One
of the most important factors when feeding carnivorous
lizards is the presentation of the food. Proper
food presentation stimulates feeding by making your
lizards more attracted to the food mainly using
visual aids.
When keeping carnivorous lizards on a mulch or sand
type substrate, you have to be careful to avoid it's
ingestion when feeding. When a lizard catches its prey
in their mouth, they may take some substrate with the
insect. This can cause impaction, and in severe cases,
death in lizards.
Always present food to your lizards on a shallow dish.
The heavier the dish the better as well, as this will
prevent the dish from tipping over. The dish will also
place the insect in the open allowing your lizards
to freely view them.
The size of the food is also important when feeding
lizards. Never use food longer than the width between
your lizards eyes. Anything longer can cause your lizard
to choke on their food.
If you keep larger lizards, you may want to consider
using a separate feeding area from their living habitat.
This helps keeping their everyday area cleaner, especially
if feeding them mice. You also may want to separate
multiple lizards to avoid competition for food.
Some carnivorous lizards will occasionally eat
vegetable and fruit. Make sure to mash it together to
avoid them from picking out their favorites and avoiding
the nutritional mixture. |