What do Lizards Eat

There are thousands of species of lizards ranging from the giant Komodo dragon to the tiny gecko. Various studies about the lizards have put forth several interesting aspects of their lives. Irrespective of the fact whether you plan to have a lizard as a pet or whether you are doing a project on this species, one aspect of these creatures which is bound to fascinate you is their dietary habit.

Lizards - What Do They Eat

Approximately 3500 living species of lizards are found on the planet. Each of these species differ in size, appearance, habitat... and even their feeding habits. Like various other animal species, even the lizards can be categorized into three groups on the basis of their feeding habits.

• Herbivorous Lizards.
• Insectivorous Lizards
• Carnivorous Lizards.
• Omnivorous Lizards.

Herbivorous Lizards
Herbivorous lizard species include chuckwallas, various Iguana species, spiny-tailed agamids, etc. These lizards feed on a wide variety of plant matter including leaves, fruits, pollen, etc. In fact, some lizard species, found in deserts, also tend to feed on cactus. Fruits that you can feed your pet lizards, if it's a herbivore, include apples, papaya, tofu, peaches etc. At times, you may notice these herbivorous pets readily feeding on insects you provide them with. However, such practice can lead to health problems for these creatures and hence shouldn't be encouraged.

Insectivorous Lizards
Insectivorous lizard species are the ones which feed various insects, such as crickets, locusts, etc. These lizards include true chameleons, alligator lizards, most of the gecko species, leopard gecko species, etc. There also exist some lizard species, such as the horned-lizard and the thorny devils which feed on ants. If you plan to own a insectivorous pet lizard, you can ideally include butter-worms, meal-worms, crickets, locusts, grasshoppers and other such small insects in their diet.

Carnivorous Lizards
Carnivorous lizards are active hunters, which feed on a range of animal and insects species. Commonly found carnivorous lizard species include various monitor lizards, Komodo dragons, etc. At times, various omnivorous species are misinterpreted to be carnivores. Carnivorous lizards in captivity tend to feed on mice, rats, fish, chicken, etc. On the other hands, lizards in wild prefer to feed on small animal, snakes, other lizard species, insects, etc. Komodo dragons have the capacity of hunting down larger animals as well. In times of food scarcity, these carnivores even feed on carrion to satiate their hunger.

Omnivorous Lizards
Omnivorous lizard species include bearded dragons, whip-tails, knight anoles, blue-tongued skinks, race-runners, etc. The number of omnivorous lizard species far exceeds that of herbivorous lizard species around the world, Species like Philippine gray monitor which most often feed on other insects and animals, at times do resort to plant matter. In the wild, omnivorous lizards feed on insects, carrion, fruits, pollen etc, on the other hand omnivorous types of pet lizards tend to feed on various fruits as well as rodents and insects.

If you are planning to have lizards as pets, it is very important for you to be well-versed with their diet in captivity. It will come as a surprise for many, but lizards can also feed on animals as large as the wild beasts - we are talking about the Komodo dragons, the largest living species of lizards on the planet, which hunt down wild beasts and feed on them.