Collared lizards are captivating reptiles. Understanding their diet is fundamental to maintaining their health and well-being. Proper nutrition is paramount for these lizards, ensuring they receive the necessary energy and nutrients for growth, activity, and overall vitality.
Diet in Their Natural Habitat
In their native arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, collared lizards are primarily insectivorous. They actively hunt a variety of invertebrates, including crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles. Spiders, moths, and cicadas also contribute to their natural intake. Their specialized teeth, with sharp front teeth for capturing and flatter back teeth for crushing, are adapted for consuming insects.
Collared lizards also exhibit opportunistic carnivorous tendencies, consuming small lizards and occasionally small rodents like pinky mice. Plant matter, such as flowers or leaves, is consumed minimally and does not provide sufficient nutrients for their sustained body weight.
Feeding Collared Lizards in Captivity
For collared lizards in human care, replicating their natural diet involves offering a range of appropriate feeder insects. Common choices include crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, superworms, black soldier fly larvae, and hornworms. Providing a variety ensures a well-rounded nutritional intake. Juveniles require daily feedings, while adults may be fed every other day or every few days.
The nutritional value of feeder insects can be enhanced through gut-loading, where insects are fed nutritious foods before being offered to the lizard. This practice ensures the lizard receives additional vitamins and minerals. Gut-loading diets often include reptile-safe vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens. Calcium and vitamin D3 supplementation is necessary. Feeder insects should be dusted with calcium powder two to three times weekly, and some supplements include vitamin D3, which is essential for calcium absorption.
Unsuitable Foods for Collared Lizards
Certain food items and feeding practices can be harmful to collared lizards. Wild-caught insects should never be fed due to the risk of exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and parasites. Fireflies are particularly toxic and must be avoided. Processed human foods are unsuitable and can cause digestive issues or nutritional imbalances.
Overly large insects should not be offered, as they can lead to impaction or injury. A general guideline is that a feeder insect should be no larger than the width between the lizard’s eyes. An unbalanced diet, especially one lacking proper calcium and vitamin D3, can result in metabolic bone disease (MBD), a common and serious condition where bones become soft and brittle.