Lizards

Petaholics are your local experts when it comes to choosing the

right lizard for you! 

The Bearded Dragon and Leopard Gecko are the most popular 'starter' lizards, as they are of a manageable size, docile, easy to handle and relatively simple to look after, for adults and children alike.

We also stock Crested Geckos, Water Dragons, Panther / Yemen and Jackson's Chameleons, Blue Tongued Skinks and more....

We stock a wide range of housing and equipment for all species, along with

supplements, substrates, furnishings and decor.

Please ask a member of our team for advice on the best set-up options and

costs for your lizard.

Keeping Lizards

The type of housing, UV and heat source for your lizard will differ greatly depending on the species, its natural habitat, whether they are terrestrial or arboreal as well as their normal sleep-wake cycle.

All lizards are ectothermic in that they cannot regulate their own body temperature and must rely on the surrounding temperature to heat up their body. Warming up their body enables them to move about and find food, digest that food and metabolise the nutrients effectively, keeping them healthy and enabling them to grow. 

A heat source is required to do this, and is positioned at one end of the housing; a ceramic heater attached to a thermostat is best as it does not emit light, and can therefore be kept on overnight to prevent any dramatic temperature drops. This also provides a 'thermogradient' in the housing, where there is a 'warmer' end with a basking spot directly underneath the heat source, and a 'cooler' end away from the heat source. If you provide sufficient hides throughout, your lizard can move around at will to warm up or cool down, thereby regulating their own body temperature.

With arboreal species, the 'warmer' end will be at the top of the housing, and the 'cooler' end at the bottom. Heat naturally rises so this works well in this set-up.

The Importance of UV Light

Lizards also require a UV tube positioned 6-12" above where they will bask; again, with arboreal species this may be a basking branch or platform higher up by the heat source, and with terrestrial species this will be at ground level. This enables your lizard to produce vitamin D (much the same as humans do) which helps them to absorb calcium from their diet, helping them to grow and maintain a healthy skeletal system. Without a suitable UV source, they can develop a potentially fatal condition called metabolic bone disease. 

UV light also affects feeding behaviour, promotes a healthy immune system and normal hormone levels, ecdysis (shedding) and maintaining a more natural circadian rhythm. 

There is a wide range of UV tubes available now which enables you to choose the perfect UV output for your lizard that closely mimics their natural habitat. There are UV tubes suitable for jungle-swelling lizards, as well as ones suitable for diurnal / nocturnal species. Research has shown that nocturnal lizards will bask early in the morning and have developed the ability to absorb UV much faster than those reptiles that are diurnal and are able to spend longer basking throughout the day.

UV tubes do not give out heat, and should be kept on for 12 hours to minic the natural sleep-wake cycles of your lizard species, and switched off at night time. Although they continue to give out light, their UV output will drop to a negligable level after 9-12 months, and they should therefore be changed.

Please note: We do not sell lizards to any customers that do not have the correct set-up. If you buy the set-up from us, we will know that you have the correct equipment to keep your lizard healthy. If you purchase your set-up elsewhere, you will need to provide evidence of your set-up and temperatures, and to purchase any additional equipment from us if necessary. 

For more information on caring for lizards, please drop us a line at info@petaholicsltd.co.uk and we can send you a care sheet, or call us and a member of our team will be able to help if you have any questions or concerns about your lizard or set-up.