Vet Guide 2025: Lizard Care Essentials by Dr Duncan Houston 🩺🦎

Hello! I’m Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc and founder of Ask A Vet. Lizards are captivating, intelligent reptiles with unique care needs. Whether you’re caring for a gecko, skink, dragon, or monitor, this 2025 guide gives you everything you need for long-term success—from habitat setup and diet to handling, hygiene, and health care. Let’s give your lizard the best life possible! 🌿

1. Enclosure Setup 🏠

Your lizard’s habitat is its world. Proper setup ensures thermoregulation, security, and species-appropriate enrichment.

• Size: 10 gal minimum for small geckos; 40–120 gal for larger lizards (dragons, skinks, monitors).
• Structure: Escape-proof tank with screened top for airflow. Tall tanks for arboreal species; wide tanks for ground dwellers.
• Thermal gradient: Provide warm side (85–105 °F) and cool side (75–80 °F). Use heat lamps, ceramic emitters, under-tank pads.
• UVB lighting: Essential for all diurnal lizards to synthesize vitamin D₃ and absorb calcium. Use 10–12 hrs/day.
• Substrate: Paper towel, coconut fiber, reptile carpet; avoid loose sand in young or small lizards.
• Décor: Add hides, branches, rocks, and moisture zones. Clean basking platform and enrichment toys increase activity.

2. Diet & Nutrition 🍽️

Feeding frequency and type depends on age and species:

2.1 Insectivores

• Examples: leopard geckos, anoles
• Daily crickets, roaches, mealworms (gut-loaded & dusted with calcium)
• Feed prey smaller than lizard’s head width

2.2 Omnivores

• Examples: bearded dragons, blue-tongued skinks
• Juveniles: 70% insects / 30% veggies; adults: reverse ratio
• Offer greens (collards, mustard), squash, berries, crickets, worms

2.3 Herbivores

• Examples: iguanas
• Dark leafy greens, squash, sweet potato; avoid iceberg, citrus, avocado

3. Water & Hydration 💧

• Provide clean shallow water dishes refreshed daily
• Mist enclosures for tropical species (e.g., geckos)
• Offer soak sessions 1–2x weekly to assist shedding & hydration

4. Handling & Socialization 🤝

• Handle with calm, steady hands—support body, avoid tail grabbing
• Limit to 10–15 minutes at a time, once or twice daily
• Never handle post-feeding or during shed; reduce stress

5. Cleaning & Maintenance 🧽

• Daily: Spot-clean feces, remove uneaten food
• Weekly: Wipe glass, clean water dish
• Monthly: Full substrate replacement, disinfect tank and décor with reptile-safe cleaner

6. Shedding Support 🧦

• Offer humid hides or misting to assist normal ecdysis
• Never peel stuck shed—use warm soaks if needed
• Retained shed on toes or tail tip can lead to necrosis—monitor closely

7. Health Monitoring & Vet Care 🩺

• Signs of illness: weight loss, refusal to eat, wheezing, runny stool, sunken eyes, retained shed
• Schedule annual vet visits for fecal testing, weight tracking, and physical exam
• Metabolic Bone Disease is a major risk—always supplement with calcium + UVB
• Keep parasite risks low by cleaning regularly and avoiding wild-caught insects

8. Species-Specific Care 📚

Leopard Geckos

• No UVB required (but may be helpful)
• Keep humidity low (20–40%)
• Insectivorous—daily small prey

Bearded Dragons

• Full spectrum UVB lighting essential
• Omnivorous: greens + live prey
• Tank 40–75 gal minimum

Blue-tongued Skinks

• Omnivorous with high vegetable intake
• Humidity: 40–60%
• Need 75–120 gal floor space

Savannah Monitors

• Large (6 ft+) tanks, hot basking zones (120–130 °F)
• Carnivorous: rodents, insects
• Very high space and care demands

9. Ask A Vet Support 💬

Have a lizard care concern? Need habitat or diet advice? Use the Ask A Vet app to connect directly with reptile-experienced veterinarians—anytime, anywhere. Share photos, feeding logs, or enclosure setups for feedback. Visit AskAVet.com 🦎📱

10. Final Thoughts

Caring for a lizard in 2025 is rewarding—but demands precision, patience, and professional insight. With the right enclosure, diet, handling, cleaning, and health monitoring, you can enjoy a long and fascinating bond with your reptilian companion. And remember, Ask A Vet is here to support your lizard’s health every step of the way. 🩺🌿

— Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc