides when growing plants.
Your goal is to create an area where your backyard lizard can bask and another area where it can hide. Many lizards are seen basking on a fence or trees, as they like climbing on higher structures to bask.
You can also place supporting branches for your lizard to go up and down. Add some branches, rocks and other spots to lay on and hide under.
Tip 6: Don’t scare your lizard and try to bond with it
The success to making your backyard lizard stay is not to scare it and provide lots of places to hide. Eliminate any source of stress, such as other pets or children chasing the lizard, and scaring it away.
Approach it slowly, and take small steps day by day. Ensuring the lizard can hide is crucial. Most lizards, even pet lizards, are very scared and shy at first, but with time, start trusting you more.
Thanks for reading this post! If you wish to read about pet lizards, see this resource page. You can also find a list of reptiles of the US here.